Reading the Assignment
In most instances, you will be given an essay assignment by your professor or instructor.
A. Read the assignment carefully to determine what is required.
1. Look for the types of paper that is required: process, narrative, argumentative, descriptive, literary, or expository.
a. A process paper describes the step-by-step process through which an action is completed.
i. How to play Red Rover, Red Rover.
ii. The process of splitting an atom.
iii. How to floss teeth
iv. How to construct the main support for a score board
b. A narrative paper tells a story by describing a sequence of events in a particular moment or event in people's lives. For example, a narrative paper may describe the sequence of events on a student's first day at university.
i. First day of classes
ii. First date
iii. Selling a scoreboard to Purdue University
iv. Describing the events in a crime
c. An argumentative paper presents one side on a particular issue.
i. 2004 presidential election
ii. Need to vote
iii. Gun control
iv. More student involvement in college activities
d. A descriptive paper describes an object, person, event, or scene in physical detail to recreates the experience for the readers.
i. A socket wrench
ii. Next door neighbor
iii. Fourth of July fireworks
iv. Crime scene
e. An literary paper analyzes the text of a work.
i. Character study
ii. Plot analysis
iii. Implied attack on party politics in Federalist Papers
iv. Environmental impact of political speech
f. An expository paper analyzes, informs, evaluates, or explains information to support a main point.
i. The rise and fall of cafeteria costs
ii. Star clusters
iii. Break-up of the Soviet Union
iv. Schizophrenia
2. Determine the parameters of the paper.
a. Be clear on how many pages maximum and minimum are required.
b. Sometimes instructors prefer a certain number of words; your computer word count function will help you keep within those parameters.
c. Knowing the parameters of the paper will help you determine the kind of topic that you can address.
i. If the paper is very short (3-5 pages or less), then you want to be sure to keep your topic limited.
ii. However, also keep in mind that the more specific the topic, the more you may write.
A. If your topic is specific, you will have a better handle on what content goes into the paper.
B. Knowing the content better may cause you to write more since you can add more examples and analysis.
3. Know your due dates so that you will have all required elements of the paper done on time.
a. Your instructor may require that you have an outline, bibliography, and rough draft checked before you complete the paper.
b. If you stay with those due dates, you are less likely to lose credit on the paper for turning it in late, and you will have had validation of your paper before you actually complete it.
4. If your paper requires research, check with your instructor to make sure if a specific research format is required.
a. Possible formats are MLA, APA, or Chicago Manual of Style.
b. Never mix styles.
B. Read the specific instructions carefully so that you follow the required steps and cover all the necessary elements.
1. Often the person making the assignment will have a specific end in mind with the paper.
a. You must achieve that end when the instructor is looking for you to demonstrate your understanding in a specific area.
b. Usually these specific ends help you write the paper since you know better what you must include in the paper.
2. Many instructors who assign papers will provide steps that you should go through in completing the paper
a. Follow those steps carefully since they are given to help you write.
b. The steps also may be necessary in gathering the material to achieve the specific end discussed above.
3. Don't be afraid to look outside the specific assignment.
a. First of all, and most importantly, consult with your instructor if you want to do something different with the paper.
b. Secondly, in that discussion with the instruction, explain how your changes are consistent with the overall purpose of the paper.
c. Most instructors like creativity and independent thinking, so if you have an idea that expands the specific topic, follow it after you have discussed the idea with your instructor.
d. You can nearly always be creative with your approach to a paper.
C. Answer these questions about a writing assignment:
1. What is the kind of paper that you must write?
2. What is the specific assignment topic?
3. What are the options?
4. How many pages must there be to the paper?
5. Does the paper require outside sources?
6. What paper format is required?
7. What parts of the writing process must you complete to show to your instructor?
8. What are the due dates?
9. Are there any extra requirements, such as graphics, abstract, etc.?
10. How is the paper evaluated?
.
D. If you cannot find the answers to the above questions in the assignment, consult your instructor if you are not certain whether the questions is pertinent or not to the assignment.
Here are some assignments made by college professors:
Assignment 1 Comparative Religion 101
Comparison of Creation Narratives
In this assignment, you should
· read the Biblical creation story in Genesis 1-3 and draw up an outline of the overall process of the creation.
· read a second creation story from the ones supplied in your text and also draw up an outline of that process.
ASSIGNMENT:
1. Select one or two elements from Genesis Chapters 1-3 and comparable elements from the second creation story. You might want to ask questions about the two stories and compare how the stories answer your questions (for example, Are males created first in both stories? Is the deity male? Do plants and animals come before or after humans?) Decide which of the questions is most interesting or relevant to you and focus on those questions and how the creation stories answer them. Analyze your answers to the questions and draw a conclusion about how and why the stories are similar or different in that particular element.
2. Use at least two other sources in developing the paper. You may want to find writers who have done analyses of the two creation stories, or you may want to investigate anthropologists who have written about why certain patterns (archetypes) exist in these stories. Use MLA citation format in writing the paper.
3. The paper must be between five and seven pages long.
4. The paper will be evaluated on the following scale:
content: 70%
sources: 10%
spelling, punctuation, grammar: 20%
4. The paper is due during class on Friday December 3. Any paper received after 1:00 that day will be penalized for being late.
Evaluation: If you apply the six questions to ask about an assignment, you will get the following answers:
1. Analytical paper that must compare.
2. The paper is two compare specific elements in the Biblical creation story and one other creation story from the text.
3. Flexibility on elements within the two stories; can choose any of the stories from the text.
4. 5-7 pages, pretty much must stick to that range
5. At least two outside sources
6. MLA
7. None
8. December 3 by 1 pm
9. No
10. Content is most important, but must use good resources and be careful with mechanics.
Assignment 2
Due Date: Thursday, Oct. 21, at the beginning of class. No late papers accepted.
Using class notes, class discussion, workshop activities, and assigned readings, write an essay about the following topic:
What is deviant behavior and how is it defined? Who creates the definition and why? How is the legal system influenced by this definition?
Develop your definition of deviant behavior with specific examples and analysis based on classroom work and readings from the texts. Since there is no one specific definition of deviant behavior, your definition cannot be judged as "right" or "wrong." However, it can be judged on your ability to support that definition with good examples and sound argument.
The grading criteria are the following:
1. Content: 70%--strong thesis, strong arguments, good use of course material, and good examples.
2. Format 20%--APA
3. Mechanics 10%--papers not exhibiting college-level standards of spelling, punctuation, and grammar will not be accepted
Papers should use APA format which consists of a title page, abstract, body of the paper, and references page. Use 12 point font and 11/4 -inch margins on the sides with 1-inch margins on the top and bottom. Papers should be from 3-6 pages of content in length. You may go beyond six pages, but the content must justify that extension. Any papers shorter than 3 full pages of content are not acceptable. Use a maximum of three direct quotations with no quotations exceeding three lines.
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