This essay asks you to evaluate the writing you have done this semester and make an argument for your success in achieving the department's objectives for 102. They are:
- The student can create an original and unambiguous thesis statement that responds to an assigned topic.
- The student can write a coherent and unified argument with an introduction, a conclusion, and well-developed body paragraphs.
- The student can write a logical argument that supports the claim with appropriate and sufficient evidence.
- The student can identify the intended audience for a particular argument and communicate with this audience in an effective way.
- The student can incorporate external sources pertinent to the argument.
- The student can use MLA format for textual citations and the Works Cited page.
- The student demonstrates competence in the grammatical and usage conventions of Standard Edited American English.
Your essay should be 750–1000 words and should make specific references to your writing this semester. This would include not only the formal essays you have written but also your mini-projects and blog posts. Your sources, then, are your own pieces of writing. For instance, in discussing your ability to write for a specific audience, you should not just say, "In essay 2 I wrote for the audience you told us to write for." Rather, you would want to write something like this:
Essay 2 specified the Curriculum Development Committee as my audience. I communicated effectively with this audience by doing x, y, and z. For example, I wrote, "...."
The essay is due in Comment by midnight, Wednesday, May 3.