COMM 1000: Fundamentals of Communication and Media Studies

Short Response Essays

Overview

Over the course of the semester, each student will write two short essays responding to the
assigned readings for the following class meeting. This assignment is designed to meet three
specific goals:
The short essays provide students with an opportunity to receive feedback on their
critical writing skills at multiple points throughout the semester. Ideally, students will
incorporate my feedback on their short essays into their writing for their final research
papers due at the end of the semester.
The short essays will assist me in guiding class discussion. These short response essays
allow me to see which aspects of the reading were of the most interest to students.
Additionally, students frequently present ideas and examples in their response essays
that I may not have thought of, but which are worth discussing as a class. Reading your
short essays ahead of class allows me to ensure that we address those ideas and
examples when we meet.
Reading your essays ahead of class alerts me to concepts in the reading that students
found particularly challenging and gives me the chance to plan to work through those
challenging concepts as a group.

Submission

Students will each sign up for two class sessions per their preferences. I must receive your essay
24 hours before the class for which you have signed up. Essays should be sent to me by email
(adaniller@fordham.edu) as an attachment in Microsoft Word format. The 24-hour
requirement gives me time to read the essays before class meets. Essays not received 24 hours
before the assigned class will be marked late, and late essays will lose a letter grade for each
day they are late.

Requirements

Short essays must be submitted in Microsoft Word format and composed in a standard font
such as Times New Roman, at 12-point font size, with 1-inch page margins. The essays should
be approximately 600-800 words in length (generally the equivalent of about 2-2.5 pages based
on these formatting guidelines).

Essays should do at least one of the following:

Pose a question or opportunity for additional research that is related to but not directly
addressed in the assigned reading
 Discuss how the assigned reading relates to your own experiences, a topic in the news,
something we read previously for this class, or something you read or discussed in
another class
Present an argument for why you agree or disagree with a claim made by the author of
the assigned reading
Highlight and attempt to grapple with an idea, concept, or argument presented in the
assigned reading that you found difficult or confusing

Essays must NOT merely be a summary of the assigned reading. They must include your own
contribution to the discussion, but that contribution can take any of the forms described in
these bullet points.

You may find it helpful to structure your essay using a variation of the traditional five-paragraph
essay structure (introduction with thesis statement, approximately three supporting
paragraphs, concluding paragraph). However, you are not required to write your short essays
using this format.

Grading

Essays will be graded using a standard letter grade scale. Any late essays will lose one letter
grade for each day they are late. The requirements for the essays are not designed to be
excessively difficult, and I expect most students to receive A or B grades on your essays so long
as you complete the assigned readings and make a serious effort to contribute to our upcoming
class with your responses.

An A essay achieves all of the following:

Does an excellent job of presenting your own argument; posing your own question
about the reading; relating the reading to another experience, topic, or assignment; or
grappling with a difficult section of the reading
Uses appropriate grammar and structure, has a minimum of typos, and follows the
length and formatting guidelines presented here

A B essay generally meets the requirements for an A essay but has one of the following minor
issues:
Relies too heavily on a summary of the reading and not enough on your own ideas
Presents your own ideas, but does not do a good job of providing specific examples to
support those ideas and instead relies on assertions
Has grammatical or structural issues that at times interfere with your intended meaning

A C essay suffers from one or more of the following issues:

Primarily consists of a summary of the reading rather than your own ideas
Has significant grammatical or structural issues that frequently interfere with your
intended meaning
 Contains numerous typos that suggest a failure to spend time reviewing and editing
your work before submission

A D essay suffers from one or more of the following issues:

Is completely off-topic or suggests a failure to complete the assigned readings
Is notably shorter than 600-800 words in length
Contains numerous and major grammatical, structural, and typographical errors

An F essay fails to meet any of the basic requirements for the assignment and/or is submitted
more than three days late.