COMM 150 Descriptive Essay



Bryant & Stratton College Syracuse Campus

COMM 150:

Introduction to Information Literacy and Research

Spring 2011

Thursday 5:45pm

Instructor: Sammons

COMM 150 Portfolio Assignment (No. 2 of 3)

Professional Plan

COMM 150 Course Outcomes Assessed

Upon completion of this course students will be able to:

• Evaluate how technology can represent findings in a variety of textual and graphic methods that rely on low, medium, and high technology communication platforms.

• Effectively use public access catalogs, bibliographies, and full-text and bibliographic databases.

• Identify different information formats and then choose the most appropriate format(s) for each research need.

• Demonstrate an awareness of political, social, legal, economic, and intellectual property issues relevant to print and electronic resources and successfully avoid plagiarism and copyright infringement.

• Evaluate information for reliability, validity, accuracy, authority, timeliness, and point of view.

• Cite bibliographic references in APA format, properly instructing bibliographies and reference lists in research papers and assignments.

• Investigate personal and professional interests, strengths and skills.

• Perform research on career development and lifelong learning opportunities.

• Complete a written career-related research project. Present research findings on career development and lifelong learning through discussion and other oral presentation formats.

• Employ information literacy skills through the effective use of technology and information resources to accomplish a goal.

Assignment 2: Professional Plan is worth 15% of your total grade for the course.

Purpose of Assessment

Mastery of information literacy skills is essential to success in many careers that offer the promise and potential for personal and professional growth. That is why Bryant & Stratton College created this introductory course. Introduction to Information Literacy and Research (COMM 150) is designed to develop your understanding and development of information literacy skills and the many applications of information literacy within the career path of your choice.

There are three portfolio assignments in COMM 150: Reflective Assignment, Professional Plan, and Process Analysis Assignment. You have already completed the Reflective Assignment. After successful completion of the second assignment, Professional Plan, you will have another piece of evidence for your portfolio of your initial information literacy skills. As you progress through your program of study you will produce more advanced evidence of your information literacy skills. During job interviews you will want to highlight how you used research throughout your program of study to support your ideas and thoughts.

The second COMM 150 portfolio assignment, the Professional Plan, is described below. After reviewing the requirements for this assignment, think about the question or questions you will have to answer to complete the assignment successfully. As you approach working through the assignment, formulating questions will allow you to clarify the assignment and move forward with greater confidence.

Assignment Requirements

1) You are to use the Virtual Library to find four sources that will support your answers below. Remember to use the information literacy skills you gained thus far during your course of study in COMM 150 to help you make judgments on the most appropriate sources to use. You may find the SocIndex with Full Text and the Vocational & Career Collection databases helpful.

2) In addition, you may choose to interview a faculty member or a manager as a source of information that you can use and cite in your assignment.

3) Use the learnings from the sources chosen from the Virtual Library, interview, class discussions and research, and other coursework in your program of study to help support your answers to the questions below. Be sure to use correct APA style when citing in-text citations and references.

4) Use at least one graphic representations (i.e. pie chart) in your plan to depict one or more relevant aspects of careers in your field of study listed below in 5a. Be sure to choose the most appropriate representation for the data you are representing.

5) Compose a descriptive writing that answers the following essential questions:

a. What are the responsibilities, tasks, growth trends, salaries, lifelong learning opportunities, and other relevant aspects of three (2) careers in your field of interest?

b. What areas from the listing above draw you to this career field and are most important to you? Why?

c. What is the content knowledge expertise required for success in your field of interest; for example, through an interview of faculty, or a manager who supervises similar positions, briefly describe the courses and lifelong certifications that will help you realize future personal and career success.

d. As a final note following your reflective narrative think about and address the following question. If you were asked by a student next semester how he/she should approach this assignment (professional plan) to ensure good results, what advise would you give the student? You will be asked to share your answer with the class the day the paper is due.

The chart below illustrates the due dates and feedback schedule for this assignment. Though this is a more formal approach for instructor feedback speak to me regarding any assignment any time before it is due.

|Monitor Your Progress |Requirement or Due Date |Verified or Complete ⎭ |

|For Use in Class and Feedback Purposes: A copy of each of the |Emailed to teacher. |6/30/11 |

|four sources and a draft of how you will cite them on the | | |

|reference page | | |

|Peer and Instructor Feedback on Graphic Representations |Obtained by: (date ) |7/7/11 |

|Peer Feedback on First Draft |Obtained by: (date ) |7/7/11 |

|Instructor Feedback on Second Draft |Remit to instructor by: (date) | |

|Final Version |Remit to instructor by: (date) |7/14/11 |

|Upload Clean Graded Assignment to Optimal Resume Account (no |Upload to O.R. account by: (date) |End of semester |

|marks on the paper) | | |

Note: Your paper should be, at minimum, a three to four page document (spend approximately one page describing each option), typed and double-spaced. There must be four sources from the Virtual Library used and correctly cited using APA format in your final plan to support your answers and at minimum two graphic representations.

