Essays

Some of you have asked about the form and content of the essays for the class. Part of the final test is to write three essays on point in 2 hours and 20 minutes. It's the second part of the AP test. Does this sound daunting? Many of you will not be able to do this now, but by the end of the year, you will be relaxed and able to do this with little trouble (note--I did not say this would not annoy you!).

If you are going to go to college, you will need this essay writing skill. And even though it is a necessary evil, the easier and faster you can formulate your thoughts, the less time you will waste and the more successful you will be.

I am taking 15 units of graduate classes this summer. I have four left. I am reading a book every three days and then writing a seven to ten page paper, with MLA citations. This is my choice, but my writing skills have helped immensely. I have only four more classes to go (so that means 11 graduate units in a month and a half--while teaching and coordinating state and federal programs for the school and having a life--what did you say? You have no time? If I have the time and am teaching summer school and enjoying time off, I think you can become more efficient in your use of time for this class. So far, I have gotten A's on all of the writing that I have done. I have no time to complain about the assignments as I want the units and they are a part of my learning objectives for this summer and beyond. I am assuming you will be of the same mindset. I share this as I want you to know that I am a writing teacher who is a writing student,as well. I hope that I am a student all of my life.

Form: Five paragraphs--9-11 sentences in each paragraph. You must have a three point thesis that will address the prompt specifically and not answer any other question. The thesis should be a statement and not a question. Each paragraph should contain examples from the text to support the topic sentence and commentary about how the evidence works within the piece. This should be in third person--not first person.

Content: ANSWER THE QUESTION. Do not interpret another question because you do not understand or do not like the question given to you.

Come by if you have any questions!

Miss D