Homework answers / question archive / BHAN820 Social and Environmental Determinants of Health Weekly Reading Response Papers: Overview, Instructions and Grading Overview The purpose of the weekly reading response papers is to provide a venue for you to critically examine, explain, and defend your personal response to the readings assigned for that week

BHAN820 Social and Environmental Determinants of Health Weekly Reading Response Papers: Overview, Instructions and Grading Overview The purpose of the weekly reading response papers is to provide a venue for you to critically examine, explain, and defend your personal response to the readings assigned for that week

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BHAN820 Social and Environmental Determinants of Health

Weekly Reading Response Papers: Overview, Instructions and Grading

Overview

The purpose of the weekly reading response papers is to provide a venue for you to critically examine, explain, and defend your personal response to the readings assigned for that week. Your job is not to provide a general summary of the readings, but rather to extrapolate on some of the key themes and connect the theme to the broader public health field. A reading response paper demonstrates that you have read the assigned papers, synthesized and contextualized their content, and can articulate and support your response to the material.

Instructions

Pre-writing activities

Read all of the papers
Identify ~3 main topics/themes that all the readings address
For each paper, ask yourself “what are the main points being made” and “how do these points relate to the theme(s) for the weeks’ readings?
Consider if all the papers present a consistent result/perspective on the theme(s)? How do they differ?
Can you define how the key points relate to health promotion and public health (i.e., incidence and prevalence of diseases, health conditions) in a broader sense?
Did the papers increase your understanding? Did they change your perspective in any way?
Consider how as a community of public health and health promotion professionals we are failing? Succeeding in the context of this topic/themes/main points?
Use pre-writing strategies like listing and clustering/idea mapping to organize the information

Suggested Outline

Introduction/topic : One short paragraph to “set the stage” – what are the articles about and why is this/are these topic(s) important? State the focus/purpose/thesis statement of the response paper.
Background and Analysis : Examine 3 key points made by the articles and describe your reasoned reaction to them. Your analysis should use scholarly material to support your response.
Conclusion: One short paragraph to summarize your main response to the readings and the significance of this topic to public health and health promotion.

Format

~1.5 pages
Single spaced
12- point font
1- inch margins
In-text citations necessary in the analysis section of the paper in particular
Do not use sub-headers
No grammatical, punctuation, or writing mechanics errors ? Proof-read, proof-read, and proof-read again.

