Three Major Essay Projects

Essay One – first draft due: 08/30; final draft due: 09/25 (My Future at Fifty (so old!))

Our life is largely an unknown. Events, even small events, affect us in ways we can see
only many years down the road. But as we move through life, we all aim at a dream. An
ideal. In this essay, I’d like you to look out into the future and imagine your life when
you’re fifty years old. For example: What have you accomplished? Where do you live?
Who are the people who are most important to you, and why? What are you still
striving to accomplish? Then, narrate a story one day in your life as a fifty-year-old.
And reminisce about how you got there. I particularly want you to focus on how you
built relationships, ties and responsibilities with friends and family, and what you’ve
been able to contribute to your social and cultural communities, and how those things
brough you to where you are at fifty. Make your story believable by imagining a life
that could utterly happen. I’m looking for a well-told story that brings to live the
significant moments that led to this future.

Note: The style of this first assignment is short fiction, so we’ll be using elements of the
creative writing craft, including: description, dialogue, setting, and narration. The essay
will be written in story form.

Mechanics and other stuff (see Grading Criteria for more) 5-7 pages. Double-spaced,
Times New Roman 12 pt font:

1. Essay adheres to assigned topic (you follow directions)

2. Correct punctuation and spelling
3. Essay written in present tense
4. No grammar problems (esp. run-ons or sentence fragments)
5. Use of active voice (in this paper I want ALL of your sentences to be written in the
active voice)
6. Creative use of description (using all five senses), dialogue and narration
7. Overall unity of essay (how well does it fit together)

Good luck and have fun!

Essay Two – first draft due: 09/29; final draft due: 10/13 (historical fiction)

This essay assignment is designed to help you move from a more personal/subjective
perspective in your writing, to a more impersonal/objective perspective. Choose an
historical event (something between 1965 to 2005) in the history of America, and write
an essay, in narrative form, from the perspective of a participant/observer of the event.
I want you to write the story from your perspective—not the perspective of a main
historical figure (i.e. don’t tell the story through the eyes of someone like Kurt Cobain,
or Martin Luther King). Your narrative should be limited to one day. Assume the
audience knows the basic importance and relevance of the event to history. The idea is
for you to tell a story using facts of history—like a movie “based on” a real event.

Requirements for the essay (see Grading Criteria for more) 5-7 pages. Double-spaced,
Times New Roman 12 pt font:

1. A well-organized, thoughtful presentation of the story.

2. Lots of detail and use of concrete description throughout the story, using all the
senses.
3. Appropriate use of dialogue.
4. Use of active voice.
5. Story written in present tense.
6. Proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

NOTE: You are required to use at least two research sources for the paper; therefore, I
will need a bibliographical list of books, articles or internet sources you use to write the
paper. Do not plagiarize—first, read the material to get an idea of the subject, then write
the essay. You will need to cite three sources for this narrative. I will need a
bibliographical list of books, articles or internet sources you used to write the paper. Do
not plagiarize—read the material to get an idea of the subject, take notes—then, write
the essay. On this paper, you will not have to turn in a works-cited page. However, any
quotes or paraphrases must be given attribution.

Have fun.

In addition to these main points, look for:

• Places to cut wordy phrases and clichés

• The use of indefinite pronouns as the subject of a sentence
• The overuse of helping verbs (look for –ing endings)
• Forms of “to be” which might indicate passive sentence structure

Essay Three—first draft: 10/20; final draft due: 11/10 (the poetry of life)

In this final project, you will write a poem that tries to capture a space in time when you
were surprised—in true awe. You will use all the devices of poetic craft that we study in
class. Then, you will write a five-page analysis of the poem discussing the strengths and
weaknesses of the poem and how it might be improved. Now, write an informative
essay, in narrative form (5-7 pages) in which the narrator (you) shows the reader:

Your voice should be professional, but personal. Just like in the other writing
assignments, use active-voiced sentences and lots of detail and description.
Requirements for the poem and essay (see Grading Criteria for more) Double-spaced,
Times New Roman 12 pt font:

• The poem must follow the formal style that I present to you in class (and in the
handout I will give you)
• Lots of detail and description using all the senses
• Use of active voice
• A well-organized, professional presentation of the information
• Proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation

Have fun.

A CHECKLIST FOR ESSAYS

Here are the elements of writing that I’ll be looking for you to demonstrate in
your essays. Make sure to check these out before you turn in your final draft.

□ Is the narrative written in present tense?

□ Are all of the sentences written in active voice? If not, change them.

□ Are you using dialogue when characters speak?

□ Are there helping verbs that can be cut (is, are, was, will be, etc.)?

□ Do you have a creative title on the essay?

□ Is the first sentence interesting, surprising, or captivating enough to pull the

reader into the narrative?

□ Are there clichés? Cut them and use your own creative similes and metaphors.

□ Have you checked and double-checked grammar and punctuation? Have you
taken your paper to the Writing Center to have them look it over? If not—go
now!

□ Are you using indefinite pronouns (it, they, them, etc.) as the subject of the
sentence? If so, replace the indefinite pronoun with the name of the person or
thing.

□ Have you cut out all of the adjectives and adverbs and replaced with concrete
descriptions?

□ As the narrative progresses, do you continue to describe surroundings using

concrete nouns and verbs, and all five senses (what you see, hear, smell, taste,
feel)?
If you can check off all of these, you’ll have a good start on getting a better
grade on the assignment.

GRADING RUBRIC FOR ESSAYS

Below are the elements of writing, taken from the Essay Checklist, I use to
determine your grade.

Creative title on the essay 5 pts

First sentence interesting, surprising, or 5 pts
captivating enough to pull the reader into
the narrative
Dialogue used when characters speak 10 pts
Narrative written in present tense 10 pts
All of the sentences written in active voice 10 pts
Unnecessary helping verbs cut 5 pts
Clichés cut, good use of creative similes and 5 pts
metaphors
Proper grammar/punctuation/spelling 10 pts
Overuse of indefinite pronouns (it, they, 5 pts
them, etc.) as the subject of the sentence
All adjectives and adverbs and replaced 10 pts
with concrete descriptions
Scenes described using concrete 10 pts
nouns and verbs, and all five senses
Essay formatted MLA style – 5-7 Page 10 pts
minimum
Major revisions between three drafts 5

TOTAL: 100 POINTS