Touchstones are projects that illustrate your comprehension of the course material, help
you refine skills, and demonstrate application of knowledge. You can work on a
Touchstone anytime, but you can’t submit it until you have completed the unit’s Challenges.
Once you’ve submitted a Touchstone, it will be graded and counted toward your final
course score.
Touchstone 3.1: Construct a Rogerian Argument
ASSIGNMENT: As you learned in this unit, a Rogerian argument is one that presents
two sides of a debate and argues for a solution that will satisfy both sides. Given the
two articles linked below that present opposing sides of an issue (mandatory uniforms
in schools vs. some kind of ‘dress code’), construct your own 2-3 page Rogerian
argument essay in which you attempt to arrive at a concrete, workable solution or
“middle ground.”
The essay should contain the following components:
❒ 1. An introduction that accurately presents both sources (i.e., author, title, year of
publication, and their relative position in the debate), as well as your middle
ground thesis statement.
❒ 2. A body paragraph that summarizes the pro-uniform rationales. (Both articles
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SUBMIT TOUCHSTONE
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UNIT 3 — TOUCHSTONE 3.1:
Construct a Rogerian Argument
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can be used, but focus on Anderson).
❒ 3. A body paragraph that summarizes the anti-uniform/pro-dress code
rationales. (Both articles can be used, but focus on Deane).
❒ 4. A body paragraph that critically compares and contrasts both sides of the
debate.
❒ 5. A conclusion that further develops your proposed middle-ground solution
and demonstrates how it satisfies both sides of the debate.
Article 1: “School Dress Codes and Uniform Policies”
Article 2: “Dressing Diversity: Politics of Difference and the Case of School Uniforms”
” Sample Touchstone
In order to foster learning and growth, all work you submit must be newly written
specifically for this course. Any plagiarized or recycled work will result in a
Plagiarism Detected alert. Review Touchstones: Academic Integrity Guidelines for
more about plagiarism and the Plagiarism Detected alert. For guidance on the use of
generative AI technology, review Ethical Standards and Appropriate Use of AI.
A. Assignment Guidelines
DIRECTIONS: Refer to the list below throughout the writing process. Do not submit your
Touchstone until it meets these guidelines. Refer to the Sample Touchstone for additional
guidance on structure, formatting, and citation.
1. Introduction
❒ Have you briefly and accurately introduced the author, title, and publication context
(year, journal, etc.) of Article 1?
❒ Have you briefly and accurately introduced the author, title, and publication context
(year, journal, etc.) of Article 2?
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❒ Have you ended the introduction with a thesis statement/claim that presents a clear,
workable solution that could be viewed as a “middle ground” between the two sides?
2. Body Paragraphs
❒ Have you included a summary of the pro-uniform stances in the first body paragraph
(including accurate page-numbered citations)?
❒ Have you included a summary of the anti-uniform stances in the second body
paragraph (including accurate page-numbered citations)?
❒ Have you included at least three direct quotations, supplementing them with your
own explanation of their relevance?
❒ Have you adequately compared and contrasted both sides of the debate (with cited
examples from the articles) in the third body paragraph?
3. Conclusion
❒ Does your expanded claim address both sides of the issue, including specific points
raised in the articles?
❒ Have you backed up your claim using cited facts from both sides of the argument?
4. Reflection
❒ Have you answered all reflection questions including specific and concrete
examples that provide thoughtful insight in all responses?
❒ Are your answers included on a separate page below the main assignment?
B. Reflection
DIRECTIONS: Below your assignment, include answers to all of the following reflection
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questions.
. How does the Rogerian model of argument help you better understand the topic
that’s being discussed? Why is it a good practice to acknowledge both sides of the
argument? (3-4 sentences)
. How might the Rogerian approach help you gain insight into your own argumentative
essay? (2-3 sentences)
C. Rubric
Advanced
(100%)
Proficient
(85%)
Acceptable
(75%)
Needs
Improvement
(50%)
Summary of Positions
(10 points)
Introduce the two
sources and summarize
each side of the
argument.
Effectively and correctly
introduces both
authors/articles and
provides a complete,
accurate, and concise
summary of both
positions presented in
the articles (including
citations) with at least
three direct quotations
included.
Correctly introduces
both authors/articles
and provides an
accurate and concise
summary of both
positions presented in
the articles (including
citations) with at least
three direct quotations
included.
Provides a correct
introduction of the
authors/articles and a
brief overview of
positions (including
citations), but key
details of the positions
may be inaccurate or
missing and/or 1-2
direct quotations might
be missing.