|Content|Level 4 |Level 3 |Level 2 |Level 1 |

| |4 3.8 |3.5 3.4 |3.1 3.0 2.8 |2.7 1.4 0 |

| |3.6 |3.2 | | |

| |The writing fully identifies and |The writing, for the most part, |The writing lacks specificity in |The writing is too general in |

| |details the significant features |identifies the significant features and |describing significant features and |describing the significant features and|

| |and details of career positions and|details of the career positions and path.|details of the career positions and path, |details of the career positions and |

| |paths. The student evaluates four |Student evaluates four (4) sources; one |and the steps for advancement. The |path, and does not attempt to describe |

| |(4) sources, has ensured relevance |is not relevant and/or reliable. Minor |student evaluates fewer than three (4) occur in the citation of sources |

| |appropriately integrated into the |appropriately integrated into the |“Reference Page”. Text references are not|within the assignment and in the |

| |assignment. |assignment and cited in the “Reference |consistently integrated into the |“Reference Page”. Text references are |

| | |Page”. |assignment in an appropriate way. |not appropriately integrated into the |

| |One or more graphic representations| |One or two graphic representations are |assignment. |

| |are included and represent the most|One graphic representation is included |included ;however data is depicted |No graphic representations are |

| |appropriate depiction of data. |and represents an appropriate depiction |inappropriately |included. |

| | |of data. | | |

| |Points Given |Comments: |

| | | |

| |Weight X 10 | |

| | | |

| |Final Score__________ | |

|Researc|Level 4 |Level 3 |Level 2 |Level 1 |

|h/APA | | | | |

|Documen| | | | |

|tation | | | | |

| |4 3.8 |3.5 3.4 3.2 |3.1 3.0 2.8 |2.7 1.4 0 |

| |3.6 | | | |

| |The paper exhibits an excellent |The paper exhibits an adequate ability to|The paper exhibits a passable ability to |The paper exhibits an inability to |

| |ability to choose, integrate, and |choose, integrate, and document source |choose, integrate, and/or document source |choose, integrate, and document source |

| |document source material in support|material in support of the thesis. The |material in support of the thesis. There |material in support of a thesis. Source |

| |of the thesis. The writer employs |source material the writer employs is |are places in the paper where points are |material is never used or is |

| |ample appropriate source material |appropriate, though additional support |made but not supported with source |infrequently and/or inappropriately |

| |to fully support the thesis; |would strengthen the paper; integration |material; when used, sources are awkwardly|used; source documentation, if used at |

| |integrates it smoothly (as quotes, |could be smoother or more varied; and |integrated and/or poorly or incompletely |all, is sketchy and not in keeping with |

| |paraphrases, “borrowed” ideas) and |documentation of sources is thorough and |documented, though no attempt to |APA guidelines. |

| |effectively to support his/her own |correct overall, with minor errors in |deliberately plagiarize can be detected. | |

| |original writing; and thoroughly |using the APA style. | |OR, plagiarism is evident. |

| |and correctly documents the sources| | | |

| |(in text and in the “Reference Page|The paper uses sources in a way that | | |

| |” using the APA style. The paper |evidences understanding of legal and | | |

| |uses sources in a way that |ethical implication | | |

| |evidences thorough understanding of| | | |

| |legal and ethical implications. | | | |

| |Points Given: |Comments: |

| | | |

| |Weight: X10 | |

| | | |

| |Final score: | |

|Grammar|Level 4 |Level 3 |Level 2 |Level 1 |

|/Mechan| | | | |

|ics/Lan| | | | |

|guage/S| | | | |

|tructur| | | | |

|e | | | | |

| |4 3.8 3.6|3.5 3.4 3.2 |3.1 3.0 2.8 |2.7 1.4 0 |

| |The assignment is well written |The assignment is generally well written |The assignment generally conforms to the |The assignment barely meets the minimum |

| |according to the rules of Standard|according to the rules of Standard English|assignment requirements and the writer’s |acceptable standards according to the |

| |English and effectively |and communicates the writer’s purpose. |purpose is evident, although more |rules of Standard English in order to |

| |communicates the writer’s purpose.|There are a few errors (1 per page) but |development according to the rules of |effectively communicate the writer’s |

| |The assignment is error free for |the errors do not significantly detract |Standard English is required in order to |purpose. Frequent errors more than (>3 |

| |spelling and punctuation. |from the reader’s understanding of the |effectively communicate the writer’s |per page) in spelling and punctuation, |

| |Excellence is demonstrated in |writer’s intention. There are a few errors|purpose. There are many errors (> 2 per |frequent errors more than (> 3 per page) |

| |sentence construction and use of |(1 per page) in spelling and punctuation. |page) in spelling and punctuation. There |in grammar as expressed through |

| |transitional sentences. The paper|There are a few errors (1 per page) in |are many (>2 per page) errors in grammar |subject/pronoun/verb agreement are |

| |is fluent and effortlessly |grammar as expressed through |as expressed through subject/pronoun/verb |evident. Sentence construction is |

| |understandable. The pattern of |subject/pronoun/verb agreement. There is |agreement. There are many errors (> 2 per|minimally acceptable due to frequent |

| |organization is appropriate to the|evidence of appropriate sentence |page) in sentence construction. |appearance greater than (> 3 per page) of|

| |assignment. |construction and transitional sentences to|Transitional sentences to connect |sentence fragments. Transitional |

| | |connect paragraphs and create meaning |paragraphs and create meaning within the |sentences to connect paragraphs and |

| | |within the assignment. The paper has a |assignment are generally absent. Overall, |create meaning within the assignment are |

| | |clearly recognizable introduction, body, |many errors (>2 per page) in the writings |absent. Frequent errors greater than (> 3|

| | |and conclusion and uses a pattern of |interfere with the reader’s understanding |per page) interfere with the reader’s |

| | |organization appropriate to the |of the assignment. The paper, though it |understanding. |

| | |assignment. |has an introduction, body, and conclusion | |

| | | |and so is basically “correct” in its | |

| | | |structure, is in need of a clear | |

| | | |organizational pattern. | |

| |Points Given: |Comments: |

| | | |

| |Weight: X5 | |

| |Final score: | |

|Final Comments: |

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| |100-90= A |Point allocation: | |

|Points earned: |89-80= B |40 pts. to content | |

| |79-70= C |20 pts. to mechanics/organization | |

| |69- 00= F |40 pts. to research | |

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Bryant & Stratton College

Rubric for COMM 150 Portfolio Assignment 2

Professional Plan

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