Analyze the best way to buy a car, mow a lawn, or prepare a meal.
Medical Coding
| Lesson | 007127 |
| Exam No. | 007127 |
| Exam Name | WRITING SKILLS: A PERSONAL NARRATIVE |
For exam 007127, Writing Skills: A Personal Narrative, you are asked to write a personal essay, based solely on your first-hand personal experience(s), told from the first-person point of view (using the pronoun “I”), meeting the length requirement of between 750 and 2500 words. This essay should not require or contain any type of research; it should be told from thoughts and memories.
In short, this essay should be about you and your experience(s).
This assignment is the SAME as exam 007868, The Writing Skills Writing Assignment, so there are multiple resources available to you, many of which are i
Writing Skills: A Research Project
5
■
Upon posting of the grade, the student gains access
to an instructor feedback file, which indicates where
the exam content was found, provides an explanation
of plagiarism, and extends a warning regarding possible
disciplinary action.
■
The student is required to complete the retake assignment,
constructing an entirely new essay.
Please refer to the section on “Academic Integrity”
on page 8 of your
Penn Foster High School Student
Catalog
for more information.
ESSENTIALS:
FORMATTING YOUR ESSAY
■
Please be sure to include a header at the top of each
page that includes your last name and a page number at
the right margin.
■
The very first page of your essay shouldn’t contain a
header, but it should include your name, your student
ID number, and the exam number.
■
Your paper should be typed and double-spaced using
Microsoft Word or another word processing program
such as WordPad, X Word, AbiWord, and so on. It must
be submitted in .doc, .docx, or .rtf format for grading
purposes.
■
Use double-spacing, standard one-inch margins, and a
font no larger than the equivalent of Times New Roman 12.
■
Your final draft should contain between 500
and 1,500 words.
This video clip provides information on specific types of plagiarism
10 Types of Plagiarism:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF5eFeJMplA
If the direct link fails to work, go to youtube.com and type “10 Types
of Plagiarism” into the search bar. Next, click on the video clip titled
“10 Types of Plagiarism.”
Writing Skills: A Research Project
6
■
Please save your document using your student number,
the appropriate exam number, and your last name, all
connected by underscore symbols. For example, if John
Smith’s student number was 23456789 and he had
completed exam 007130, the file would be saved as
23456789_007130_Smith.
HELPFUL HINTS
To create a header using MS Word, click on the
Insert
tab at the top of the page and then on
the Header icon in your toolbar. Choose the blank header. While you’re still within the header,
click on
Insert
again (if necessary) and then on
Page Number
. First choose the option to
place the page number at the top of the page and then the option that will right-justify your
page number. Once your page number is in place, type your last name immediately before it
with a space in between. Once you click out of the header, your last name should be on each
page along with the appropriate page number.
To remove the header from the first page, once again click on the
Insert
tab at the top of the
page and then on the
Header
icon in your toolbar. Click on
Edit Header
in the drop-down
menu and finally on
Different First Page.
Writing Skills: A Research Project
7
SOME QUESTIONS TO
CONSIDER BEFORE SUBMITTING
Ask yourself all of the following questions before you even
consider submitting your essay for grading. If your answer
to even one of these questions is
no,
then you still have
some work to do.
■
Does my introduction attempt to “hook” the reader?
■
Does my essay have a clear and specific thesis statement?
■
Does my essay accurately develop the ideas included in
the chosen topic option?
■
Does my essay include both personal experience
and research?
■
Have I used the first-person point of view (the pronoun “I”)
throughout the essay?
■
Have I
clearly indicated where paragraphs begin and end?
■
Does each of my paragraphs support my thesis statement?
■
Does my conclusion summarize and give closure to
my essay?
■
Have I effectively proofread my essay?
■
Have I met the length requirement for this assignment?
■
Have I followed MLA style for including both parenthetical
and end citations?
■
Have I included a Works Cited page?
■
Is my essay formatted according to the instructions?
■
Have I reviewed the grading rubric on pages 9 and 10?
■
Have I reviewed the sample paper at the end of this
booklet?
If you have answered
yes
to every question, you’re ready
to submit!
Writing Skills: A Research Project
8
Submitting Your Exam
1. Log on to the Student Portal.
2. Click on
Take Exam
next to the assignment you’ve completed.
3. Follow the instructions provided to submit your exam.
SUMMARY
You’ve received your second writing assignment for your
Written Communication
course in its entirety, as well as the
information needed to complete that assignment!
You’ve learned what a personal research project is, and
you’ve been given the two topic options that you’re able to
expand upon for this assignment. You’ve reviewed what the
first-person point of view is and why it’s necessary, as well as
the basic guidelines for avoiding plagiarism.
