WR Assessment 2

AY 2022-23 Term 2

COR1100 Writing & Reasoning

AY 2022-23 Term 2
Assessment 2 – Comparative Analysis

ASSESSMENT OVERVIEW
Assessment Word limit Weight Deadline

A2: Comparative Analysis 800 words 25% Wednesday 1 March 2023, 1pm

A2: Reflection 200 words ungraded Wednesday 1 March 2023, 1pm

LATE SUBMISSION POLICY

There will be a penalty for late submission. Assessments submitted past the deadline will be downgraded by
TWO SUB-GRADES per hour-block. There will be an initial grace period of 5 minutes past the deadline.

For illustration:
● Student Tardy A. submits at 1.06pm. She originally scores a B+ but after penalty, her grade will be B-.
● Student Laggard B. submits at 2.00pm. He originally scores a B+ but after penalty, his grade will be C.
● Student Dilatory C. submits at 3.00pm. He originally scores a B+ but after penalty, his grade will be D+.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
All SMU students are required to abide by the SMU Code of Academic Integrity.

All acts of academic dishonesty (including, but not limited to, plagiarism, cheating, fabrication, facilitation of
acts of academic dishonesty by others, unauthorized possession of exam questions, or tampering with the
academic work of other students) are serious offences. All work (whether oral or written) submitted for
purposes of assessment must be the student’s own work.

Penalties for violation of the policy range from zero marks for the component assessment to a letter of
disciplinary action to expulsion, depending on the nature of the offense. When in doubt, students should
consult the instructors of the course.

By submitting my WR assessments, I declare that these assessments are my original work and all
information obtained from other sources has been cited accordingly. I also unconditionally grant in
perpetuity to SMU the right to use, reproduce and distribute copies of my assignments.

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GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSMENT SUBMISSION

Format
The required format for your assessment is as follows:
▪ Microsoft Word Document ONLY
▪ Line spacing: double or 1.5
▪ Font type: Times New Roman or Arial (12 pt)
▪ Page number: Footer 
▪ Use APA 7th Edition citation style for in-text citation and reference section
▪ Include the total number of words at the end of your assessments, before the reference list

Reflection
On two occasions this term you will be asked to write short reflections to accompany the written piece you
will submit for the assessment. In both cases, the reflection is to help your instructor understand the
thought process that went into your writing, so we can provide better feedback on both your work and the
process behind it. The reflections are not a graded component in your assessment.

If you write honest and careful reflections you will not only find a value in it for yourself, but also give your
instructor an extra insight into your writing.

Submission
You will submit your assessments through the assessment folders in eLearn. The file should be named as
follows:

COR1100 Section Your_official_name Assessment number.doc

E.g. COR1100 G9 Han_Ser_Ling_Gretel Assessment 2.doc
You are allowed one chance to submit your work to the folder. It is your responsibility to submit the correct
assessment on eLearn. If there are any issues, your instructor will contact you within 12 hours from the due
date and time.
Please do not wait until the last possible minute to submit your assessment on eLearn. The system may
crash if too many students try to make a last-minute submission. Therefore, plan ahead and submit online
well before the end of the submission period.
If you experience any difficulty submitting your assessment on eLearn before the deadline, please email
your instructor and attach a screenshot of your failed attempt to submit your assessment and your
assessment in the email as proof of your completion of the assessment. You will be asked to resubmit on
eLearn later. Only assessments submitted through eLearn will be accepted as the official submission. Please
do not email your assessment to your instructor.

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Assessment 2: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS & REFLECTION (25%)

Overview

You are an intern attached to the organiser of an international writing competition. One of your tasks is to
select an article that can serve as a good example of persuasive writing for participants. Two have been
shortlisted:

1. Giridharadas, A. (2022, Nov 20) It Was A Bad Week For Billionaires With Delusions Of Saving The
World. New York TImes
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/wealth/wealth-investing/it-was-bad-week-billionaires-delusions
-saving-world

2. Liez, S. (2022, Oct 6) There Are No Ethical Billionaires. The Pitt News.
https://pittnews.com/article/175763/opinions/opinion-there-are-no-ethical-billionaires/

Perform a close reading of both articles and conduct a comparative analysis to see which article has set out
and justified its claims more effectively, with stronger arguments and better evidence.

