Assessing credibility of 'Why Black Women Fear in Delivery Room'

Evaluating the Credibility of 'Why Black Women Fear for Their Lives in the Delivery Room' by E. Mart

Answer the question How credible overall is the article “Why Black women fear for their lives in the delivery room”? written by E. Martis in The Huffington Post Canada.

Write a double-spaced 5- paragraph essay in which you evaluate the credibility of 1) the author, 2) the publication, and 3) the evidence the author provides for her claims.

Review your feedback on your outline assignment to ensure that your main idea, supporting points and your evidence and sources are correct.

Write a 5-paragraph essay: 1 intro par., 3 body paragraphs and 1 concluding paragraph.

1) the first sentence will be a statement about what makes an author, publication and author’s evidence credible (see Week 4 powerpoint for this)

2) a summary statement of the article you are evaluating (including the title of the article, the publication, the author’s name and the author’s main idea and supporting points.

3) The last sentence in the intro should be your thesis statement. Your thesis statement is YOUR main idea and 3 supporting points—basically whether or not you think the article overall is credible because the author is/isn’t, because the publication is/isn’t and because the author’s claims are/aren’t.

1. Each body paragraph will have about 6 sentences,and contain:

2 pieces of evidence to support the claim that you made in your paragraph’s topic sentence.

Each piece of evidence will be introduced with the source of the proof (quote from article itself or a website – please use a hyperlink to the source) as seen in the model essay.

This evidence can be copied directly from the completed chart we did in class (in Week 5 folder)

Following this sentence will be a concluding sentence that sums up your 2 pieces of evidence and relates it to the claim in the topic sentence (see the sample model essay).

End references: List website links you used as sources at the end of your essay

Concluding paragraph: this paragraph restates your thesis and 3 topic sentences (4 sentences) in other words. Then the last sentence in your essay provides a solution(s) as to how the author, publication and/or author’s support for her claims could have been more credible

Ensure that you view the sample essay as a model for what your essay should look like.

Essay Grading Criteria	Y	N
Format 10 marks
A Essay is 5 paragraphs long. Paragraphs are indented; No title; between 500 and 750 words.
B 12-point type, plain font (i.e. Arial, Calabri or Verdana) double-spaced
Introductory paragraph (about 3 sentences) 12 marks
C Introductory paragraph starts with a sentence explaining what makes publications credible, authors credible and authors’ claims credible in general (see Week 4 powerpoint for what makes these things credible).
D Claims are arguable, not facts. (ie. Claim – author is credible; fact or evidence supporting this claim – ex. author has other articles on this topic in credible publications).
E Introductory paragraph includes a summary statement about the article being responded to: Include the author’s name, article title, publication title and the authors’ 3 supporting points or claims.
F Introductory paragraph ends with your thesis statement.
G Thesis statement contains your main idea (whether the article is credible or not) followed by because and your 3 supporting points (1) author is credible/not, 2) publication is credible/not, and 3) author’s claims are credible/not (if the author proves them with credible evidence).
Body paragraphs (about 6 sentences each) 18 marks
H Each body paragraph begins with a topic sentence that restates one of the 3 supporting points from the thesis statement and ends with a concluding sentence that restates its topic sentence in other words and (can hint at the following paragraph).
I Body sentences of each body paragraph contain specific examples of evidence (facts, not claims) that support the claim made in that paragraph’s topic sentence and the source (article itself or website) These same links are listed at the end of the essay under the title References.
J Each piece of evidence actually matches the claim it is supporting. (ie. claiming that Black Canadian moms are discriminated against in Canada isn’t supported by evidence including studies show that Black Canadian moms have lower birth weight babies.
Sources for evidence 6 marks
K Sources for evidence include the article itself, the author’s website, the publication’s website, and another website commenting on the author or publication.
Concluding paragraph (5 sentences) 5 marks
L Topic sentence is restatement of your thesis in other words. Body sentences are 3 restated topic sentences from the body paragraphs in other words. Concluding sentence presents a solution to what you have claimed in your thesis (i.e. if you said that the author’s evidence didn’t support their claims, suggest evidence that would’ve been better.)
Sentences (24 marks)
M Each paragraph contains full sentences with no run-on or sentence fragments (sentences begin with a capital letter, end with a period); (do not start a sentence with Although,)
Grammar and Spelling (10 marks)
N Few spelling and grammar errors; essay is easy to understand and takes minimal effort to read.
Vocabulary (15 marks)
O Transition words and phrases are used correctly (i.e. First, Second, However, Finally, In conclusion); appropriate synonyms for the context are used; verb tenses consistent; avoid I, me, we, our, you, your pronouns); avoid unclear expressions (at the end of the day, the bottom line is, when it comes to, in a nutshell); refer to author with last name only