Essay Reading & Writing Assignments

Sources for essays must be deemed academically credible. Please avoid the following:

1. No encyclopedia - including Wikipedia
2. No dictionaries
3. No authorless websites - Websites like The American Red Cross or UCLA's Counseling office are considered to be corporate authors and are thus acceptable. Newspaper editorials also do not list authors. Use corporate or institutional authors in the place of individual people and cite normally.
4. No quote web sites like Brainy Quotes or Great Quotes. For example:  "All people have a basic human right to preserve their own heritage," David Duke.
5. No blogs without full names.

When you cite a source, you have made the determination that it is academically credible. If it is not, your paper will be penalized. Don't forget to use the CRAAP test.

 
Argumentation (p. 493)
Debate - Date Rape (p. 538-) - also in Moodle

Topic: Write a dating guideline for the college you will be attending (or for a Fraternity or Sorority).
Audience:  your fellow students, college community, parents - maintain a formal, academic tone.
Purpose: To establish guidelines for dating.
Sources: Paglia, Jacoby, and 3 more sources. 10 citations minimum.
Format: Chicago 2 (author/date)
       American University Controversy Video CBS, Video 2, School Paper; Apology from Editors,  ABC Report;  USA Today

 

Debate - College Ethnic Housing (p. 549-) - also in Moodle

Topic: "Should Colleges Allow Students to Segregate Themselves in their Housing Preferences?" example - Gay, Hispanic, Black, Asian, or White students?
Audience:  your fellow students, college community, parents - maintain a formal, academic tone.
Purpose: set a policy for your college
Sources: Parker, Davis, and 3 more sources. 10 citations minimum
Format: Chicago 1 (notes/bibliography)
       Ethnic Housing Resources

 
Science Writing
 

Topic: Pick a scientific topic. Feel free to write about something you are currently studying (biology, marine biology, physics, chemistry, engineering, etc.)
Audience: Scientific community
Purpose: Convey a scientific precept
Sources: 1 science book; 2 science journals or magazines; 2 more sources; 10 citations minimum.
Format: CBE/CSE C-S

"Cooking Up Bigger Brains"  - Rachael Moeller Gorman (also Moodle)
"Evolving Bigger Brains Through Cooking: A Q&A with Richard Wrangham" -  Rachael Moeller Gorman  (also Moodle)
Human Brains Getting Smaller - NPR
Learning Domains/Styles? NPR
Teen Brains - NGM
 
Cause & Effect (p. 265)
"A Peaceful Woman Explains Why She Carries a Gun" Linda Hasselstrom (p. 298)
"The Black Table is Still There" - Lawrence Otis Graham (p. 294)

Topic: Psychology, Economics, or American Government - Why did/does it happen?
Audience: General Public - maintain a formal, academic tone
Purpose: Explain a social phenomena happening today
Sources: One of your text books and 4 more sources. 10 citations minimum.
Format: APA
Use Terms: Immediate Cause, Remote Cause, Main Cause, Contributory Cause
 
 
   
Comparison & Contrast (p. 321)
"Sex, Lies, and Conversation" - Deborah Tannen (p. 367) - also in Moodle
 Kill 'Em! Crush 'Em! Eat 'Em raw!PDF document  (Moodle)
  •  Between the Sexes, A great Divide (Moodle)

Topic:  Compare & Contrast:   Men and Women  or  2 colleges
Audience: Other Students - but maintain a formal, academic tone.
Purpose: Informational 
Sources: 1 print source, 1 media source, and 3 more sources. 10 citations minimum.
Format: MLA
Choose Point by Point or Subject by Subject design.
           Dr. Jennifer Ashton,  "Size Matters: How Male, Female Brains Compare" The Early Show. CBS News Aired September 22, 2010
           Miranda Hitti, "US Life Expectancy Best Ever, Says CDC" WebMD. February 28, 2005.
 
 
   
Exemplification (p. 169)
"The Peter Principle" - Peter & Hull (p. 181)
"Just Walk on By..." Brent Staples (p. 197)

Topic: Pick a cliche, a school phenomenon, or a social networking web site - explain its popularity
Audience: General Public - maintain a formal, academic tone
Purpose: Explain by providing a sample and explication
Sources: 1 print source and 4 more sources. 10 citations minimum.
Format: Chicago 1
 
Classification & Division (p. 397)
"College Pressures" - William Zinsser (p. 390)
"Sexism in English..." - Alleen Pace Nilsen (p. 413)
"The Ways We Lie" - Stephanie Ericsson - (p. 426)

Group or Individual writing  - minimum 2 classes/divisions (if you work in a group, there must be the same number of
      classifications/divisions    eg. three people = three classifications/divisions)
Topic: Kinds of colleges, Kinds of scholarships, Kinds of phone, Kinds of athletes, Kinds of music - explicate and categorize
      - make a point
Audience: General Public - maintain a formal, academic tone
Purpose: Explain by providing a sample and explication
Sources: 3 sources & 5 citations per person. MUST have print sources. Individual = 5 sources, 10 citations
Format: Chicago 2
 
Combining the Patterns
"A Modest Proposal" - Jonathan Swift (p. 648)
What is Satire?
The Onion
Writing Satire

Assignment: write a satire - your own "Modest Proposal" - could be about school or college or dating
No references required.
Partners are allowed.
 
Definition (p. 455)
"Tortillas" - Jose Antonio Burciaga (p. 470)
"I Want a Wife" - Judy Brady (p. 474)
"Does America Still Exist?" - Richard Rodriguez (p. 482)
Description (p. 119)
  "More than Just a Shrine..." - Mary Gordon (p. 142)|
"Words Left Unspoken" - Leah Hager Cohen (p. 133)
Process (p. 217)
"Anatomy of a Joke" - Garry Trudeau (p. 233)
"The Embalming of Mr. Jones" - Jessica Mitford (p. 248)
Narration (p. 69)
John Adams - David McCullough -in Moodle
"My Mother Never Worked" - Donna Smith-Yackel (p. 94)
"Thirty-eight Who Saw Murder Didn't Call the Police" - Martin Gansberg (p. 99)

Topic: Leader as a Catalyst for Change - Narrate a Leader's Episode in Life -make a point, not a report of info
Audience: General Public - maintain a formal, academic tone.
Purpose: Informational 
Sources: 2 PRINT sources and 3 more sources. 10 citations minimum.
Format: MLA