OVERVIEW: (From the Draft Assignment Document)

It is imperative for citizens to be informed and for journalists to know the political landscape for upcoming stories.
With this in mind, each student is required to write two Knowledge Papers each semester.

See the attached instructions for the draft, due Tuesday, September 29.

The instructions below discuss the learning objectives, potential topics, attached examples, assignment expectations, submission information (for Bb & this blog), and late penalties.

You can see instructions for each stage of the Knowledge Paper assignment in Google Drive. Essentially. this paper will be verified by a classmate (see the fact-checking assignment) and eventually revised and presented to the class (see the final knowledge paper assignment).

INSTRUCTIONS: (From the Draft Instructions Document)

This assignment directly furthers the class objective to cogently discuss current events.

Learning Objectives:

• Become an expert on each topic with each paper.
• Research and discover more than you need.
• Narrow down and focus what you find into more than four pages with four sub-topics of at least a page each.
• Learn a little about other students’ topics too.
• Be able to impress future employers with your knowledge of current events.

Example Topics & Papers: Students pick the topic for each paper

• Appropriate topics would be:
  • Supreme Court of the United States
  • Hays City Commission
  • Unemployment
  • Disease transmission
  • Police violence in America
• Each topic should be broken out into four subtopics:
  • SCOTUS: Historically important cases; Current justices (name, age, appointment, appointed by, judicial philosophy); Recent cases; Upcoming issues
  • City Commission: Commissions & councils in KS; Commissioners; Mayors; Controversial topics/recent decisions
  • Unemployment: How the four types of unemployment can differentially impact the larger economy
  • Disease: History of social distancing; use of masks; the spread if COVID 19; Expected recommendations for the future
• Women’s Pay is a good example from last semester. It needed a fourth clear sub-topic, but it used good sources and covered the topic very well. 
• If you use your FHSU email account, you can view other papers from previous students in our shared folder for this assignment.
• You are welcome to use topics similar to previous students, but you must cite their papers and cover new subtopics. The unemployment example above is intended to directly build upon Madison’s paper on Unemployment from Fall 2018.

The current assignment: STAGE ONE — THE DRAFT

Write and finalize a factual report that can provide context for current events. 

At this time, each report should be free of plagiarism and feature:

1. An introduction, citing recent news reports, that discusses the topic’s newsworthiness
2. Third-person language to inform the audience
3. Impartial and balanced coverage of a new topic for you
4. Your unique writing style
5. At least four pages and four clearly marked subtopics of about a page or more each
6. Attributions, and 
7. Two potential quiz questions

Submission: For full credit, you MUST submit your draft ON-TIME in Bb (Blackboard) AND on the blog.

In Bb: Upload the full report

On the Blog:

• Attach the report to your post with the “Add Media” button when you write your post.
• Title your post with your paper’s title.
• Note your general topic and your four sub-topics in your post.
• Categorize the post as “KP Draft 1.”

Submitting to Bb will allow us to create a SafeAssign report for your draft. 

• Papers not fully submitted in Bb earn a zero until the Bb submission process is complete. 
• If you see any SafeAssign issues the next day, you can correct the report that day and write a note on what you corrected when you resubmit to improve your originality score on the rubric. 

Submitting your draft on the blog will allow you to exchange papers with a classmate.

• Papers not submitted to the blog on the due date will earn a five-point deduction for each day they are late. 
• Papers submitted on time in Bb but not on the blog may earn a zero until they are available in our online learning community.

Grade: A rubric with best practices for each expectation is with the Bb assignment.

The requirements listed above are in a different order and use different terms in the rubric. The introduction (1) is evaluated under “newsworthiness.” Third-person language to inform (2) is under “impartial & informative.” “Originality” assesses whether the topic is new (3) and features your unique writing style (4). “Depth and breadth” examines the length of the draft and the use of clear subtopics (5). Attributions (6) are evaluated in “references,” and quiz questions (7) are evaluated at the end under that heading.