The document outlines an assignment focused on evaluating a selected source related to a research topic. It requires students to assess the source's credibility and usefulness, providing specific examples to support their evaluations, and to answer reflection questions about the evaluation process. Additionally, guidelines for formatting, structure, and submission requirements are specified, alongside resources to assist with APA style.

1. Touchstone 2.1: Evaluate a Source
ASSIGNMENT:
For this essay, you will select one of the sources you have
found through your preliminary research about your research
topic. Which source you choose is up to you; however, it should
be substantial enough that you will be able to talk about it at
length, and intricate enough that it will keep you (and your
reader) interested.
The introduction of this paper will involve introducing the
source: Provide the author, the title, and the context (where you
found the source, where it was originally published, who
sponsored it, etc.)
You will then go on to evaluate the source on two levels:
Credibility:
Using the information in this unit as a guide, evaluate the
source’s authenticity and reliability. Look at all the information
that you can find about the source to establish the author’s (or
sponsor’s) trustworthiness.
Usefulness:
Using a combination of summary and analysis, examine the
source on a critical level. Determine what the source’s purpose
(thesis) is, and how it arrives at that goal. Examine its value to
you and the project you are working on. How will it help you
prove your own points? How might it come in handy to back up
a claim (or address a counter-claim)?

2. Finally, you will include a conclusion which shows your final
assessments on both counts.
Sample Touchstone
A. Assignment Guidelines
DIRECTIONS:
Refer to the list below throughout the writing process. Do not
submit your Touchstone until it meets these guidelines.
1. Source Identification
The introduction of this paper will be introducing the source:
❒ Have you provided the author's name?❒ Have you provided
the source title?❒ Have you provided the context (where you
found the source, where it was originally published, who
sponsored it, etc.)?
2. Source Evaluation
❒ Have you provided a judgment on the source's credibility?❒
Have you used specific examples from the source to illustrate
your judgment on credibility?❒ Have you provided a judgment
on the source's usefulness?❒ Have you used specific examples
from the source to illustrate your judgment on usefulness?
3. Reflection
❒ Have you answered all reflection questions thoughtfully and
included insights, observations, and/or examples in all
responses?
❒ Are your answers included on a separate page below the main

3. assignment?
B. Reflection Questions
DIRECTIONS:
Below your assignment, include answers to all of the following
reflection questions.
What types of questions did you ask yourself when evaluating
the credibility and usefulness of your source? (2-3 sentences)
How do you feel this evaluation practice will help you as you
continue to move through the research process? (2-3 sentences)
C. Rubric
Advanced (90-100%)Proficient (80-89%)Acceptable (70-
79%)Needs Improvement (50-69%)Non-Performance (0-49%)
Thesis Statement
Provide a clear thesis statement with sufficient support.The
thesis statement consists of an original observation that is clear,
focused, and well-supported.The thesis statement consists of an
original observation that is adequately supported.The thesis
statement consists of an identifiable main idea that is generally
supported.The thesis statement consists of an identifiable main
idea, but it is not not well supported or does not match most of
essay's content.The thesis statement is missing or completely
unsupported.
Evidence and Analysis
Evaluate a single source based on the characteristics of

4. credibility and usefulness.The analysis includes specific
examples from the text as support; claims for credibility and
usefulness are fully developed.The analysis includes examples
from the text as support; claims for credibility and usefulness
are adequately developed.The analysis includes some examples
from the text, though they potentially vague or abstract; claims
for credibility and usefulness are established but need further
development.The analysis includes one or two examples from
the text, but they are of a vague, abstract nature; claims for
either credibility or usefulness are missing.The analysis
includes little to no examples for support; there are no
established claims for either credibility or usefulness.
Organization
Exhibit competent organizational writing techniques.Presents
all of the required components of a source evaluation essay,
including an engaging introduction with background
information and a clear thesis, a body paragraph or paragraphs
addressing the source's credibility, a body paragraph or
paragraphs addressing the source's usefulness, and a conclusion
with a concluding statement.Presents all of the required
components of a source evaluation essay, including an
introduction with background information and a clear thesis, a
body paragraph or paragraphs addressing the source's
credibility, a body paragraph or paragraphs addressing the
source's usefulness, and a conclusion with a concluding
statement.Presents nearly all of the required components of a
source evaluation essay; however, one component is
missing.Presents most of the required components of a source
evaluation essay, but is lacking 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
essay.Lacks several or all of the components of a source
evaluation essay; sequences ideas and paragraphs such that the

5. connections between ideas (within and between paragraphs) are
often unclear and the reader has difficulty following the
progression of the essay.
Style
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.Consistently demonstrates poor word
choices, redundancies, imprecise language, and/or repetitive
sentence structures.
Conventions
Follow conventions for standard written 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.There are consistent significant errors in grammar,
punctuation, spelling, capitalization, formatting, and usage.
Reflection
Answer reflection questions thoroughly and

6. thoughtfully.Demonstrates thoughtful reflection; consistently
includes insights, observations, and/or examples in all
responses, following or exceeding response length
guidelines.Demonstrates thoughtful reflection; includes multiple
insights, observations, and/or examples, 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.No reflection responses are present.
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.
All writing must be appropriate for an academic context.
Composition must be original and written 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.

7. Acceptable file formats include .doc, .docx, and .pdf.
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
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
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
This page on the official APA Style website provides numerous
examples of reference list formatting for various source types.