Mastering Communication: A Lesson From Group Presentations

Touchstone 1: Personal Essay - Please choose any skill or scenario you like.
ASSIGNMENT: Select one specific event in your academic or professional career when you used one of the employability skills below.
The innovation skill, which helps you use strategies to develop your ideas and create change.
The communication skill, which helps you effectively share information, your ideas, and your perspective.
The productivity skill, which helps you plan your time and your writing.
The technology skill, which helps you use digital tools and devices to document your writing efficiently and effectively.
Write a (500-800-word) narrative essay that describes this event. Some examples could include:
Firsts: Think of a "first" in your academic/professional career when you used your chosen skill, and describe that moment in detail.
Proud moments: Choose a moment when you felt proud about an accomplishment that was made possible by using one of the above skills.
Adversity: Describe a time when you had to think or act quickly to overcome a challenge using one of the above skills.
Your essay should include the following components:
In your introduction:
Explain the scenario.
In your body paragraphs:
Describe the employability skill you used and how it was used in your specific event.
Describe the benefits or shortcomings of using this skill and how the skill contributed to your success; or alternatively, how it could have been utilized differently to achieve greater success.
In your conclusion:
Describe what you learned about yourself through the experience and how you plan to utilize this skill in the future.
In order to foster learning and growth, all essays you submit must be newly written specifically for this course. Any plagiarized or recycled work will result in a Plagiarism Detected alert. Review this tutorial for more about plagiarism and the Plagiarism Detected alert: Touchstones: Academic Integrity Guidelines.
A. Assignment Guidelines
DIRECTIONS: Create a 500-800-word personal essay in which you:
Explain the scenario you have chosen.
Describe the chosen employability skill and how it was used in the scenario.
Describe the benefits or shortcomings of using this skill and how it contributed to any success.
Describe how it could have been used differently to achieve greater success.
Describe what you learned about yourself throughout this scenario.
Minimize mechanical and stylistic errors.
Complete the reflection questions listed below.
B. Reflection Questions
DIRECTIONS: Below your assignment, include answers to all of the following reflection questions.
Consider the early stages of your writing process. What brainstorming and prewriting activities did you engage in to compose your narrative? How did they help you begin formulating your ideas? How do you anticipate that these steps will make the writing process more productive? (4-5 sentences)
Consider the skill you chose as a topic. Why did you pick this particular skill? What about it are you looking forward to exploring as you work on your later assignments in this course? (3-4 sentences)
C. Rubric
Advanced (100%) Proficient (85%) Acceptable (75%) Needs Improvement (50%) Non-Performance (0%)
Chosen Employability Skill (10 points)
Describe a time in your academic or professional career when one of the four employability skills was used.
Accomplishes all of the following: Clearly and specifically describes one of the four employability skills; describes in detail the scenario in which the employability skill was used; clearly and effectively discusses how the employability skill was used in that specific scenario. Accomplishes 2-3 of the following: Clearly and specifically describes one of the four employability skills; describes in detail the scenario in which the employability skill was used; clearly and effectively discusses how the employability skill was used in that specific scenario. Accomplishes 2 of the following: Clearly and specifically describes one of the four employability skills; describes in detail the scenario in which the employability skill was used; clearly and effectively discusses how the employability skill was used in that specific scenario. Accomplishes 1-2 of the following: Clearly and specifically describes one of the four employability skills; describes in detail the scenario in which the employability skill was used; clearly and effectively discusses how the employability skill was used in that specific scenario. Does not describe one of the four employability skills or how the employability skill was used in a specific scenario.
Employability Skill Analysis (10 points)
Describe in detail the benefits or shortcomings that were experienced while utilizing the employability skill, and how it affected the outcome of the scenario. Analyze how the skill can be utilized in the future.
Accomplishes all of the following: Clearly and specifically discusses the benefits or shortcomings of using the chosen employability skill; analyzes in detail how the skill affected the outcome of the scenario; clearly and effectively explains how the skill can be utilized differently in the future. Accomplishes 2-3 of the following: Clearly and specifically discusses the benefits or shortcomings of using the chosen employability skill; analyzes in detail how the skill affected the outcome of the scenario; clearly and effectively explains how the skill can be utilized differently in the future. Accomplishes 2 of the following: Clearly and specifically discusses the benefits or shortcomings of using the chosen employability skill; analyzes in detail how the skill affected the outcome of the scenario; clearly and effectively explains how the skill can be utilized differently in the future. Accomplishes 1-2 of the following: Clearly and specifically discusses the benefits or shortcomings of using the chosen employability skill; analyzes in detail how the skill affected the outcome of the scenario; clearly and effectively explains how the skill can be utilized differently in the future. Does not discuss the benefits or shortcomings of using the chosen employability skill; there is no analysis of how the skill affected the outcome of the scenario; there is no explanation of how the skill can be utilized differently in the future.
Narrative Flow (10 points)
Present a focused, meaningful narrative.
Accomplishes all of the following: The composition is focused on one event; the details are specific; the details are relevant to the event. Accomplishes 2-3 of the following: The composition is focused on one event; the details are specific; the details are relevant to the event. Accomplishes 2 of the following: The composition is focused on one event; the details are specific; the details are relevant to the event. Accomplishes 1-2 of the following: The composition is focused on one event; the details are specific; the details are relevant to the event. The composition is unfocused and lacks specific and relevant details.
Conventions (5 points)
Minimize errors in standard English grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
Includes virtually no minor errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Includes fewer than 5 minor errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Includes 5 minor errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Includes more than 5 minor errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Includes consistent significant errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, and usage.
Reflection (5 points)
Answer reflection questions thoroughly and thoughtfully.
Accomplishes all of the following: Demonstrates thoughtful reflection; consistently includes insights, observations, and/or examples in all responses; follows or exceeds response length guidelines. Accomplishes 2-3 of the following: Demonstrates thoughtful reflection; consistently includes insights, observations, and/or examples in all responses; follows or exceeds response length guidelines. Accomplishes 2 of the following: Demonstrates thoughtful reflection; consistently includes insights, observations, and/or examples in all responses; follows or exceeds response length guidelines. Accomplishes 1-2 of the following: Demonstrates thoughtful reflection; consistently includes insights, observations, and/or examples in all responses; follows or exceeds response length guidelines. Does not answer the majority of reflection questions or the majority of answers do not follow response length guidelines.
D. Requirements
The following requirements must be met for your submission to be graded:
Double-space the essay and use one-inch margins.
Indent the first line of each paragraph by ½ inch.
Use a readable 12-point font.
All writing must be appropriate for an academic context.
Composition must be original and written for this assignment.
Use of generative chatbot artificial intelligence tools (ChatGPT, Bing Chat, Bard) in place of original writing is strictly prohibited for this assignment.
Plagiarism of any kind is strictly prohibited.
Submission must include your name, the name of the course, the date, and the title of your composition.
Submission must include your completed personal essay and reflection questions with the components described in the guidelines above.
Include all of the assignment components in a single file.
Acceptable file formats include .doc and .docx.