Once you have finished your analysis, write a memo to the panel of judges on which article is a better
example of persuasive writing, based on how well it has set out and justified its claims with strong
arguments and evidence.

Deliverables
1. 800-word memo
2. 200-word reflection to explain how you adapted your writing to engage your reader. You should also
briefly discuss how you chose the information that you included.

Suggested reflection questions:

▪ Why were the points that you chose the most important ones to emphasise for your audience?
▪ What was important about the audience, and how did it affect how you chose to communicate with
them?
▪ Why did you choose to present the points in the order that you did?

Note: these questions are to guide you in your reflection. You are not required to answer them all, but
you can use them to help you think about your writing process.

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Skills tested
▪ Thesis Statement that provides clear direction for the writing
▪ Persuasive writing – well-developed arguments and effective use of evidence for support
▪ Awareness of context, audience and purpose
▪ Clear, coherent and concise writing
▪ Effective use of language and grammatical accuracy
▪ Use of sources and citations

Word limit
The word limit for the comparative analysis is 800 words maximum, from the introduction to the
conclusion, including in-text citation but excluding the reference page. Students who exceed the word
limit will be penalised. The word limit for the reflection is 200 words maximum.

Deadline
The soft copy of the assessment should be submitted via eLearn by Wednesday 1 March 2023, 1pm. Both
deliverables (i.e. Comparative Analysis and Reflection) should be saved as one document for submission. For
details on the late submission policy, please refer to page 1 of this document.

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Rubrics for COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS (25%)

Criteria Beginning Developing Progressing Competent Good Excellent

D to D+ C- to C+ B- B to B+ A- to A A+
Task Fulfilment ● Demonstrates a poor ● Demonstrates a basic ● Demonstrates a ● Demonstrates a keen ● Demonstrates an ● Demonstrates an
awareness of the awareness of the moderate awareness awareness of the astute awareness of exceptionally astute
context, audience and context, audience and of the context, context, audience and the context, audience awareness of the
How well the writer has purpose of the purpose of the audience and purpose purpose of the and purpose of the context, audience and
addressed the task, assigned task. assigned task. of the assigned task. assigned task. assigned task. purpose of the
demonstrated by: assigned task.
● the awareness of
context, audience and ● Content indicates very ● Content indicates an ● Content indicates a fair ● Content indicates a ● Content indicates an ● Content indicates a
purpose of the task little understanding of elementary understanding of the good understanding of in-depth perceptive and
● the appropriate the task and fails to understanding of the task. Moderately the task. Satisfactorily understanding of the nuanced
structure used, address the task’s task. Rudimentarily addresses the task’s addresses the task’s task. Proficiently understanding of the
meeting writing requirements. addresses the task’s requirements. requirements. addresses the task’s task. Adeptly
conventions e.g. use requirements. requirements. addresses the task’s
of visuals, formatting requirements.
etc.
● how well the task’s ● Expected conventions ● Expected conventions ● Expected conventions ● Expected conventions ● Expected conventions ● Expectations met with
requirements are not met. somewhat met but met but with some met with minimal met consistently. exceptional
addressed overall with significant inconsistencies. inconsistencies. consistency and
inconsistencies. attention to details.

