Draft Workshop: Feeder 3.1

1. The assignment calls for you to explore the context of the article’s thesis statement, identifying the controversy into which the author is entering. Has the draft adequately fulfilled this requirement? Does the author give an indication of why the article is important to art historians? Could the author add any information to make this context richer?

2. The assignment also asks you to evaluate the author’s evidence. Does the draft adequately explain how the article’s author has supported his or her thesis statement? Do you feel as though you can adequately evaluate the article’s evidence with the information provided in your draft? Explain your answer.

3. Art history provides a perfect example to bring in images and other multimedia content to help aid the reader. Has the author taken advantage of this ability? Explain how the author might use additional images or multimedia content in order to make his or her argument clearer or more meaningful.

Add two of your own questions to this workshop that focus on issues on which you desire feedback. Feel free to copy and paste questions from previous draft workshops or compose your own.

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Sample VoiceThread

http://unc.voicethread.com/?#q.b1546827.i8160362

Unit 2 Self-Evaluation

1. Overall, how happy are you with your work for Unit 2? Note any frustrations or roadblocks that you encountered and how you overcame them. 

2. Please take a minute to review the assignment sequence for Unit 2. As I’ve mentioned, this is the first time I have taught this unit sequence, so please mention any ways in which you think the prompts might be improved. What kinds of information would have been helpful to you as you worked on the project? Is any information in the prompts distracting or unhelpful?

3. What in-class assignments might have helped to achieve your goals in Unit 2 more quickly and easily? Examples might include explaining and developing new skills, modeling aspects of the writing process, etc.

Francis Bacon: Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion

Two-Tiered Workshop for Unit 2 Project

Organizational Assessment 

1. In what order does the author present his or her supporting evidence (e.g. chronological, process order, cause-and-effect, etc.)? Is this the most appropriate order given the audience's level of understanding? Suggest at least one alternative way in which the essay might be organized. 

2. Is there a sense of balance to my essay? Do I spend too long on any single point, or do I seem to rush through important parts? Does any section feel either redundant or underdeveloped? 

3. Does each paragraph have a clear topic sentence? Does each topic sentence relate clearly back to the thesis? Does each paragraph deal with one idea and one idea only? Point out any points in the essay at which the paragraphing seems weak or confusing.

4. Does the essay have transitions that move the reader clearly from idea to the next? Does the writer make the relationship between the ideas clear with words that emphasize the essay's organization scheme (e.g. time-related words of the essay is organized chronologically, etc.)? 

5. Does each paragraph fully explain its main idea? Do any paragraphs feel thin or under-developed? Point them out. 

Assessment 

If you did not identify any major conceptual or organization issues in your answers to the above questions, let the author know that s/he can move on to Part 2. If you did identify any issues, explain as clearly and specifically as possible what you think the author needs to do in order to get this draft to the "surface-level concerns" stage. Try to format these instructions as a plan, e.g. "Your road map doesn't match the organization of the essay as a whole. Once you make those match by revising your thesis statements or re-ordering your paragraphs, you should look at paragraphs 3 and 5 because they each seem to deal with several ideas rather than one." 

Part 2 

1. Does the draft achieve an appropriate take on the middle style? Highlight any words, sentences, or passages in which you think the essay deviates from a middle style (either by being too formal or too informal). If you have time, suggest ways in which the author might revise these sections in order to achieve a more appropriate tone for the assignment. 

2. Does the draft have a strong introduction that hooks the reader from the very first sentence? What type of introduction has the author employed? Does it get you excited as a reader? If not, suggest another idea the author might begin with in order to draw the reader in more quickly.

3. Does the author use dynamic sentence structures, alternating between simple, compound, and compound-complex sentences? Note any passages that seem to be choppy (perhaps because the sentences are too short) or too dense (because the sentences are too long and complex). 

4. The prompt asks you to make use of primary source materials such as photographs, interviews, etc. in order to support your claim. Has the author used these resources well? Does the author write credibly about his or her family history, or is more primary evidence needed? Does the author successfully achieve an analytical tone throughout the draft, or are there passages that feel more like a personal essay?