Essay 1
Choose one of the following questions as the focus of your essay:
DUE IN FIRST DRAFT FORM NEXT WEEK — THIS IS JUST THE DESCRIPTION SO THAT YOU CAN BEGIN!
Sean Blanda begins his essay, “The ‘Other Side’ is Not Dumb” by defining “false consensus bias.” Explain what this concept is, and give an example from your own life or experience or observation that you think demonstrates this bias. How did you overcome it or could you?
Writer danah boyd argues that, rather than becoming a more diverse nation, the United States is becoming a nation of self-contained identity groups. What evidence does she provide to support her argument in her essay, “Why America is Self-Segregating”? In what ways does your own experience support or challenge boyd’s view?
Self-segregation in college life is a topci on the minds of other writers, too. Go to theysayiblog.com and search for Conor Friedersdorf. Read his essay on elitism in college dorms. What does he say about them? What experiences in your own life reveal that what he says is true?
In Barack Obama’s speech, he tells Howard University students that we’ve got plenty of work to do, but things are better than they used to be . What evidence does he provide to support his claim? What do you think about the work yet to do, from your own experience?
Read the essay, “Is College the Best Option?” by our authors and the essay that follows, “Should Everyone Go to College?” by Stephanie Own and Isabel Sawhill, and come to your own conclusion, for your life. What are your goals as a college student, and why did you choose Shasta College? In what way does your choice help you overcome some of the factors that make college a questionable investment?
As you write this essay, consider infusing it with one story that illustrates your response and supports it, from your own life. Add a character or mentor who helped you, if that’s relevant:
This essay should be rich in presence and should explain to your audience, through example and storytelling, evidence, and personal details, why you care about a particular subject.
Your purpose:
Create an insider’s guide to the essay you read and your ideas, opinions, or personal values that relate to your response to the points made.
Show how the idea or opinion relates to something that happened in your life.
Quote from the text a little bit, with the appropriate page numbers and a Works Cited page, so that readers can read parts of the essay you are expanding upon.
Your method:
Work on creating presence in your essay through images, characters, language and style. Make it uniquely you.
The thesis should be integrated into every aspect of the essay.
You should write scenically and include quotes from other characters if there are any. Certainly, you should limit the number of people in your essay, unless you are talking about a crowd. Your method should include finding the appropriate language, sounds, and sensory details to describe the place well. You may also need to do some research, revisiting the place itself and getting the details exactly right.
Images, including use of simile and metaphor, description, and reflection are REQUIRED.
Thesis or claim is required.
Quotations from the reading and a clear examination of the author’s points.
Logical organization of ideas and factual elements in support of the thesis are required.
Four pages minimum required, in MLA format. 1300+ words
Character details, people who influenced your view, and actual vegetation, facts (only a few, and be sure to keep away from quoting more than 10% of the material in your essay); the idea is to develop a story with plot and narrative. The facts are only needed to provide detail to support the point you are making.
Your audience:
Be sure your language and explanations clearly address someone in particular outside of this classroom experience who doesn’t realize you were given an assignment. It is helpful if you have someone in particular in mind who you wish to convince – either classmates or developers, for example (very different essays). It would be great to write this essay to people who have never read the essay, to make sure you describe it well and include key points.