Content ● Thesis statement is ● Thesis statement is ● Thesis statement may ● Thesis statement is ● Thesis statement is ● Thesis statement is
development & missing or weak, and vague and provides be too broad but clear and provides clear and concise, and very clear, concise and
fails to provide little direction for the provides some adequate direction for provides clear purposeful, and
persuasion direction for the paper. The writer’s direction for the the paper. The writer’s direction for the provides a very clear
paper. The writer’s stance may be alluded paper. The writer’s stance and reasons are paper. The writer’s direction for the paper.
The writer’s ability to stance is unclear or to but not clearly stance is fairly clearly clearly established. stance and reasons are The writer’s stance and
select and develop not established. established. established. very clearly reasons are very clearly
content to persuade, established. established in an
demonstrated by how articulate and precise
well the following manner.
aspects are executed:
● A thesis statement ● Arguments/ideas are ● Arguments/ideas are ● Arguments/ideas are ● Arguments/ideas are ● Arguments/ideas are ● Arguments/ideas are
that establishes the unsound or irrelevant; weak, not convincing fairly convincing, persuasive, compelling, very
writer’s stance and they are not under-developed and enough; they are adequately developed well-developed and well-developed and
provides direction for developed and lack require additional developed to some and provide sufficient provide good depth provide remarkable
the paper. depth and detail. depth and detail. extent but require depth and detail. and detail. depth and detail.
● Arguments/ideas that additional depth and
are well-developed detail.
and supported.

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● Adequacy, relevance, ● Little or no evidence ● Evidence and ● Evidence and ● Evidence and ● Evidence and ● Evidence and
reliability, and and supporting details supporting details are supporting details are supporting details are supporting details are supporting details are
accuracy of the to reinforce the inadequate and not not always adequate mostly adequate, adequate, relevant, adequate, highly
sources used. writer’s claims. Most used effectively to and used effectively to relevant, reliable and reliable and accurate, relevant, reliable and
● How well the sources evidence presented is reinforce the writer’s reinforce the writer’s accurate, and used and used effectively to accurate, and used
are integrated within irrelevant, unreliable, claims. A significant claims. Some of the effectively to reinforce reinforce the writer’s very effectively to
the arguments, and/or with portion of the evidence presented the writer’s claims. claims. advance and enhance
including the use of inaccuracies. evidence presented may be irrelevant, the writer’s claims.
quotations. may be irrelevant, unreliable, and/or with
● A clear conclusion unreliable, and/or with inaccuracies.
that summarises the inaccuracies.
key arguments/ideas
and reinforces the ● Little or no attempts ● Evidence is not ● Evidence is relatively ● Evidence is ● Evidence is very ● Evidence is
writer’s stance. made to integrate the well-integrated within well-integrated within well-integrated within well-integrated within exceptionally
evidence within the the writer’s arguments the writer’s the writer’s the writer’s well-integrated within
writer’s arguments. for the most part. arguments, with a few arguments. arguments. the writer’s arguments,
exceptions. including seamless
weaving of highly
relevant and concise
quotations.

● No clear conclusion, ● Conclusion is mostly a ● Conclusion provides a ● Conclusion provides an ● Conclusion provides an ● Conclusion provides a
or a conclusion that rehash of the thesis fairly adequate adequate summary of adequate and succinct robust and succinct
contradicts the writer’s statement with little summary of the key the key summary of the key summary of the key
stance. or no summary of the arguments/ideas, and arguments/ideas, and arguments/ideas, and arguments/ideas, and
key arguments/ideas. reiterates the writer’s supports the writer’s strengthens the advances the writer’s
stance. stance. writer’s stance. stance.

Organisation of ● No discernible ● Vague organisational ● Reasonably clear ● Clear organisational ● Clear organisational ● Clear organisational
content organisational structure that often organisational structure that structure that structure that greatly
structure, which impedes the flow and structure that mildly generally enhances enhances the flow and enhances the flow and
greatly impedes the cohesiveness of ideas. impedes the flow and the flow and cohesiveness of ideas. cohesiveness of ideas.
The writer’s ability to flow and cohesiveness cohesiveness of ideas. cohesiveness of ideas.
organise ideas in a clear, of ideas.
coherent and concise
manner, demonstrated ● No proper sequencing ● Poor sequencing of ● Generally proper ● Proper sequencing of ● Logical sequencing of ● Seamless flow and
by: of ideas ideas within/between sequencing of ideas ideas within/between ideas within/between logical sequencing of
● Clear organisational within/between paragraphs, making within/between paragraphs, making paragraphs, making ideas within/between
structure paragraphs, making the writer’s points paragraphs, making the writer’s points the writer’s points paragraphs, making the
● Coherent and logical the writer’s points difficult to follow. the writer’s points easy to follow. very easy to follow. writer’s points
sequencing of ideas very difficult to Weak connection fairly easy to follow. Connection between Connection between effortless to follow.
● Adherence to the follow. Little or no between the points There is some the points and the the points and the Connection between
word limit connection between and the main message; connection between main message is main message is the points and the
the points and the transitions may be the points and the mostly clear; strong and clear; main message is very
main message; ineffective or not main message; transitions are mostly transitions are clear strong and clear;
transitions are missing helpful. Writing feels transitions are rather effective. Writing is and effective. Writing transitions are very
or ineffective. Writing effective. Writing is clear and very

