AAS 10 – Introduction to African American Studies
Final Reflection Guidelines
PROMPT: Describe, citing evidence and specific examples, multiple ways in which your individual identity is or is not influenced by the lived experiences of Black people in the United States.
PURPOSE: Demonstrate proficiency with all of the course learning outcomes.
Discuss, citing evidence, Black experience in the United States, including connections to historical and current social, economic, and psychological conditions for members of the African diaspora.
Analyze a variety of media produced by or about members of the African diaspora living in the United States.
Recognize the intersectionality of race, class, and gender in diverse contexts.
Describe, citing evidence and specific examples, multiple ways in which one’s individual identity is or is not influenced by the lived experiences of Black people in the United States.
REQUIRED ELEMENTS:
One cohesive overarching thesis statement that incorporates 3-5 course themes
References supporting the influence or lack of influence of the experiences of Black people on one’s individual identity (all references can come from assigned reading and additional resources or other reliable sources)
Must connect to at least one theme using Stewart & Anderson (2015)
Must connect to at least one Keywords essay (cite the author of individual essay, 2018)
Must include at least one written text reference, other than the textbooks, that is a reliable source (not Wikipedia, and must include references)
Must include at least one non-written text reference (audio, video, or image)
Responses could take the form of a written reflection with approximately 5-8 pages, structured to include sentences, paragraphs, and citations that meet the grammatical and reference expectations for the most recent editions of writing manuals from your choice of APA, MLA, Chicago, or ASA (double-spacing makes reading much easier for scoring).
Alternatively, students are encouraged to be creative and submit original spoken word/poem, either in writing or as a recorded performance, an audio explanation, a video explanation, a TikTok style performance video, narrated visual art piece, or other creative expression that meets the criteria in the prompt and the expectations in the scoring rubric.
Recordings, audio or video are limited to a maximum of 10 minutes, written text for spoken word/poem should not exceed a length that could be read/performed in a maximum of 10 minutes.
Non-written submissions must have appropriate citations verbalized in the recording or written into the text of the submission in Canvas in a way that clearly identifies all parts of the recording in connection to any sources used. Direct quotes need to be clearly articulated as such and must include the page or paragraph number(s), in addition to the source author/creator and date of publication.
Basic guidelines for APA, MLA, Chicago, and ASA can be found at OWL Purdue, (Links to an external site) if a written reflection is chosen, and for references not assigned.
Regardless of structure chosen for submission, the Final Reflection must be organized into clearly articulated sections and/or paragraphs in a logical progression with meaningful connections, strong transitions, a comprehensive introduction, and a thoughtful conclusion.
Cover page or Title Slide
References, starting on a new page at the end of the paper/written response or recited at the end of the presentation.
RUBRIC
Exceeds Expectations
Meets Expectations
Approaches Expectations
Does Not Meet Expectations
Outline
5 points
Includes ALL required elements, written in outline form. Justifications for all topic sentences, connected to course resources, consider both the Black experience and elements of personal identity.
4 points
Includes ALL required elements, written in outline form. Justifications for most topic sentences, connected to course resources, consider both the Black experience and elements of personal identity.
3 points
Includes most required elements. Justifications for topic sentences are connected to course resources.
1 points
Does not include most required elements AND/OR Justifications for topic sentences are missing or not connected to course resources.
Complete
10 points
Incorporates 3-5 course themes, comprehensive introduction with a representative thesis that includes the relationship(s) between the themes and personal identity, thoughtful conclusion, cover page or title slide, and references.
8 points
Incorporates 3-5 course themes, introduction with a thesis that includes the relationship(s) between the themes and personal identity, conclusion, cover page or title slide, and references.
6 points
Incorporates at least 2 course themes, a thesis that includes the relationship(s) between the themes and personal identity, and references.
4 points
Does not incorporate at least 2 course themes, with a thesis that includes the relationship(s) between the themes and personal identity, and references.
Cohesion
40 points
Themes incorporated into the thesis are connected in a meaningful way. Reflection is organized into sections and/or paragraphs in a logical progression with meaningful connections and strong transitions.
35 points
Themes are connected into the thesis. Reflection is organized into sections and/or paragraphs that are purposeful. Paragraphs and/or sections are connected with transitions.
25 points
Themes are described in the thesis. Reflection is organized into sections and/or paragraphs that are purposeful. Progression of ideas may not be logically connected.
15 points
Themes may not be described in the thesis. Reflection may not be organized into sections and/or paragraphs that are purposeful.
References
35 points
Meaningful references are included from Stewart & Anderson (2015), at least one Keywords essay, at least one additional text reference and at least one non-text reference. All sources are reliable. References are used to justify statements that describe lived experiences of Black people in the US and connections to one’s personal identity development.
30 points
Meaningful references are included from Stewart & Anderson (2015), at least one Keywords essay, at least one additional text reference and at least one non-text reference. All sources are reliable. References used meaningfully relate to statements about the lived experiences of Black people in the US and connections to one’s personal identity development.
25 points
References are included from Stewart & Anderson (2015) and at least one Keywords essay. References used relate to statements about the lived experiences of Black people in the US or connections to one’s personal identity development, but not both.
15 points
Paper does not include at least one reference from Stewart & Anderson (2015) and one Keyword essay in relation to the lived experiences of Black people in the US or connections to one’s personal identity development.
Quality
10 points
No obvious errors.
8 points
Number of obvious errors is no more than the number of pages or minutes.
6 points
Multiple errors that do not distract from meaning.
4 points
Errors distract from the meaning.
