The Journal Exercises and Research Examples exercises call for you to post 250-300 or 300-500 word essays to the Course Blog. These are public posts, and they may generate public comments, including (perhaps) by the authors of the articles you are analyzing. As per the assignment, you are to respond thoughtfully to thoughtful comments received within the first two weeks of your posting. (Spam comments, rude comments, pointless comments, and the like may be deleted.)
Blog posts and follow-ups to comments are graded on the following scale: (based on a rubric developed by Mark Sample)
| Level | Characteristics |
| Excellent | The blog entry is focused and both describes and analyzes your journal article coherently, using evidence. Ideally, it connects that article to a wider literature (perhaps by hyperlink). If possible, the entry demonstrates awareness of its own limitations or implications, and it considers multiple perspectives when appropriate. The entry reflects in-depth engagement with the topic. |
| Satisfactory | The blog entry is reasonably focused, and explanations or analysis are mostly based on examples or other evidence. Fewer connections are made between ideas, and though new insights are offered, they are not fully developed. The entry reflects moderate engagement with the topic. |
| Underdeveloped | The blog entry is mostly description or summary, without much analysis or consideration of alternative perspectives, and few connections are made between ideas. The entry reflects passing engagement with the topic. |
| Limited | The blog entry is unfocused, shallow, or simply rehashes the article’s abstract. It displays no evidence of student engagement with the topic. |
| Unacceptable | The blog entry is missing or consists of one or two disconnected sentences. |