Paper #1 -- Introductory Essay

Part A

Write a 200-400 word essay that introduces yourself to the other members of this class. You can write just about anything you want, but since this is a short paper, you'll probably want to avoid giving a chronological account of your entire life (I was born in a log cabin ... In second grade, we moved to Mahomet ... I played cornet in the high-school band ... ). Instead, try to unify your essay by focusing on a major aspect of your life that makes you different or interesting or defines "who you are". 

Your main goal is to write about yourself in a way that will make your readers (other students in this course) want to comment on your essay or ask you further questions. You can adopt any tone that seems appropriate for your readers.  Keep in mind that besides fulfilling an assignment, this paper is our first impression of who you are. Since we aren't meeting each other face-to-face in this course, you truly are what you write, so think carefully about how you want to present yourself and what aspect of your life would be the most interesting to your readers.

At the top of the paper, before the text, type your full name and your career field (your major at Parkland and/or the type of job you hope to have someday).

When you've completed your essay, log in to Angel software and click on the "Lessons" tab. There, you'll find a discussion forum titled  Paper 1. Open that folder and choose "Add content", then "New post" from the menu. Cut and paste the text of your paper into the message box, and put the assignment number and your name (Smith-1) on the Subject: line. Click "Post" to send the message to the forum and make it available to other class members. (See Computer Use for complete details on how to prepare and submit your papers.) 

Part B

After the assignment is due, begin reading all the other students' papers, which will be posted as messages in the Paper 1 forum. Pick out three essays that you find most compelling -- those you want to comment on or that have made you curious about the author or what he or she wrote. For each one, write a personal message to the author and send the message to the class as a whole. 

To do this, click on the message you want to respond to and click "Reply" from the menu below the message.  When you finish your message and click "Post", your note will be available in the Paper 1 forum. 

In your note, state what it was about the author's paper that compelled you to respond, and then add two or three follow-up questions or comments about whatever you want. These messages need not be longer than a paragraph. 

If you, as author, receive any messages from other students about the paper you wrote, you may reply to them publicly (for everyone to read), reply to them privately, or not reply to them at all.

Some additional considerations

This assignment isn't really a contest to see which essay can elicit the greatest number of responses, but there is a mildly competitive element here. All public writing should attempt to compete for our attention and approval. If it isn't trying to do this, then it isn't public writing.

This leads us to perhaps your most important consideration, which is your readers. All public writing (just about everything except personal journals and diaries) should be tailored to meet the needs or interests of a clearly defined audience, and that will be a paramount goal in everything you write for this course. In past English courses, many of you may have written with the idea that your intended reader was your instructor. For the papers we do here, that will never be the case. I will, of course, read your papers, but I'll evaluate them based on the audience you define, which will always be someone (or some group) other than me. 

Of course, the problem with defining and analyzing your audience for this paper is that you don't know much about them, other than that they are all students in this course. They could range in age from 17 to about 80. They may have grown up on farms or in big cities. Some have children, jobs and hectic lives; others are less than a year out of high school and are just beginning to figure out what they are interested in. Because of this, you'll want to construct your essay so it will appeal to a diverse group of people. 

What you do know is that all your readers have some reason for wanting to improve their lives with formal education, and that right now, they're all working on the same assignment. For the next few months (and for the rest of their lives, I can hope), they will all have an interest in improving their communication skills.

For more details on how to tailor your message to your audience (and some important tips about completing other stages of the planning and writing process), see Four Secrets to Successful Writing. You should also be sure you complete the textbook readings before you write this paper. The assigned chapters are listed on the Assignments page.

There will be no formal grade for this paper, but your successful completion of it will be figured into the Participation portion of your final grade (worth a total of 10 percent). You'll receive full credit by completing both parts of the assignment with some obvious effort (which includes meeting the 200+-word length requirement, turning the paper in on time and posting your responses to three other essays). I'll read all the papers, but I'll respond only if I notice basic technical problems in your writing. You can find help with common problems under Writing Tools on this site and in the textbook. 

I'll also write an introductory essay, but please do not use my essay as a model for your own. You'll find my introduction posted in the Paper 1 forum in Angel (with the subject header Walker-1). Post yours in the same way.