You’re encouraged to revisit the graded writing assignment
for
Writing Skills: A Personal Narrative
in order to review the
essential parts of an essay (the introduction, the body, the
conclusion, and voice), as well as steps of the writing process
and resources to improve your skills in both grammar and
mechanics.
Writing Skills: A Research Project
9
GRADING RUBRIC:
EXAM 007130
Exemplary
Proficient
Fair
Poor
Not Shown
Grammar and Mechanics (45 points)
Introduction (5 points):
The essay establishes a specific
topic and approach and sets an appropriate tone/mood
for the rest of the essay. It engages the reader and
creates interest.
5
4
3–2
1
0
Coherence and Unity (10 points):
Ideas flow
clearly
and logically as the essay is developed. Each paragraph
contains one main idea (with enough detail to develop
that idea clearly and logically) and a connection to the
ideas that precede and follow it. Clear transitions are
present between sentences as well as between para-
graphs. The author remains focused on the topic.
10–9
8–7
6–5
4–1
0
Sentence Structure (10 points):
Sentences are varied
in both structure and length. Sentences are complete,
expressive, clear, and to the point. The essay includes
no run-on sentences or fragments.
10–9
8–7
6–5
4–1
0
Spelling, Word Choice, Grammar and Punctuation
(15 points):
Essay is free of spelling errors. Appropriate
language is chosen for each situation, fitting the
mood/tone set in the introduction. Word choice comple-
ments, does not inhibit, clarity. Essay utilizes correct and
consistent verb tenses, subject-verb agreement, clear
pronoun-antecedent agreement, and so on. Grammar
errors do not interfere with comprehension. Essay is free
of errors such as comma splices, misplaced commas, and
inappropriate end punctuation. All punctuation is used
correctly so as not to inhibit clarity. Errors should not
interrupt or distract the reader.
15–14
13–11
10–7
6–1
0
Conclusion (5 points):
The conclusion provides adequate
closure, reinforces the meaning/significance established in
the introduction, and effectively wraps up the essay.
5
4
3–2
1
0
Research and Citations (40 points)
Support for Ideas (15 points):
Adequate detail and
accurate support are provided for each idea introduced.
Specific, accurate, and relevant examples are used to
show meaning. The essay does not si
mply make blanket
claims without support. Quality
sources (credible, accurate,
reasonable, supported) are used effectively to enhance
the author’s ideas.
15–14
13–11
10–7
6–1
0
In-text Citations (10 points):
Included for all borrowed
material and properly formatted. Each one has a corre-
sponding Works Cited entry. Web addresses and/or links
are not acceptable.
10–9
8–7
6–5
4–1
0
Works Cited (15 points):
Page is included at end of
document. Entries are alphabetized, and each entry has
at least one corresponding in-text citation. All entries are
correctly formatted according to MLA guidelines.
15–14
13–11
10–7
6–1
0
Continued
Writing Skills: A Research Project
10
SAMPLE PAPER
A sample paper is provided on the following page. Review the
paper before submitting your paper for grading. The sample
paper has examples of in-text citations and contains a Works
Cited page. These items are essential for a research paper.
Without these items, you’ll start off with a grade that is below
passing.
GRADING RUBRIC:
EXAM 007130
Exemplary
Proficient
Fair
Poor
Not Shown
Content Requirements (10 points)
Essay meets basic content specifications.
Writing an Editorial
—Issue chosen is current, personal
connection is explained, editorial approach is taken,
informed explanation of issue is offered, informed expla-
nation of proposed solutions is offered, support offered as
to how/why solutions can work.
Planning a Career
—Career choice is clear, personal rea-
sons for choice are explained, details about career
(training/education/certification, events of a day or week,
current salary/financial outlook, impact of geography) are
offered, explanation given regarding how/why career
choice is a good fit.
10–9
8–7
6–5
4–1
0
MLA Formatting (5 points)
Heading (1 point):
Included and correctly formatted.
Must appear left-justified on first page ONLY and include
full name, student number, and exam number.
1
*
.5
*
0
Running Header (1 point):
Included and correctly for-
matted. Begins on page two and includes student’s last
name and page number ONLY.
1
*
.5
*
0
Titles (2 points):
Both title of essay and title of works
cited page are included and properly formatted. Must be
centered and in same font as rest of essay. Neither is
bolded, italicized, quoted, or underlined.
2
*
1
*
0
Double Spacing and Indenting (1 point):
Entire paper
is double spaced. Paragraphs are indented. Block para-
graphing is not allowed.
