write an essay about a person, place, or event in your past that has special significance. You should think of your audience as people who do not know you at all. You should try to find a way to make your reflection interesting to a wide array of readers.

Instructions

  1. Double space your paper. Set your margins to one inch. Use the Times New Roman font and 12-point typeface.
  2. Put a header on your essay following the example above.
  3. Be sure to title your work. Do not underline, italicize, boldface, or enlarge your title. Do not use all caps. Do not put your title in quotation marks.
  4. Be sure to include a clear thesis statement in your essay. For this assignment, your thesis can be anywhere in your essay, as long as it is somewhere. Some students will save their thesis until the end.
  5. You will be telling a story in this essay. Make sure your story has a beginning and ending. You should make a larger point that can be generalized to the reader; this will be your thesis.
  6. Make sure to include a lead-in at the beginning of your essay. You will not need an essay map for this assignment.
  7. Your essay should be at least three (3) pages long. There is no maximum number of pages, only a minimum.
  8. This is not a five-paragraph essay. You can have as many paragraphs as you like.
  9. You will be submitting your paper to insideranken, and you do not need to give a hard copy to me. I will get your essay off insideranken. You must also submit the essay to turnitin.com.
  10. This essay will be due at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, April 1.

 

dftatum@ranken.edu

 

Using the concepts covered in Chapter 6 of your text, you will write an essay about a person, place, or event in your past that has special significance. You should think of your audience as people who do not know you at all. You should try to find a way to make your reflection interesting to a wide array of readers.

Following the steps outlined on pages 88-98 of your textbook, you should choose and focus your topic.

 

I will use the following criteria to assess your essay:

Does the essay tell a good story?

How clear is your purpose in writing this reflection, and is your purpose appropriate?

How well does it convey significance through details?

Does the essay focus on something significant, whether great or small?

How relevant will your personal experience be to others?

I will also, of course, be grading spelling, punctuation, and all the other standard criteria for a college-level essay.