ENGL 100 Essay I, Fall 2005
This page includes the assignment sheet for the first critical essay. My goal is to make this page as useful to you as possible, so let me know if it can be improved. If anything is badly worded, unclear, or missing, please contact me with constructive criticisms and suggestions. Thanks.
Assignment Sheet
Due: DRAFT--two copies in class on Wednesday, September 7, 2005; FINAL--in class on Monday, September 12, 2005, along with previous draft and brief author's note on the revision process (note: class meets in Reed Library)
Format: 3-7 pages as described in the options below, double spaced, with reasonable fonts, font sizes, and margins (be warned that barely getting on to the third sheet of paper does not a three-page paper make!); title that indicates main argument of paper; heading that includes your name, the course name or number, and the date; format, bibliography, and citations in APA style (see the links page for explanations and examples of APA style; proper quotation format in body of paper.
Criteria for Evaluation: Your grade for the critical essay will be determined by the coherence and validity of the paper's arguments, the effectiveness of the paper's structure in conveying your ideas and convincing your audience, and the quality of the paper's prose (including grammar, syntax, and punctuation). Check back here for updates to these criteria based on our 9/7/05 workshop.
Audience: Varies; see the options, below.
Draft Policy: I would be happy to offer brief comments on your drafts, so long as you get me them by the Friday before the final version is due.
Rewrite Policy: I will not grade rewrites of the final version of the first essay, although I will give comments on any rewrite(s) you choose to do (which will improve your preparation/participation/team work grade).
Options: Here are your options for the first essay. In each of these options, your job is to come up with an argument that you are trying to support by using evidence to persuade your readers of your interpretation's validity. You will not have the option of choosing your own topic/question for this essay; instead, you must choose one of the following topics and use the readings, research, and discussions in the first section of Unit I in developing your response to it.
During the first section of the first unit of the course, we considered various perspectives on the value of a college education and the reasons for seeking one. As you consider whether to choose this option, think carefully about your own beliefs on these issues and how they have changed in the course of our research, readings, and discussions.
If you do choose this option, you must write a 2-to-4-page double-spaced letter to someone your age who isn't in college in which you do your best to persuade him or her to apply to colleges for next year. Your task is to customize the letter to your intended audience (which could be a real person you know, a composite of several people you know, or a completely fictional person) so as to make the range of arguments that you believe will be most persuasive for him or her.
In addition, you must write a 1-to-3-page double-spaced letter to me in which you describe your intended audience and explain/justify your choices in the letter to him or her, and provide me with a list of references, in APA format, that you used to help you develop your argument. I don't expect you to give APA citations in the letter to your friend, but you should do so in the letter to me.
The total length of the two letters must be in the 3-to-7-double-spaced-page range (don't go above or below it--in other words, don't blow the assignment off, but don't pad your letters, either.)
You should bring two copies of your draft to class on Wednesday, September 7, along with a list of criteria (along with points for each criterion) on how you believe people who choose this option should be graded.
When you turn in the final version on Monday, September 12, please include a copy of the earlier draft (preferably the one you took notes on in Wednesday's class during the workshop), along with a separate author's note in which you describe and reflect on the revision process (no more than one page).
During the first section of the first unit of the course, we considered several views on the difference a college education makes. As you consider whether to choose this option, try to figure out what you see as the most essential difference and why.
If you do choose this option, you must write a 2-to-4-page double-spaced letter to your parents or grandparents in which you lay out the most important changes you expect to undergo as a result of your college experience. Your task is to persuade them that their investment in your future will pay off by focusing on the most crucial effects you expect a college education to have on you.
In addition, you must write a 1-to-3-page double-spaced letter to me in which you describe your intended audience, explain/justify your choices in the letter to him or her, and provide me with a list of references, in APA format, that you used to help you develop your argument. I don't expect you to give APA citations in the letter to your family, but you should do so in the letter to me.
The total length of the two letters must be in the 3-to-7-double-spaced-page range (don't go above or below it--in other words, don't blow the assignment off, but don't pad your letters, either.)
You should bring two copies of your draft to class on Wednesday, September 7, along with a list of criteria (along with points for each criterion) on how you believe people who choose this option should be graded.
When you turn in the final version on Monday, September 12, please include a copy of the earlier draft (preferably the one you took notes on in Wednesday's class during the workshop), along with a separate author's note in which you describe and reflect on the revision process (no more than one page).
During the first section of the first unit of the course, we considered several views on the importance of literacy. As you consider whether to choose this option, try to clarify your own views on why literacy matters and the reasons behind them.
If you do choose this option, you must write a 2-to-4-page double-spaced letter to your favorite high school English teacher in which you offer constructive criticism on his or her teaching of literacy skills (both reading and writing) and offer suggestions on improving it. Your task is to persuade him or her to consider changing aspects of his or her teaching style and strategies in light of your own experience in high school and college and the research, readings, and discussions in this course.
In addition, you must write a 1-to-3-page double-spaced letter to me in which you describe your intended audience, explain/justify your choices in the letter to him or her, and provide me with a list of references, in APA format, that you used to help you develop your argument. I don't expect you to give APA citations in the letter to your teacher, but you should do so in the letter to me.
The total length of the two letters must be in the 3-to-7-double-spaced-page range (don't go above or below it--in other words, don't blow the assignment off, but don't pad your letters, either.)
You should bring two copies of your draft to class on Wednesday, September 7, along with a list of criteria (along with points for each criterion) on how you believe people who choose this option should be graded.
When you turn in the final version on Monday, September 12, please include a copy of the earlier draft (preferably the one you took notes on in Wednesday's class during the workshop), along with a separate author's note in which you describe and reflect on the revision process (no more than one page).