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E N G L I S H – 1 1 1
I N S T R U C T O R : A N D R E A A N D E R S O N
UNIT #3 ESSAYUniversity Website Evaluation
A C C O R D I N G T O T H E N O R T O N F I E L D G U I D E T O W R I T I N G , A N E VA L U AT I O N I S A J U D G M E N T ; Y O U J U D G E S O M E T H I N G
A C C O R D I N G T O C E R TA I N C R I T E R I A A N D S U P P O R T Y O U R J U D G M E N T W I T H R E A S O N S A N D E V I D E N C E .
F O R T H I S A S S I G N M E N T, YO U W I L L W R I T E A N E VA LUAT I O N O F A C O L L E G E O R U N I V E R S I T Y
W E B S I T E . YO U W I L L W R I T E F R O M T H E P E R S P E C T I V E O F A P R O S P E C T I V E S T U D E N T .
UNIT #3 ESSAYUniversity Website Evaluation
Unit #3 PreparationLook at the assignment sheet in the Unit #3 folder in Blackboard
Unit #3 PreparationReading in The Norton Field Guide to Writing
According to The Norton Field Guide to Writing, an evaluation is a judgment. For this paper, you will judge a college or university website according to a set of criteria and support your judgment with reasons and evidence.
Get Started; Read Chapter 13 – Evaluations
Chapter 35 – Comparing and Contrasting
Essay #3 Readings (on Blackboard)
T H E N E X T F E W S L I D E S W I L L I N T R O D U C E Y O U T O G E N E R A L I N F O R M A T I O N A B O U T
P E R F O R M I N G A N E V A L U A T I O N .
Evaluation Overview
C H O O S E A N I T E M F O R E VA L U AT I O N
D E V E L O P A S E T O F C R I T E R I A
I N V E S T I G AT E C L O S E LY A G A I N S T Y O U R S E T O F C R I T E R I A
E VA L U AT E T H E R E S U LT S
M A K E Y O U R F I N A L
J U D G M E N T !
OVERVIEW: What are the steps of an evaluation?
WHAT IS AN EVALUATION?
An evaluation is a JUDGMENT. You choose something to evaluate, create a set of criteria, and evaluate the product in regards to your criteria.
You make evaluations (or judgments) every day. For example: You recommend a mystery novel to a
friend
You choose to buy Nike instead of Adidas
You tell the write a positive review for the new restaurant in town
You go shopping at Costco instead of Sam’s Club
ONE important question remains -Why do you take these actions? In other words, what are your reasons for your judgments?
Criteria Example #1:
Restaurants
Evaluate: Tartine European Restaurant
I think all good restaurants should: #1 Have friendly, helpful, and
honest employees
#2 Have a diverse menu that offers a variety of flavors
#3 Have a peaceful and relaxing environment
#4 Offer complimentary dessert for a guest’s birthday
Evaluate: Does the restaurant meet the criteria of a “good” restaurant? #1 – Yes, Tartine does have
friendly employees. #2 – Yes, Tartine does have a
diverse menu. #3 – No, Tartine does not have
a relaxing environment. #4 – No, Tartine does not offer
complimentary dessert for a guest’s birthday.
You make your judgment by evaluating your product according to certain criteria… YOU create the criteria.
Evaluate: Tartine European Restaurant
Analyze the results of the evaluation and make your final judgment.
Evaluate: Does the restaurant meet the criteria of a “good” restaurant? #1 – Yes, Tartine does have
friendly employees. #2 – Yes, Tartine does have a
diverse menu. #3 – No, Tartine does not have
a relaxing environment. #4 – No, Tartine does not offer
complimentary dessert for a guest’s birthday.
Tartine European Restaurant only meets 2 of the 4 criteria of a good restaurant. While it does have wonderful employees and a great menu, it does not have a relaxing environment or offer a complimentary birthday dessert.
While it only meets 2 of the 4, it is still a great choice for dinner because food and service outweighs the importance of a relaxing environment and free dessert.
Make a final judgment!
T HE N EX T F EW S L I DES W I LL I N T RO DUC E YO U TO S PEC I F I C I N FO R M AT I O N A B O UT
T HI S A S S I G N M EN T.
