Hallmark Guides - Written Communication


Anna Van Wie
Director, Learning Outcomes Assessment
School of Undergraduate Studies
Published: March-April 2011

Category: » Online-pedagogy » Teaching-strategies

Hallmark Guides

| Critical Thinking | Written Communication | Information Literacy | Technology Fluency |

| Scientific Literacy | Quantitative Literacy |

"…assessing student writing goes beyond merely grading papers. Teachers need to first understand their role as responder and make it an integral part of writing instruction."

Bardine, B. A., & Bardine, M. S., & Deegan, E.F. (2000). Beyond the red pen: Clarifying our role in the response process. English Journal, 90(1), 94.

Definition

Graduates will be able to effectively communicate in writing to a target audience, integrating credible evidence from appropriate sources and using the expected conventions of format, organization, and style.

Graduates will be able to:

  1. Communicate effectively to a target audience.
  2. Use expected conventions of format and organization in writing.
  3. Use credible reasoning and evidence in communication.
  4. Satisfy standards of writing style and grammatical correctness.
  5. Produce an acceptably researched and documented extended essay.
  6. Incorporate sufficient use of appropriate research, supporting evidence, and relevant sources.

Sample Assignment and Rubric

Literature Review

Write a literature review on a topic which you have already discussed or analyzed in class. Your literature review should be 5-8 pages and should include 10-15 scholarly sources. For example, a computer science major could conduct research on the use of blogs and wikis for business. The student might even find a particular focus on the use of blogs or wikis in a particular industry. A psychology major could conduct research on Vygotsky’s theories and their applications to education. A marketing major could conduct research on the in-story theory of marketing.

In all three cases, the student would then review the articles, glean the common themes from them, discover gaps or weaknesses in the literature on the particular theory or concept, and write the literature review.

Rubric

 
Points
Introduces the literature review by identifying the topic in a clear and specific manner.
10
Divides the research into categories
10
Discusses the research in each category with adequate support from the sources, integrating the sources skillfully throughout the paragraphs.
20
Maintains unity among the paragraphs and themes.
10
Maintains coherence among the paragraphs and themes.
10
Employs a fluid writing style and an appropriate vocabulary .
10
Follows APA format in both the citations and in the reference list.
15
Maintains accurate grammar and punctuation.
15
Total:
100

Resources/Links

Writing resources and advice:

Effective Writting Center
http://www.umuc.edu/ewc/index.shtml

The Purdue Online Writting Lab
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

Writing across the curriculum:

The WAC Clearinghouse
http://wac.colostate.edu/intro/

Prince Georges County Public Schools (Writing Across the Curriculum)
http://www.pgcps.pg.k12.md.us/~elc/writingacross.html

Print and digital scholarly journals on assessing writing:

National Council of Teachers of English
http://www.ncte.org/college/journals

Writing literature reviews:

University of North Carolina Writting Center
http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/literature_review.html

Have Questions?

For more information on the Written Communication Hallmark, contact Andy Cavanaugh, SUS, at 240-684-2836 or acavanaugh@umuc.edu.

About the Author(s)

Anna Van Wie is the Assistant Director of Learning Outcomes Assessment in UMUC's School of Undergraduate Studies. She received her master's degree in measurement and statistics from the University of Maryland and is currently pursuing a PhD in this field. She enjoys working with directors and faculty on assessment issues, with the goal of helping students learn more and be more successful in their educational endeavors.

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