May 25 - 29

On Tuesday, we're beginning the last unit of the year: the college essay. The final assignment (which is the Final with a capital "F") is a good draft of the college essay. If you already have a draft going, consider using the time to write other prompts and get a jump on the summer/fall semester of senior year. If you don't need a college essay, I have an alternate, short paper you can write about a job title of your choice: the official and unofficial requirements, salary and benefits, and trends in the industry.

NOTE: Last day to turn in make-up work for partial credit: Wednesday, June 3!

TUESDAY: Online, live Zoom class (see sidebar for class times and codes). Pull up a copy of the Brainstorming Sheet. Answer questions in small groups, typing in your own responses, in different arrangements. 

Due: n/a

Homework: Finish typing the answers in your Brainstorming Sheet. Don't censor yourself of try to write what you think a college would want to hear, just let it flow.

THURSDAY: Online, live Zoom class (see sidebar for class times and codes). Go over UC prompts, Common Application prompts, Coalition prompts, and the alternate assignment. Discuss strategies for selecting prompts, the subtext of your personal stories. Think about your answers on the Brainstorming Sheet and how they might match up with your own unique strengths and personality, as well as any "holes" in your overall application. Read and evaluate the first real college essay sample as a class, and discuss why it was successful. 
 
Due: Finish typing the answers in your Brainstorming Sheet. Don't censor yourself of try to write what you think a college would want to hear, just let it flow.

Homework: Go through the admissions pages of the colleges and universities where you plan to apply, and see which essay prompts they require. Bearing in mind the strategies we discussed in class, choose the prompt(s) you'll write for the final assignment for English class, and begin the process of matching your stories with a specific prompt (or two, if you choose the UC prompts).  

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Just to be clear, for the final assignment, students will upload one of the following to Turnitin.com before noon on Tuesday, June 9, the last class of the year:

1. A good draft (unique details, close to word count restrictions, proofread) responding to one Common Application prompt. 
2. Good drafted (unique details, close to word count restrictions, proofread) responses to two of the four required UC prompts.

3. A good draft (unique details, close to word count restrictions, proofread) responding to one Coalition prompt

4. A good draft (unique details, close to word count restrictions, proofread) responding to a specific prompt not listed above for a university, art school, or vocational tech school. Please include the prompt and a URL at the top of the submission. 

5. One polished, well written job title research paper.