HIS 200 Module Four Short Response Guidelines and Rubric
Overview: The short response activities in the webtext throughout this course are designed to show your understanding of key concepts as you engage with
course content.
Prompt: During the fourth week of the course, you will respond to several questions in the webtext as you complete each learning block. At the end of Module
Four, you will review your answers to these questions and ensure that you have responded to each question. It is important that you answer each question;
otherwise, the words “[no response]” will appear in brackets when you submit the assignment. The questions and their original locations in the webtext are
listed in this table in case you want to refer back to the reading as you edit, but you can edit your responses to all the questions directly in Module Four:
Communicating Historical Ideas, continued, learning block 4-4 (page 2) in the webtext, before exporting to Word for submission to your instructor in your
learning environment.
Module Four: Communicating Historical Ideas, continued, Learning Block 4-2 (pages 2–3):
• Question 1: Consider the examples of different audiences below. For each one, describe how you would adjust your writing for that particular audience
1. Your best friend
2. People reading a newspaper editorial you have written
3. Your professor
4. The audience at a conference where you are presenting
• Question 2: Consider how your audience might influence the information you include in a historical analysis essay about the women’s suffrage
movement. What audience would be most interested in reading about the women’s movement? How would you tailor your presentation to that
audience? What message would be most appropriate for this audience?
• Question 3: Let’s say the intended audience for your historical analysis essay about the legal battle for women’s suffrage is a group of civil rights lawyers.
How would you explain the legal background of the Constitution and the Nineteenth Amendment? How would this approach compare with and contrast
to an audience of high school students?
Module Four: Communicating Historical Ideas, continued, Learning Block 4-3 (pages 1–2):
• Question 4: Was President Kennedy’s decision to support the Equal Rights Amendment a necessary cause for the amendment’s passage by Congress?
• Question 5: Was the social tumult of the 1960s a necessary cause of the women’s liberation movement?
• Question 6: Simone de Beauvoir was the intellectual founder of the women’s liberation movement. Tailor this thesis statement into a message suitable
for an audience of high-school history students.
• Question 7: The women’s movement’s focus on issues related to sexual freedom, including reproductive rights, galvanized support among younger
women but alienated many older, more conservative women. Tailor this message for an audience consisting of students in a women’s studies class.
Rubric
Guidelines for Submission: Your response to Question 1 should be 4–6 sentences in length. Your response to Questions 2 and 3 should be 2–3 sentences in
length. Your responses to Questions 4 and 5 should be 1–2 sentences in length. Your responses to Questions 6 and 7 should be 2 sentences in length. Follow the
instructions at the bottom of Module Four: Communicating Historical Ideas, continued, learning block 4-4 (page 2) in the webtext, to download your work and
submit it to your instructor as a single Microsoft Word document uploaded to your learning environment. Refer to the Submitting Webtext Assignments Guide
for assistance on downloading, saving, and submitting this assignment.
Critical Elements Exemplary Proficient Needs Improvement Not Evident Value
Engagement Written responses completely
address all short answer
prompts
(100%)
Written responses completely
address the majority of short
answer prompts
(85%)
Written responses address the
minority of short answer
prompts
(55%)
No written responses provided
to address any short answer
prompts
(0%)
30
Relevance Written responses directly
address short answer prompts,
drawing from presented course
concepts and terminology
(100%)
Written responses are topically
related to short answer
prompts, but responses do not
consistently draw from
presented course concepts and
terminology
(85%)
Written responses do not
address topics identified in
short answer prompts
(0%)
20
Accuracy Written responses are
completely accurate
(100%)
Written responses contain
minor errors but are mostly
accurate
(85%)
Written responses contain
major errors
(55%)
No written responses are
provided
(0%)
20
Critical Thinking Written responses demonstrate
understanding of course
content through inclusion of
original ideas and examples
(100%)
Written responses demonstrate
understanding of course
content through reiteration of
provided materials, but do not
consistently include original
ideas and examples
(85%)
Written responses do not
reflect original ideas and
examples
(0%)
20
Articulation of
Response
Written responses are captured
in complete sentences without
grammatical errors impacting
legibility and the clarity of
response
(100%)
Written responses are captured
in incomplete sentences or
include numerous grammatical
errors that negatively impact
legibility and the clarity of
response
(85%)
No written responses are
captured in complete sentences
(0%)
10
Total 100%
