Reaction Paper Instructions and Rubric
Instructions: Reaction papers are a critical component of the conversation that will take place in this course. There will be a total of five different reaction papers throughout the course. For each of the papers, students should clearly identify their topics and present their personal viewpoints or perspectives; however, students must also present a factual basis for those viewpoints (as opposed to an opinion paper). All references supporting the factual basis must be properly cited to the original sources in accordance with APA guidelines. All papers must be the work of the individual student - these are not group assignments. Papers will be submitted to the Dropbox and posted to their respective Discussion Boards no later than Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT of the modules in which they are assigned. (These Dropbox baskets are linked to Turnitin.)
Additionally, there will be a discussion on the reaction papers in the subsequent module. Students will post responses to at least one classmate's paper by the Thursday of the following module following the same guidelines and expectations used for the active learning discussion questions. Below is the schedule for the reaction papers.
The completed reaction paper should be typed in a double-spaced format with the correct APA citations, formatting, and references. The scholarly paper assignment is to be no longer than two, typed, doublespaced pages in summary format and it is expected that each student will devote a great deal of initiative toward producing a quality, scholarly product worthy of the high academic standards established at Saint Leo University.
The paper will be evaluated based on the following criteria (see the rubric on the next page for the scoring breakdown): a. Thoroughness: How extensively does the paper develop the issue? Does the student show depth and understanding of the subject, or is the analysis superficial? Does the paper clearly identify its focus and logically analyze and discuss the topic? b. Scholarly quality: Does the assignment meet acceptable college level standards with respect to form and substance? Are the ideas presented in a clear, concise manner? Are there numerous typographical, spelling, or grammatical errors? (Each such error deducts points off the grade). Do not quote or cut and paste information to develop or write your paper. Use your own words and summarize. Papers with over 20% of content from other sources will not be accepted.