Current Events Position Evaluation

Dual Enrollment English 111/112

Name​: Due Date​: Day Month Year

Instructions​:
Throughout this half of the course we have been wrestling with the way that current events are
portrayed through news media. We have kept up with current events through outlets like NPR,
CNN10, and The Week. You have independently annotated a series of articles of your choice.
Through this assignment you will extend your understanding of the richness of a news text and
the positionality of writers through evaluating a text for it’s veracity and quality.

You will need to choose an article that has a clear opinion/position and evaluate whether or not
the author’s writing actually supports their position and purpose. This article should also be of
significant length: think Op-Eds in the New York Times or Washington Post vs. Buzzfeed
listicles. If you’re unsure about your article check with me.

In order to accomplish this task you will also need to look at the quantitative and qualitative
academic research related to your article to ensure the author’s claims are verifiable. You may
also want to compare and contrast the writing to other authors/positions on the same issue that
your article explores.

This paper should be 3-5 pages long and formally written and documented in MLA format.

Rubric​:

Criteria Student Evaluation Teacher Evaluation

Article chosen to evaluate is appropriate to ___/10 ___/10

this assignment. Explanation: Explanation:

Paper identifies the article’s position, ___/15 ___/15

purpose, and audience. Explanation: Explanation:

Student clearly evaluates the article: the ___/15 ___/15

paper has a clear thesis that states the Explanation: Explanation:
student’s argument.

Paper clearly references and documents the ___/15 ___/15

article, academic research, and Explanation: Explanation:
supplementary articles.
Paper uses the language of evaluation. ___/15 ___/15
Explanation: Explanation:

Paper is clearly written, organized, and ___/15 ___/15

shows evidence of revision. Explanation: Explanation:

Paper uses MLA format correctly and meets ___/10 ___/10

length requirements. Explanation: Explanation:

___/100 ___/100