Eastern Washington University Smoking Weed and Coronavirus Analysis Paper

Complex Writing Assignment 1
The goal of this first complex writing assignment is for students to display their abilities to be “critical consumers of the research.”
The task for the assignment is as follows:
1. Find an online news article that references a research study (e.g., a headline stating, “Eating an all-pasta diet linked to penne-cillin resistant infections, study says”). Make sure to provide a link to your source in your submitted assignment.
a. Good resources for finding these kinds of articles include:
i. CNN Health (www.cnn.com/health)
ii. Google News, Health Topic (www.news.google.com, select “Health”)
2. Give a brief description of the study, as laid out by the article (be mindful not to plagiarize!)
3. Identify the research method used (correlational, experimental)
4. Critique the study/article
a. Given what you know about the downsides to the research methods, what’s a potential problem with the study?
i. For example, if it was a case study, we know that we must use caution in generalizing the findings.
b. Are there alternative interpretations of the findings? Third (confounding) variables?
5. Write your response APA style
Grading for the Assignment
Responses should be 8-12 sentences (no more, no less).

Students will be graded on their ability to reply in a clear, concise, and grammatical way, and on their ability to accurately respond to the prompt.
The rubric is as follows:
Assessment Criteria Student Learning Outcome Exemplary 50 Proficient 30 Non-Proficient 15 Poor/Absent 0
Creative Thinking Students will:
1. Integrate alternate, divergent, or contradictory perspectives or ideas.
2. Connect ideas or solution in novel ways.
3. Create a novel or unique idea, question, format, or product. Response is thoughtful, contains substantive insight and analysis in relation to topic.

Makes strong connections to readings, lecture, experience, workplace. Response demonstrates understanding. Insight and analysis is adequate.

Evidence of connections to larger issues, personal perspective. Content of response is reasonably accurate but superficial. Some aspects of the response may be off topic.

Acknowledges connections exist. Lacks depth; responses too general, cursory, simplistic in nature. Some aspects of response are off topic.

Posts lack connections.
Written Communication Students will:
1. Clarify the purpose of the document
2. Convey meaning clearly throughout the document
3. Organize document logically
4. Make choices concerning style, tone, and degree of complexity appropriate to the audience Response is free of grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors. Response is mostly free of grammatical, spelling and punctuation. Responses has a limited number of grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors. Response contains many grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors.

Writers Center Incentive
There will be a grade incentive for students who utilize the Writers’ Center prior to submitting their assignment (https://inside.ewu.edu/writerscenter/). The writers’ center provides online communication, either through Zoom appointments or by uploading a draft to get written feedback.

Students who: (1) engage with the Writers’ Center in either a Zoom meeting or get written feedback, (2) provide proof (the Writers’ Center will provide evidence of your use of their services if you select that option), and (3) make any changes the “Responder” (their assistants) recommends will receive the full 50 points on “Written Communication.”