[In-Class] Essay #2
WR 121, Prof. C. Agatucci - Fall 2002, Weeks #6 & #7
Worth: 15% of course grade - letter graded & scored using Final Exam rubric
[but see WR 121 Syllabus - Course Grading]
NO Late/"Make-Up" In-Class Essays are allowed
(See WR 121 Syllabus: Course Grading & Late Work Policies)

DEADLINES: See WR 121 Course Plan for week-by-week assignment schedule & deadlines

This formal graded essay assignment will help you achieve these WR 121 learning outcomes (Competencies, stated in WR 121 Syllabus):

*Outcome 1  Write essays that . . .
    ...use a thesis to establish control over content;
    ...supply relevant and adequate supporting details drawn from observation, personal experience and/or responsive reading;
    ...employ the organizational strategies of effective beginnings, transitions, and endings; and
    ...conform to standard edited English.

Outcome 2  Achieve Outcome 1 under time constraints (prior to the final exam), while conforming to expectations of an assigned topic and of edited English appropriate for timed writing.

Outcome 4  Employ one or more sources responsibly (without plagiarizing) in a . . . writing assignment.

Outcome 5  Demonstrate, in an essay, a sustained style employing rhetorically effective tone, persona, diction, idiom, and syntax [i.e. sentence style & word choice].

See also Evaluation Checklist for In-Class Essay #2 below.

IN-CLASS ESSAY #2 Directions & Topic Choices

Come to class Week #7 prepared to write your in-class Essay #2:
(1) Preliminary Draft of In-Class Essay #2 (to be turned in at the beginning of class)
(2) Bring bluebook(s), black or blue ink pens, topics handout, Muller textbook;
optional dictionary &/or thesaurus OK.
Note Well: No Notes, Outlines, Drafts, etc., may be used when writing In-Class Essays.

For deadlines, preparation, & materials needed, see WR 121 Course Plan.  Prepare your essay in response to one of the following assigned topics.  Make sure your essay is unified by a clearly stated thesis and narrowed focus.  Your essay should be developed with supporting explanation, specific examples and detail drawn from observation, experience, and reading.  In first reference to relevant Muller reading(s) you bring into your essay, introduce the author’s full name and title of the article; author tags should accompany any summary from the article, and MLA-style in-text parenthetical citation should follow any quotations and/or paraphrases.

Topic #1.  “Family Values.” 
As both Richard Rodriquez, in “Family Values,” and Barbara Kingsolver, in “Stone Soup,” point out, U.S. family structures have become increasingly diverse.  Characteristics that they “value” as “family” may be found in many types of family structures—“traditional” (i.e. nuclear family) and alternative (e.g. single-parent, step-parent, same-sex, multi-generational families).  Write an essay in which you define and develop two or three characteristics that you value in a true “family.”  Introduce into your discussion at least one point made by Rodriquez or Kingsolver.

Topic #2.   Your “American Childhood”
Both Annie Dillard, in “An American Childhood,” and Robert Coles, in “ I Listen to My Parents and Wonder What They Believe,” address how parents’ values, attitudes, and behaviors affect their children.  Write an essay in which you identify two or three key values, attitudes, and/or behaviors of your parents, and analyze how and why they made a lasting impact on you.  Introduce into your discussion at least one point made by Dillard or Coles.

Topic #3.  How You Read and Write
Mortimer Adler's "How to Mark a Book," Annie Dillard's "The Writing Life," Peter Elbow's "Freewriting," and Donald Murray's "The Maker's Eye: Revising Your Own Manuscripts" discuss the authors’ attitudes toward and processes of reading or writing.  Write an essay in which you characterize your attitude toward reading and/or writing, and analyze aspect(s) of your reading and/or writing process.  Integrate at least two points made from one (or more) of these articles relevant to your own discussion. 

Topic #4.  Gender Roles and Expectations
In “Being a Man,” Paul Theroux examines gender roles and expectations to explain why he has “always disliked being a man” (219).  In “Sex, Lies and Conversation: Why Is It So Hard for Men and Women to Talk to Each Other?” Deborah Tannen examines communication problems that result from different gender expectations.  Write an essay in which you identify and analyze one or two problems created by gender roles or expectations of males and/or females in our society.  Draw upon your own experiences and observations, as well as at least one point made by either Theroux or Tannen relevant to your discussion. 

In-Class Essay #2 Evaluation           Name___________________________
Wr 121, Fall 2002, Prof. C. Agatucci 
Two highest scores/grades on three                 Grade & Score_______________
class essays count (2 @ 15% of course grade)   See WR 121 Syllabus: No Late/Make Up Allowed

These In-Class Essay #2 Requirements are Met:
____Must be written in blank bluebook(s) or it will not be accepted for grading.
____Must avoid plagiarism & integrate required point/s from relevant reading/s, using correct MLA style to cite point/s from reading & any other source/s.

In-Class Essays must demonstrate at least minimum competency (score of “3”)
in all 5 of the following categories in order to receive a Passing Score/Grade:

_____1. ASSIGNED TOPIC & TOPIC FOCUS: Clearly addresses (all parts of) assigned topic question and explores relevant issues; topic/thesis is well focused (limited enough) to allow for satisfactory treatment in an essay of 800-1000 words within timed writing period. N.B. Essay must be written in response to one of these assigned topics, or essay automatically fails for being off topic:

____2. CONTENT, THESIS/PURPOSE: Shows depth, complexity of thought (not simplistic) in exploring issues relevant to assigned topic; establishes and maintains a clear "focus" unified by a thesis statement, with clear controlling sentences (e.g. thesis/purpose statements, topic sentences, thesis transitions); engaged writing to communicate with the intended audience. Essay must be written to make a central point--i.e. focused, unified by, organized and developed to support a clear, specific thesis, which responds explicitly to chosen assigned topic.

____3. ORGANIZATION, COHERENCE, ESSAY FORM: Effectively organized by a clear, logical organizational pattern appropriate to assigned topic & thesis; essay structure (e.g., introduction, conclusion, transitions & paragraph breaks) clearly establishes and carries out organizational pattern; effective transitions, logical reasoning, & clear expression maintain strong coherence throughout the essay.

____4. PARAGRAPH DEVELOPMENT: Body paragraphs are well-developed, drawing upon reading, personal experience, observation; with strong supporting detail, and sufficient discussion of detail to establish its relevance to essay focus/thesis; general points (e.g. topic sentences) are developed with strong supporting detail & well-selected examples, with sufficient explanation to establish relevance of body points & specific evidence to the essay topic & thesis.

Cora's WR 121 Course Web Site:  Index
Fall 2002 Syllabus | Course Plan | Assignments | more to be linked

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Last Updated: 26 July 2003

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