Correctly introduces
both authors/articles,
but does not provide a
complete or mostly-
accurate summary of
positions presented in
the articles. A few
accurate citations are
still included but the
direct quotations might
be missing.
Thesis/Claim (20
points)
Present a thesis that
advocates for a solution
to satisfy both sides of
the argument.
Provides a thesis in the
introduction that clearly
and effectively
advocates for a
concrete, detailed
solution to satisfy both
sides of the argument,
and this stance is
robustly developed in
the concluding
paragraph.
Provides a thesis in the
introduction that clearly
advocates for a
concrete solution to
satisfy both sides of the
argument, and this
stance is developed
further in the
concluding paragraph.
Provides a thesis;
however, it is not
located in the
introduction OR it is not
developed in a way
which suggests a
solution to satisfy both
sides of the argument
that is entirely clear or
concrete.
Provides a thesis;
however, it is not
located in the
introduction AND/OR it
is not developed in a
way which suggests a
solution to satisfy both
sides of the argument
that is entirely clear or
concrete.
Organization (5
points)
Exhibit competent
organization and
Includes all of the
required components
of a Rogerian argument
paper, including an
Includes all of the
required components
of a Rogerian argument
paper, including an
Includes nearly all of
the required
components of a
Rogerian argument
Includes most of the
required components
of a Rogerian argument
paper, but is lacking
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D. Requirements
The following requirements must be met for your submission to be graded:
Composition must be 2-3 pages (approximately 500-750 words).
Double-space the composition and use one-inch margins.
Use a readable 12-point font.
writing techniques. engaging introduction
with source summaries
and a claim, body
paragraphs with topic
sentences, and a
conclusion with a
concluding statement.
introduction with
source summaries and
a claim, body
paragraphs with topic
sentences, and a
conclusion with a
concluding statement.
paper; however, one
component is missing.
two components.
Sequences ideas and
paragraphs such that
the connections
between ideas (within
and between
paragraphs) are
sometimes unclear and
the reader may have
difficulty following the
progression of the
argument.
Style (5 points)
Establish a consistent,
informative tone and
make thoughtful
stylistic choices.
Demonstrates
thoughtful and effective
word choices, avoids
redundancy and
imprecise language,
and uses a wide variety
of sentence structures.
Demonstrates effective
word choices, primarily
avoids redundancy and
imprecise language,
and uses a variety of
sentence structures.
Demonstrates generally
effective style choices,
but may include
occasional
redundancies,
imprecise language,
poor word choice,
and/or repetitive
sentence structures.
Frequently includes
poor word choices,
redundancies,
imprecise language,
and/or repetitive
sentence structures.
Conventions (5
points)
Follow conventions for
standard English.
There are only a few, if
any, negligible errors in
grammar, punctuation,
spelling, capitalization,
formatting, and usage.
There are occasional
minor errors in
grammar, punctuation,
spelling, capitalization,
formatting, and usage.
There are some
significant errors in
grammar, punctuation,
spelling, capitalization,
formatting, and usage.
There are frequent
significant errors in
grammar, punctuation,
spelling, capitalization,
formatting, and usage.
Reflection (5 points)
Reflect on progression
and development
throughout the course.
Demonstrates
thoughtful reflection;
consistently includes
specific and concrete
examples that provide
thoughtful insight,
following or exceeding
response length
guidelines.
Demonstrates
thoughtful reflection;
includes multiple
specific and concrete
examples that provide
thoughtful insight,
following response
length guidelines.
Primarily demonstrates
thoughtful reflection,
but some responses
are lacking in detail or
insight; primarily follows
response length
guidelines.
Shows limited
reflection; the majority
of responses are
lacking in detail or
insight, with some
questions left
unanswered or falling
short of response
length guidelines.
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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.
Include all of the assignment components in a single file.
Acceptable file formats include .doc and .docx.
E. Additional Resources
The following resources will be helpful to you as you work on this assignment:
. Purdue Online Writing Lab’s APA Formatting and Style Guide
a. This site includes a comprehensive overview of APA style, as well as individual
pages with guidelines for specific citation types.
. Frequently Asked Questions About APA Style
a. This page on the official APA website addresses common questions related to APA
formatting. The “References,” “Punctuation,” and “Grammar and Writing Style”
sections will be the most useful to your work in this course.
. APA Style: Quick Answers—References
a. This page on the official APA Style website provides numerous examples of
reference list formatting for various source types.
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