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is fragmented and disjointed and not consistently generally coherent is very coherent and effective. Writing is
incoherent. somewhat incoherent. coherent. and readable. readable. highly coherent and
readable.

● Word count exceeds ● Word count is within ● Word count is within ● Word count is within ● Word count is within ● Word count is within
10% of the maximum 10% of the maximum 5% of the maximum 5% of the maximum the maximum range. the maximum range.
range. range. range. range.

Language use ● Unclear, ambiguous ● Rather unclear and ● Mostly clear and ● Clear and precise ● Clear, precise and ● Clear, precise and very
writing that conveys ambiguous writing precise writing that writing that generally effective writing that effective writing that
The fluency and meaning inaccurately that conveys meaning conveys meaning fairly conveys meaning skilfully conveys skilfully conveys
accuracy of language and significantly rather inaccurately accurately. Errors may accurately. Errors do meaning with meaning with accuracy
used to communicate hinders the reader and hinders the reader cause slight confusion, not hinder the reader accuracy. and flair.
ideas, demonstrated by: from following most from following many but the reader is able from following ideas
● Clarity of writing that ideas. ideas. to follow most ideas.
conveys meaning
accurately. ● Ineffective use of ● Rather ineffective use ● Moderately effective ● Generally effective ● Very effective use of ● Exceptionally effective
● Effective use of sentence types/length of sentence use of sentence use of sentence sentence types/length use of sentence
sentences and choice and word choice that types/length and word types/length and word types/length and word and word choice to types/length and word
of words to severely impede choice that often choice, though choice to convey convey intended choice to convey
communicate meaning. impede meaning. meaning is sometimes intended meaning. meaning with purpose intended meaning with
intended meaning. impeded because of and clarity. purpose, clarity and
● Correct use of errors in usage. flair.
grammar, spelling,
punctuation and ● Paper is full of ● Paper contains ● Paper contains some ● Paper contains ● Paper contains little to ● No grammatical lapses,
capitalisation. grammatical lapses, numerous grammatical lapses, occasional no grammatical lapses, misspelled words, and
misspelled words and grammatical lapses, misspelled words and grammatical lapses, misspelled words and punctuation mistakes.
punctuation mistakes. misspelled words and punctuation mistakes misspelled words and punctuation mistakes.
Errors significantly punctuation mistakes that sometimes punctuation mistakes
interfere with that interfere with interfere with but does not interfere
understanding. understanding. understanding. with understanding.

Sources & citations

● Evidence is obtained ● Evidence is obtained ● Evidence is obtained ● Evidence is obtained ● Evidence is obtained ● Evidence is obtained
The use and citation of from a very limited from a limited variety from a reasonable from a good variety of from an extensive from an extensive and
sources to support the variety of sources or of sources. variety of sources. sources. variety of sources. well-balanced variety
key claims in the paper, only from sources of sources.
demonstrated by: provided by the
● Variety of sources instructor..
used.
● Sources are not ● Sources are not ● Sources are correctly ● Sources are correctly ● Sources are correctly ● Sources are correctly
● The correct use of an correctly cited correctly cited cited according to APA cited according to APA cited according to APA cited according to APA
appropriate according to APA according to APA convention for the convention for the convention. convention.
referencing style for convention. convention. most part. most part.
in-text citations and
the references page.

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Weightage for Comparative Analysis:

Task fulfilment 10%

Content development and persuasion 50%
Organisation of content 15%
Language use 15%
Sources and citations 10%

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