Grading Rubric

**Demonstrating one characteristic described in a lower scoring category for the paper component earns that score.

Criteria/Scoring	Poor/Failing [C-/D; <75%]	Needs Improvement [B-/C+/C; 75-82%]	Good or Very Good [B/B+; 83-89%]	Superior [ A-/A; 90-100% ]
Introduction [10 pts]	“Hook” sentence not provided. Paper topic not clearly identified. Purpose/thesis statement not provided. [<6 pts]	“Hook” sentence may be inaccurate and does not reflect topic importance. Paper topic not clearly identified and only loosely related to class readings for that week. Purpose/thesis statement unclear or not connected to the topic. [7 pts]	Introduction uses a good “hook” sentence to grab reader’s attention that demonstrates importance of the paper topic. Paper topic is identified and converges with class readings for that week. Explanations/bridge sentences provided that lead to relevant purpose/thesis statement. [8 pts]	Introduction uses a superior “hook” sentence to grab reader’s attention that demonstrates importance of the topic. Paper topic is clearly identified and tightly converges with class readings for that week. Strong explanations/bridge sentences provided that lead to clear and relevant purpose/thesis statement. [9-10 pts]
Key Point 1: summary of information from the readings and analysis/reaction [20 pts]	The key point is not related to readings for the week. Limited evidence to support the key point provided. Students’ response to the key point lacks insight and basis. No information from the papers to support response provided. Author makes no connections to outside material. [<15 pts]	The key point tangentially related to readings for the week. Limited evidence to support the key point provided. Students’ response to the key point lacks insight and basis. Limited information from the papers to support response provided. Author makes no connections to outside material. [15-16.5 pts]	The key point being made represents ideas/material presented in multiple readings for the week. Evidence to support the key point is accurate and presented in a way that is largely clear and succinct. Students’ response to the key point is insightful and draws on examples/implications from and for the field. There is some integration of information from the papers to support response. Author makes no connections to outside material. [16.5-17 pts ]	The key point being made represents ideas/material presented in multiple readings for the week. Evidence to support the key point is accurate and presented clearly and succinctly. Students’ critical response to the key point is insightful, analytical, and draws on examples/implications from and for the field. Excellent integration of information from the papers to support response. Author makes effective connections to outside material. [18-20 pts ]
Key Point 2: summary of information from the readings and analysis/reaction [20 pts]	The key point is not related to readings for the week. Limited evidence to support the key point provided. Students’ response to the key point lacks insight and basis. No information from the papers to support response provided. Author makes no connections to outside material. [<15 pts]	The key point tangentially related to readings for the week. Limited evidence to support the key point provided. Students’ response to the key point lacks insight and basis. Limited information from the papers to support response provided. Author makes no connections to outside material. [15-16.5 pts]	The key point being made represents ideas/material presented in multiple readings for the week. Evidence to support the key point is accurate and presented in a way that is largely clear and succinct. Students’ response to the key point is insightful and draws on examples/implications from and for the field. There is some integration of information from the papers to support response. Author makes no connections to outside material. [16.5-17 pts ]	The key point being made represents ideas/material presented in multiple readings for the week. Evidence to support the key point is accurate and presented clearly and succinctly. Students’ critical response to the key point is insightful, analytical, and draws on examples/implications from and for the field. Excellent integration of information from the papers to support response Author makes effective connections to outside material. [18-20 pts ]
Key Point 3: summary of information from the readings and	The key point is not related to readings for the week. Limited evidence to support the key point provided. Students’ response to the key point lacks insight and basis. No	The key point tangentially related to readings for the week. Limited evidence to support the key point provided. Students’ response to the key point lacks insight and	The key point being made represents ideas/material presented in multiple readings for the week. Evidence to support the key point is accurate and	The key point being made represents ideas/material presented in multiple readings for the week. Evidence to support the key point is accurate and presented clearly and
Criteria/Scoring	Poor/Failing [C-/D; <75%]	Needs Improvement [B-/C+/C; 75-82%]	Good or Very Good [B/B+; 83-89%]	Superior [ A-/A; 90-100% ]
analysis/reaction [20 pts]	information from the papers to support response provided. Author makes no connections to outside material. [<15 pts]	basis. Limited information from the papers to support response provided. Author makes no connections to outside material. [15-16.5 pts]	presented in a way that is largely clear and succinct. Students’ response to the key point is insightful and draws on examples/implications from and for the field. There is some integration of information from the papers to support response. Author makes no connections to outside material. [16.5-17 pts ]	succinctly. Students’ critical response to the key point is insightful, analytical, and draws on examples/implications from and for the field. Excellent integration of information from the papers to support response Author makes effective connections to outside material. [18-20 pts ]
Conclusion [10 pts]	Regurgitation/repetition of text from body of the paper that does not directly link to or answer the thesis/purpose statement and/or not related to readings for the week. New information provided. Wider significance of the readings described not described. [<7 pts]	Regurgitation/repetition of text from body of the paper that does not directly link to or answer the thesis/purpose statement. New information provided. Wider significance of the readings described but is not accurate. [7 pts]	Overview of main take-home points/reading responses related to the paper thesis/purpose presented in the introduction. No new information provided. Wider significance of these readings to the literature alluded to but not detailed. [8 pts]	Succinct summary of main take-home points/reading responses related to the paper thesis/purpose presented in the introduction. No new information provided. Clear statement of wider significance of these readings to the literature. [9-10 pts]
Grammar, punctuation, spelling, writing mechanics [20 pts]	Several grammatical, punctuation or spelling errors. No sequencing or compartmentalizing of information. No topic sentences. 3 or more run-on sentences. Writing is rambling and repetitive. Immature tone: uses overly casual language or inappropriate slang, cliché, and/or vernacular. Evidence of plagiarism. [0-14.9 pts]	Some grammatical, punctuation or spelling errors. Paragraphs do not have topic sentences. Paragraphs do not develop and support topic sentences. Paragraphs are not sequenced appropriately. 3 or more run-on sentences. Writing is rambling and repetitive. Immature tone. [15-16.5 pts]	Minimal grammatical, punctuation or spelling errors. Paragraphs have topic sentences. Paragraphs mostly develop and support topic sentences. Paragraphs are sequenced appropriately. 1-2 run-on sentences. Writing is somewhat succinct with some redundancy. Mostly creates appropriate graduate level academic tone. [16.6-17.9 pts]	No grammatical, punctuation or spelling errors. Paragraphs have solid topic sentences. Paragraphs develop and support topic sentences. Seamless sequencing of paragraphs. All ideas in the paper flow logically. No run-on sentences. Writing is succinct and without redundancy. Creates appropriate graduate level academic tone. [18-20 pts ]