descriptive paragraph instructions

see attached

Descriptive Paragraph Instructions

You are required to submit the FINAL copy of this assignment, but you may first submit an optional DRAFT. This will allow you to receive qualitative feedback that can inform your revision. You should always avoid focusing solely on the grader’s DRAFT feedback; use the feedback as a supplement to the course lessons and your own revision ideas. Always expect to revise beyond what the DRAFT grader specifically notes.

Additional helpful resources:

Descriptive Paragraph Rubric

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Descriptive Paragraph Sample

Choose one photo from the Time Magazine website at this address: http://lightbox.time.com/?iid=lf|tn  You will choose a photograph from the Time site and write a descriptive paragraph. Use all five senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch) to create vivid and tangible images in your own paragraph. Be sure to address each sense in its physical form and avoid metaphors. See below:  · Sight: “The green pine trees dotted the horizon.”  · Hearing: “The last-minute buzzer echoed through the stadium.”  · Smell: “The sweet aroma of jasmine filled my nose as I jogged past the flower garden.”  · Taste: “The cookies taste sweet with a hint of salt.”  · Touch: “The sand felt cold, wet, and gritty beneath my feet.”  A topic sentence for this assignment should introduce the main point or points in the paragraph using key terms. In this case, you should touch upon the five senses because they are the focus of this paragraph. For example, “Attending the basketball game opened up my senses to vibrant lights, loud sounds, salty aromas, mouth-watering treats, and stinging sensations from so much clapping.”     Finally, add directional transitions (above the fountain, next to the doorway, to the left of the trees, etc.) to show the location and relationship of objects in the photo. This will help the reader paint a picture by placing objects in the scene without seeing the image.  You can write this from a third person perspective (as a viewer from the outside) or from a first person perspective (as if you were experiencing this scene firsthand).  Please copy-and-paste the photo image at the top of your paragraph (see Descriptive Paragraph Sample).  When you submit your paragraph for review, include the name of the photograph (if available) and the exact URL where you accessed your chosen photograph. For this shorter assignment, you need not include this information in a formal MLA Works Cited list. You may simply put the photo title and URL at the bottom of the essay.

Below find the requirements and guidelines for this assignment

Remember to apply the concepts you’re learning in the course, including elements of grammar, punctuation, thesis development, and other skills. 

Header: Include a header in the upper left-hand corner of your writing assignment with the following information:

· Your first and last name 

· Course Title (Composition I) 

· Assignment name (Descriptive Paragraph) 

· Current Date

Length: This assignment should be one full paragraph, or at least 10 sentences.

Format:

· Last name and page number in upper-right corner of each page 

·

Double-spacing throughout

· Title, centered after heading

· Standard font (Times New Roman or Calibri)

· 1” margins on all sides

· Save the file as x  or   format

Underline your topic sentence. 

RUBRIC

ENG 101 Rubric: Descriptive Paragraph

Points

2

F

Points

3

D-/D/D+

Points

3.5

C-/C/C+

Points

4

B-/B/B+

Points

5

A-/A/A+

Thesis & Focus
Thesis, central idea, description, digressions

Lacks an identifiable thesis. One or none of the senses are described.
Readers cannot discern the essay’s central idea.

Thesis was attempted but unclear and/or inconsistently addressed. Two or three senses are described. Central idea either lacking or inconsistently addressed.

Thesis is identifiable, but perhaps too narrow, too broad, or otherwise problematic. Three or four senses are described. Digression from central idea may occur.

Thesis is established and is consistently addressed throughout most of the paragraph. Four or five senses are described. Central idea is clear and maintained in most of the essay.

Thesis is clearly established and maintained throughout the paragraph. All five senses are described. Central idea/focus maintained throughout.

Transitions
Directional phrases

Readers cannot envision the photo because of the lack of transitions and/or directional phrases.

Readers have trouble envisioning some parts of the photo due to below-average use of transitions and directional phrases.

Readers may have trouble envisioning some parts of the photo due to average-level use of transitions and directional phrases.

Readers can mostly envision the photo due to use of good transitions and directional phrases.

Readers can fully envision the photo due to excellent use of transitions and directional phrases.

Language & Style
Word choice, repetition, redundancy, awkwardness, article misuse, wrong word form (their/there, etc.), typos/misspellings, vocabulary

Contains 6 or more errors in word choice, wordiness, redundancy, or awkwardness.
Contains repetitive, incorrect, and/or insufficient sentence structure and/or limited vocabulary.

Contains 4 – 5 errors in word choice, wordiness, redundancy, or awkwardness.
Demonstrates competency with language use but sentence constructions and vocabulary may be limited or repetitive.

Contains 2 – 3 errors in word choice, wordiness, redundancy, or awkwardness.
Demonstrates sufficient knowledge and skill with varied sentence construction and vocabulary. Unnecessary repetition is minor.

Contains 1 error in word choice, wordiness, redundancy, or awkwardness.
Demonstrates sufficient knowledge and skill with varied sentence construction and vocabulary. Unnecessary repetition is minor.

Contains no errors in word choice, repetition, redundancy, awkwardness, etc. Not only avoid errors but employs vivid, fresh, and original expression.

Grammar
Fragments, subject-verb agreement, verb tense errors, verb form errors, run-ons, pronoun agreement

Contains more than 5 different grammar errors.
The identical 3 – 4 errors may be repeated throughout.

Contains 4 – 5 different grammar errors. The identical 2 – 3 errors may be repeated throughout.

Contains 2 – 3 different grammar errors. The identical 1 – 2 errors may be repeated throughout.

Contains 1 grammar error, which may be repeated throughout the essay.

Contains either no grammar errors, or 1 – 2 different errors with no repetition.

Punctuation & Capitalization
Comma errors, comma splices, apostrophe errors, capitalization errors, semicolon errors, colon errors

Contains more than 5 different punctuation/capitalization errors.
The identical 3 – 4 errors may be repeated throughout.

Contains 4 – 5 different punctuation/capitalization errors. The identical 2 – 3 errors may be repeated throughout.

Contains 2 – 3 different punctuation/capitalization errors. The identical 1 – 2 errors may be repeated throughout.

Contains 1 punctuation/capitalization error, which may be repeated throughout the essay.

Contains either no punctuation/capitalization error, or 1 – 2 different errors with no repetition.

Format
heading,
title,
margins, spacing,
length*, photo URL
underlined thesis,

Doesn’t meet formatting requirements.
Formatting may be missing four or more elements (either no title, incomplete heading, inappropriate spacing or margins, missing photo URL, used photo from site other than recommended Time site, thesis not underlined).
Length may not meet minimum requirements.

Doesn’t meet most formatting requirements.
Formatting may be missing three elements (either no title, incomplete heading, inappropriate spacing or margins, missing photo URL, used photo from site other than recommended Time site, thesis not underlined).
Length may not meet minimum requirements

Meets some formatting requirements.
Formatting may be missing two elements (either no title, incomplete heading, inappropriate spacing or margins, missing photo URL, used photo from site other than recommended Time site, thesis not underlined).
Length may not meet minimum requirements (an essay that does not meet length minimum will score no higher than 3 in this category)

Meets most formatting requirements.
Formatting may be missing one element (either no title, incomplete heading, inappropriate spacing or margins, missing photo URL, used photo from site other than recommended Time site, thesis not underlined,).
Length meets minimum requirements.

Meets all requirements.
Formatting is appropriate in terms of heading, title, margins, spacing, underlining thesis. Selected a photo from recommended Time site and provided URL.
Length meets minimum requirements.