College Writing Portfolio Checklist and Assignments
*assignments are in bold
Theme for the semester: the value of education
[ ] PAPER #1
Write in class for 45 minutes. Respond to Ralph Waldo Emerson's assertion, in his essay "An American Scholar," that
"Books are for the scholar's idle times."
[ ] pre-writing for paper #2
[ ] outline for paper #2
[ ] draft with revisions for paper #2
[ ] PAPER #2
Carefully construct an essay of at least five paragraphs. Follow all of the guidelines assigned in class. In light of
Emerson's assertion (above), discuss the effect of education on the characters in Alice Walker's short story "Everyday
Use," which you will find in your Literacies text. Remember that you are writing an analysis, not a summary.
[ ] pre-writing for paper #3
[ ] outline for paper #3
[ ] peer revision exercises for paper #3
[ ] draft with revisions for paper #3
[ ] PAPER #3
Carefully construct an essay of at least seven paragraphs. Continue to expand your thinking about the effect of
education on individuals. Include references to other works, and your own earlier essays, but focus on the film
Educating Rita. As an older student, does Rita find what she's been looking for through education? What value does
formal education hold for her? What about the professor?
[ ] pre-writing for paper #4
[ ] SENTENCE OUTLINE FOR PAPER #4
Follow the guidelines in your Rules for Writers text, along with those given in class, to carefully construct an outline,
using complete sentences. Remember that such an outline is often longer (in terms of pages) than the paper itself.
[ ] draft with revisions for paper #4
[ ] PAPER #4
Carefully construct an essay of at least ten paragraphs in response to Bellah's Essay "Community, Commitment and
Individuality," in your Literacies text. In what ways has each person's background (upbringing, religion, culture,
education, etc.) effected his or her adult life? Draw on ideas from your earlier papers, and from other works. This
should be your best work to date.
[ ] PAPER #5: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY (see attached assignment)
College Writing Paper #5 -- Annotated Bibliography
Your paper is due on April 24
It is NOT an esssay
You will create an annotated bibliography on a specific type of education other than public schools.
You must ask me to approve your topic
Research your topic on the internet and elsewhere, and save all of the bibliographical information.
Choose at least ten sources you believe would be valuable to someone writing a paper on your topic.
Organize the bibliographical information exactly as shown in the MLA section of your book, beginning on p. 411. See example (without notations) on p. 446.
After each entry...
-- Skip a line and hit tab
-- Describe the content of the article, book, etc. in several well-constructed sentences. What value would it have to a researcher? Do NOT use the abstract (summary) provided with the article as your synopsis.
Every word, every punctuation mark, every capital and bit of space must meet the standards of the MLA and this course. You will be graded according to the level of care you will have taken to prepare our annotated bibliography. Do provide a cover page.
Everything you need to know will be (or has been) covered in class, is in your book, or is on this sheet. Feel free to e-mail me with questions when you cannot come to a conclusion on your own, please look in the book first!
Good Luck -
Linda Trombley
**********************************************************************************************************
Sample entry:
Brown, Melody. "Prison Education for Teens." Time 9 April 2001
<http://www.time.com/april01/teens>
This article explains the basic practices of teen education in American prisons. It vies a rief history of what has gone wrong in the past, and what has worked well. Interviews with former prisoners offer some good insights. Very few up-to-date details are provided.
RETURN TO COLLEGE WRITING MAIN INDEX