Critical Thinking Paper 2
Overview: Students will write a 3 page essay in which they select relevant ideas from a set of graphics/videos related to Unit 2 content, describe why the selected ideas are important, and give an informed response to these ideas.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Students will learn academic content knowledge and vocabulary in social media and education and will demonstrate understanding of this knowledge by completing critical thinking papers.
Students will learn to summarize, evaluate and reflect on ideas from course content by completing critical thinking papers.
Students will demonstrate they can integrate/synthesize information from class sources by completing critical thinking papers.
Topic: Using the sources assigned by their instructor, students will:

a) Summarize 2-3 ideas they believe are most important from the sources.

b) Respond to each idea. Students must show that they have informed opinions that are directly related to the selected ideas. They should support their ideas with personal experience and other class sources/discussions.

* This is an integrated summary/response essay. Each paragraph should consist of a selected idea from the assigned sources, an explanation of this idea and its importance, and an informed opinion related to the idea. There should also be a brief introductory and concluding paragraph. The essay should be written as continuous prose, with no sub-headings, numbers, or bullet points.

Procedure:

Step 1: Essay preparation and writing

A. Review your notes from the homework/classwork activities you did related to the sources. Choose two or three of the ideas from the sources that you think are the most important. *Imagine you are writing this essay for someone who is not familiar with the sources – What should you tell them about the sources?

B. The ideas you chose from A will be the topics of your paragraphs. Remember that you must include an appropriate reference to the sources each time you refer to them.

C. Get an idea of why you think the ideas you selected are the most important ones.

D. Formulate a response to each of the ideas, drawing from personal experience or other class sources/discussions to support your response.

E. Find a way to introduce your essay that gives general information about the topic, and a way to conclude that leaves the reader with something further to think about or shows the relevance of the topic to the “real world”.

Step 2: Write and revise your paper

A. Using the notes/thoughts you have from Step 1, write your paper.

B. Take a look at the paper and be sure it follows all the guidelines on the assignment sheet and the scoring rubric.

C. Make an appointment with a tutor (bringing the assignment sheet and rubric with you) to go over it several days before the due date and make any revisions the tutor suggests.

D. If there’s anything you’re still unsure about, make an appointment with your instructor.

Step 3: Format your paper and submit it

A. Be sure to:

Use size 12 font
Double-space the lines
Have 1” margins on the left, right, top, and bottom of the page
Include your name, your class and section, and the date at the top of the paper.
B. Submit your paper via Turnitin on Canvas by (time), (date)

Assessment:The Critical Thinking Paper is worth 7.5% of the final course grade. The instructor will use a rubric to evaluate the papers. Areas of evaluation will include application of course content, task-related skills, and language use.