November 18, 2010 Archives

This is 3-4 page essay -- a little longer than your Papers 1 through 3. I don't mind if you include some of the same points that you included in your latest ILP revision, but this is a different assignment, with different goals.

It's time to start looking back and assessing your accomplishments.

Like any essay, you should come up with a thesis statement that makes a specific, debatable claim, and you should back up your claim with evidence (in the form of very brief, direct quotations from your work, reading assignments, the comments I leave on your papers, etc.).

Specific tips to keep in mind. I'm not expecting you to write a separate paragraph on each of these numbers; exactly how you meet each of these points is up to you.

1) Write a coherent, well-organized essay following a pattern that emphasizes your main points, demonstrating your ability to apply what you learned about showing with specific examples, reducing wordiness, and proper grammar and punctuation. (I am not looking for stand-alone paragraphs that respond to my prompts, in the order I give them.)

2) Present a clear thesis paragraph that includes a topic, precise opinion on the topic, and the "blueprint" (which presents your main points in the order in which you will explore them in the rest of your paper). The title, the thesis statement, and the conclusion should match, but the conclusion should not merely repeat the thesis statement.

3) Defend a non-obvious point by making specific reference to what you learned from your MyCompLab pre-test, quoting brief passages from your own work and also referring to your MyCompLab post-test.

4) Defend a non-obvious point by making specific reference to other ways in which the course helped you to learn, again by quoting brief passages from your own work.

5) Every paragraph should refer to at least one specific assignment. Some paragraphs might refer to multiple assignments. Some quotes might help you make more than one point. Quote (very briefly) from your work frequently, in order to support your claims -- but quotes that are too long, or that appear at random, will look like filler.

6) Include at least two pairs of quotes -- a "before" quote from an early assignment, and an "after" quote from a late assignment -- to support your claims. (You are welcome to include a "middle" quote if you like.)

7) Be specific. For this paper, that means zoom in on how a particular assignment shows your progress in a specific area. Avoid vague general statements.

We will write and submit this during class.