IN-CLASS ESSAY: DEFINING EDUCATION

For our next major project, we will write an essay in class. You will be given the following writing prompt, and you may prepare an outline in MS Word to guide you as you write a formal essay in class. Here is the prompt:

Much like Lubrano defines "straddlers" and Lowen defines the processes of "herofication," you need to coin a term for a group or process related to an educational experience you personally observed during your schooling. You may commandeer a word from existing vocabulary and craft a new, localized meaning relevant to the group or process you are describing, or you may create a new word entirely.

To successfully answer the question, your essay should do the following:

• Offer a clear term for the readers' consideration.
• Provide a definition of the term that excludes other groups or processes.
• Provides clear examples of the major defining characteristics in action.
• Evaluates the effect the group or process had on either the school environment, the educational experience, or specific individuals.

The paper should be structured like a traditional 5-7 paragraph essay. Key features include the following:

• The Introduction
  
  • Starts with a hook to grab the readers' attention while immediately focusing in on the specific topic.
  • Clearly identifies the specific school situation in which this term is relevant.
  • Presents the term and the definition.
  • Provides a plan of development that lists the key characteristics that your examples are going to explore.
  • Ends with a final statement on the impact your topic had on the school environment.
• Each Body Paragraph
  • Has a topic sentence with a strong transition and a clear link to an element from your term's definition.
  • Offers a specific, developed example of the characteristic in action.
  • Concludes with a judgment about the characteristic.
• The Conclusion
  • Has a strong transition (That is not "in conclusion").
  • Restates the definition and the key characteristics.
  • Provides a broader discussion of the impact this group or process had on somebody at the school or on the educational experience.

To prepare for this exam, you may prepare a 5" x 8" exam card. Create two 5" x 8" boxes in an MS Word document and write your outline inside the text boxes. The card may not use complete sentences: it should be an outline of your paper. The extent of detail you put on the card is up to you, but you may not write out the whole essay on the card. You only have the length of the class period in which to complete the essay. You will need to copy and paste the contents of your outline into the second question of the in-cass essay so I can grade it.

On the in-class essay day, log into Blackboard and go to the Virtual Classroom. Then in the main Blackboard menu, click on

 

Points possible: 50 for in class essay, another 5 for a well-executed card.