1
*
.5
*
0
Totals
Writing Skills: A Research Project
11
Student Name: John Doe
Student Number: 12345678
Exam Number: XXXXXX
Scranton’s Tax System
I have always had to drive a good distance to work. The
average commute last year was about 26 minutes (Cortes and
Jarosz), which is about the same as what I have been driving
over my 10 years of working full time. Each experience of
commuting was very different, including the types of roads
and travel time. However, each of the places I worked felt like
a community of workers, where we worked towards common
goals to make the community a better place. That almost
changed, though, with the commuter tax that was proposed
in July of 2014 in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Although I think the law itself was misguided and unfair,
the idea behind the tax is a good one. Pennsylvania Act 205,
the act Mayor Courtright used to justify the new tax, would
allow the city to use new measures to strengthen local pen-
sions for retired city workers. Mayor Courtright stated, “the
money will go directly to the pensions. We can’t use it for
anything other than the pensions” (Deabill). The other local
taxes, most notably property taxes, go towards public serv-
ices. From the city’s point of view, adding a greater burden to
Scranton residents would be unfair, since commuters benefit
from those services, such as police protection and fire pre-
vention services. Residents of Scranton do already pay the
third highest wage tax in the state as well, so why increase
that burden? After all, a community sense of sharing bur-
dens is an ideal that has historically helped America to grow
and prosper (Lockwood).
A group of commuters challenged the law in state court.
A near-by mayor, Alexander Chelick, explained the frustra-
tions of commuters, like me, stating “employees are going to
have to pay for parking, they’re going to have to pay a com-
muter tax” (Deabill). The greater point was also that taxes
were being levied on people who had no power to affect the
Create a header and place
it in the upper-left hand
corner of your paper.
Center the title of your
paper. Use double spacing
throughout your paper.
Specific information taken
from an outside source.
The information is followed
by an in-text citation, which
is used to provide the source
The first paragraph is the
introduction. It establishes
the topic which is commut-
ing to another community
to work and the proposal
in that community for com-
muters to pay a tax. The
writer draws the reader’s
attention by getting the
reader to want to learn more
about the commuter tax.
This in-text citation relates
to the information that
comes after the previous
in-text citation.
Notice how the in-text citation
comes after the quotation
marks, but before the end
punctuation.
1
1
2
2
3
3
4
4
5
5
6
6
Writing Skills: A Research Project
12
local government through their votes, since people who do
not live in Scranton are not part of its elections. The court’s
decision, written by Judge Braxton, based in Philadelphia,
came about 12 hours before the new tax was set to be imple-
mented (Lockwood). The judge ruled the state law that gave
Scranton the power to create the tax was used incorrectly
because an unfair burden was placed on commuters by the
city, and it is against the state Constitution to set tax a cer-
tain segment of the population (Lange).
From the beginning, various commuters argued that the
city was downplaying the effect commuters have on its econ-
omy, even though we do only come to the city for work. As
someone who works in the city, I also use my money in
Scranton. There is a grocery store nearby for quick shopping
after work, and there are fast-food restaurants for quick con-
sumption and gas stations for when a fill-up will get me
home again. Commuter usage of these services helps the
local economy, which continues to benefit the city
(Horstmann).
Earlier this year, the city exercised its rights under
Pennsylvania Act 47, which allows cities categorized as eco-
nomically distressed to triple what is called the local services
tax, or LST (Lockwood). This new strategy added additional
taxes to all people who work in the city (residents and com-
muters alike), instead of just those who travel into the city to
work. A judge reviewed the plan and agreed with the city that
the plan was permissible and the state act was constitutional
(Lockwood). The plan has also not been as widely condemned
as the original commuter tax because it does seem much
fairer. Some business owners and groups are critical of the
size of the tax increase, however, and are concerned about
how it will affect people’s desire to work in and ability to
spend money in the city.
In all, I do think that this new plan is part of a better,
more balanced approach by the city. The city can create new
revenues with tax increases and through other, more cre
Examination
102
Examination Questions
1. Write a composition using
one
of the topics listed below. Your
composition needs to be
three to five paragraphs long.
It must
contain an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.
a. Argue for or against the limitation of speed limits.
b. Explain why a certain sport is your favorite.
c. Compare and contrast driving in the winter and driving in
the summer.
d. Analyze the best way to buy a car, mow a lawn, or prepare
a meal.
e. Describe a memorable day in your life.
2. Write a letter of complaint. Follow the rules for a business letter,
and use the
full-block style.
The complaint may be about anything
you wish (such as malfunctioning equipment, poor building main-
tenance, or disruptive noises from a nearby business). You can
base your letter on a true experience, or you can make up all the
details you need.
Please note that a form letter or a template
cannot
be used
in constructing your response to question 2. When a form
letter or template is used, you are giving little to no thought
to wording or formatting, and you are not actually creating
your own complaint; you are simply filling in the blanks of
someone else’s wo