Feature Article

The Feature Article Assessment is broken into three components. This structure highlights the importance of planning and revision in all kinds of writing. The first requirement is the submission of an outline and the second is a rough draft, both submitted to the Unit Blackboard. The final copy will be posted to the blog. The Feature Article should take the form of a researched, persuasive, argumentative essay centred on one of the major topics defined by the Unit blog guidelines.

Feature Article Outline

The Feature Article Outline is required in order to ensure that students have organized their topic into an interesting, research-oriented question with suitable thesis and argument. The outline will reflect a work-in-progress that includes a research question, a working thesis/position/argument, and at least two key points of supporting evidence.

Feature Article Rough Draft

The Feature Article Rough Draft demonstrates the student’s on-going progress on this longer writing task. The Rough Draft should be a complete work, with an introduction, clearly articulated thesis or position, with a rational argument supporting that position, and a conclusion. The argument should be well-formed with authoritative evidence cited throughout. At this stage, structure and content are more important that the prose—that is, “expression” and “voice” are somewhat less important in a first draft than in a final draft. Thus, ensure that each component of the article is present and functional prior to polishing language.  

Feature Article Final Copy

The Feature Article Final Copy is the best, most polished version of the work the student has produced. Feedback delivered on the rough draft should be incorporated into this final copy. This version is to be posted to the unit blog and formatted to take advantage of the affordances of the digital environment. Multimedia elements should be placed throughout the text as appropriate (including references to their source). All other cited resources should be appropriately cited using the footnote plugin provided by the blog software. The student should also look for relevant opportunities to link to the Hot Takes or Short Articles written by their peers in the course, to ensure that the unit blog is internally connected and cross promoting itself.