FO R T HI S A S S I G N M EN T, YO U W I LL W R I T E A N EVA LUAT I O N O F A CO LLEG E O R
UN I VERS I T Y W EB S I T E . YO U W I LL W R I T E F RO M T HE PERS PEC T I VE O F A
PRO S PEC T I VE ST UDEN T.
Your assignment:University Website Evaluation
Overview
Choose a college or university website to evaluate
A few things to consider:
Look for a school site that you are interested in writing about. Perhaps it is a school you are considering attending in the future.
Remember, you are evaluating the website, not the school.
You may not evaluate the UAA or KPC websites.
Examples: look at the following slides for a few examples to choose from.
Evaluation Criteria
You make your judgment by evaluating the website according to certain criteria… YOU create the criteria.
For this assignment, you must think of THREE criteria to use in judging the university website.
Be sure that you choose three DISTINCT criteria.
Ask yourself – What are the qualities or features that all good collegiate websites should have?
VERY IMPORTANT – do not create criteria to make the university site look good…that would not be an honest evaluation. Create your criteria and then honestly evaluate whether or not the site meets the criteria.
Sample Criteria: Here is a list of sample criteria. You may use any these, but may also create your own.
ALL GOOD COLLEGIATE WEBSITES SHOULD: Offer prospective students a glimpse of
The different aspects of student life (clubs, dorms, events, etc.) The campus culture The area surrounding campus What current students and alumni have to say about the school
Have easy access to important information Like financial aid options and applications Degree programs and course offerings How to apply How to take a campus tour
Have a homepage that Is easy to navigate Isn’t cluttered with unnecessary information Creates a theme that is also followed on the other pages of the site Uses a color scheme that allows for aesthetic appeal and easy reading.
Is up to date and works well All links work All writing/data is up to date and written with appropriate grammar, punctuation, and word choice
Use popular social media and technology options to give better insight to future students YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
DID YOU:
Read the Unit #3 Assignment Sheet
Read the assigned Norton Field Guide readings and the Essay #3 readings (on Blackboard).
Now it is time to get started with the WRITING PROCESS
Pre-Writing
Create a set of criteria
Write your thesis statement
Choose a college or university website to evaluate
Evaluate your website in regards to your criteria
Make a final judgment
WRITEYOURTHESIS STATEMENT
THESIS STATEMENT:
Identifies the topic of your essay and the claim you are making.
Tells the reader what the essay is going to be about.
The thesis statement for this essay should state the three criteria you are using to evaluate the website:
Sample Thesis Statements: A positive first impression can be defined by three factors:
ease of navigation to essential prospective student information, a glimpse of academic and extracurricular campus life, and an aesthetically pleasing appearance.
To effectively influence students and parents, the website should utilize social media, have a consistent theme of color and layout, and should offer a look into life on campus.
Three essential criteria to an effective college website are that the website should be organized so that important information is easily accessible, it should reflect the college culture, and it should give a clear vision of academic degree pathways.
Pre-Writing Continued…
Write an Outline
Why outline?
Get organized BEFORE you start writing!
An outline is your blueprint for your essay.
IntroductionCatch the reader’s attention, briefly describe the school whose website you are evaluating, and state your thesis BodyParagraph #1 – State your set of criteria (at least 3) and why each is important.Paragraph #2, #3, #4 – Evaluate it against each of your criteria and provide reasons and evidenceParagraph #5 – Acknowledge highlights but suggest areas for improvementConclusionGenerate a final overall judgment and bring the essay to a close
Submit Your Topic
DUE: Saturday, November 9 by 11:59 pm
ASSIGNMENT: Submit Your Topic
You need to create a post in Unit #3 Topic Discussion that tells me and your classmates what university website you have chosen, why you chose it, and what criteria you will use to evaluate it in your writing.
This is ESSENTIAL in getting started on a good note. I will provide you with prompt feedback regarding your topics.
Just a Reminder
A F T E R P R E - W R I T I N G , C O N T I N U E T H R O U G H T H E W R I T I N G P R O C E S S
W R I T E
4 complete pages, Double-spaced
Your references page DOES NOT count in your page count!!!
1 inch margins, 12 point Arial font
E D I T A N D R E V I S E
P U B L I S H ( A K A T U R N I T I N ! )
T H E N E X T F E W S L I D E S W I L L O U T L I N E T H E R E Q U I R E M E N T S F O R E A C H PA R A G R A P H .
The Writing Process Continued
Essay #3 Introduction
Introduction Paragraph In your introduction paragraph, you
need to:
Catch the reader’s attention
Briefly describe the school whose website you are evaluating
State your thesis
Don’t state the school’s name or whether or not the school’s website meets the criteria in the thesis statement – that should be saved for later in the essay.
Body Paragraph #1
Body Paragraph #1 In your first body paragraph, you
need to:
State your set of three criteria and why each is important
This is your chance to show the reader why your criteria matter and how they contribute to an effective site.
Don’t evaluate your site here; save that for body paragraphs 2, 3, and 4.
Body Paragraphs #2,3, and 4
Body Paragraph #2, 3, 4In body paragraph #2, 3, and
4, you need to:
Look at how your website does or does not meet each criteria.
Use reasons and evidence from the website to prove your points.
Focus on just one criterion per paragraph.
Body Paragraph #5
Body Paragraph #5 In body paragraph #5, you need
to
Quickly acknowledge highlights, but take time to suggest areas for improvement
Be sure to be constructive in your criticism.
Conclusion Paragraph
Conclusion Paragraph
Generate a final overall judgment
Bring your essay to an effective close.
Using quotes
The Essay #3 Readings are available on Blackboard.
You can use quotes from these readings to help strengthen your essay.
You must use APA style in-text citations and references page to acknowledge your sources.
Be sure to follow rules for quotations when integrating a quote into your essay!
QUOTES One goal for essay #3 is successfully quoting sources
from the Essay #3 Readings in your papers. Quoting reliable sources will help to make your essay stronger. For essay #3 you are required to integrate 2
quotes from the Essay #3 Readings (not 2 from each, but 2 total)
You may NOT use quotes from sources other than the ones provided to you in the Essay #3 Readings.
You must acknowledge the source of your quotes. In other words, you must tell the reader where you got the quote from.
There are many different styles of acknowledging your sources…For this paper, you will use APA style.
Watch the APA Lecture – Essay #3 to learn how to properly cite your sources!
PEERREVIEWGet feedback about your writing from your peers
The Peer Review will begin Sunday, November 17, and end on Saturday, November 23. Sunday, November 17: Submit your finished
draft to your peer review group (in the Writing Unit #3 Folder in Blackboard)
Monday, November 18: I will email your group and let you know whose paper each member should read and review
November 18 – 23: Read your partner’s paper, complete the peer review questionnaire, and offer advise for improvement.
Saturday, November 23: Return the completed peer review questionnaire to your partner and me.
Specific directions for the peer review will be posted on Blackboard!
Edit and Revise
Revise Look at the advise that your classmates gave you during the peer
review. Make the changes that you feel will improve your paper. Two pieces of ADVICE:#1: Give yourself plenty of time to revise. If you can, get away
from your writing for a little while. When you return refreshed, you will be more likely to catch errors and digressions.
#2: Remember to make sure that this is a reader-centered paper not a writer-centered paper. In other words, detach yourself from your paper and revise it to assure that everything is clear and belongs on the page. Just because you spent time writing it, doesn’t mean it belongs in your final draft. If it doesn’t, erase it.
Edit Check your paper for proper grammar, punctuation, and usage.
Use your Resources…OWL @ KPC
OWL is the online writing lab at KPC. You can submit your paper to the OWL and get feedback from KPC faculty. You let them know specifically what you would like help with!
http://owl.kpc.alaska.edu
DUE DATE:
The final draft of this paper is due by Saturday, November 30 @ 11:59 pm.
YOU WILL SUBMIT YOUR FINAL DRAFT IN BLACKBOARD. There will be a place for you to upload your papers in the Unit #3 Folder.
The final draft is worth 150 points!
Be sure to turn it in on time, otherwise it will be considered LATE. Late papers are penalized by deducting 20% of the possible points before grading.
Publish Your Paper…aka Turn it in!
A VERY IMPORTANT note about revising…
You may NOT revise this paper for an improved grade. There is not enough time in the shortened 10-week semester to
revise this paper.
In other words, it better be good the first time
Lecture:THE ENDJust a reminder…
If you have a question, ASK!
If you have any questions regarding this assignment, please don’t hesitate to email me. Be sure that you detail exactly what it is that you don’t understand or would like help with.
If necessary, we can set up an Collaborate session to discuss your questions.
