Name ___________________________

Paper 1: My View
Length: 750-1000 words (approx. 3-4 pages), Points: 10
Draft due Sept. 14/15, Final due Sept. 19/20
Directions: Drawing on the freewrite you did in class about an essay title in They Say, I Say (and the corresponding
section title, such as Whats Up with the American Dream?), write what YOU have to say about the topic. To do this,
1. Read your original freewrite, then your cleaned up version and your classmates response to it.
2. Identify 3-4 main ideas (think of them as claims) and write a couple of paragraphs about each one, explaining
and expanding on the idea. If your classmates response contradicted any of your ideas, consider altering your
view or else explaining why you dont agree with that other way of thinking. With every idea/claim, give some
reasons why you think this. Focus on evidence (in this case, your own experiences) rather than emotion.
3. Next, revise your paragraphs and organize them to give the essay a logical flow.
4. Finally, conclude the paper with a broad umbrella idea (in other words, a thesis statement) that is true of all of
the ideas and thus connects them. Remember, for this paper, put your thesis at the end.
5. Oh yeah give your paper a great title! And remember to put the word-count at the end.
Skills to focus on in this assignment:
Using freewriting to generate a first, rough draft.
Using writing as a tool for thinking and for examining your thoughts (using critical thinking). (These are
concepts from the Cioffi piece we read.)
Thinking about your readers and how they will react to what you put on the page. (Remember your responses to
the sample papers, plus what was said in lab and in conference/workshop.)
Writing strong topic sentences that are claims, and organizing them coherently. (Remember what we discussed in
conference/workshop.)
Helpful hints:
Take your time allow about an hour for each paragraph, 2 hours per page (that includes time to revise). For this
paper, plan to spend 6-8 hours writing and thinking.
Use the rubric below as a checklist when youre revising and editing your paper.
Proof-read your paper before you turn it in!
Read the part of the syllabus entitled How to Turn In Papers and be sure to do everything it says, including
stapling this assignment sheet/rubric at the end of your paper and posting your paper on Blackboard.
Grading Rubric / Feedback
Ideas/Thesis: clear, debatable, enlightening
Development: solid evidence to back up
claims, sufficient detail, strong logic
Structure/Organization: logical order,
smooth transitions, clear relation of each
claim to over-all thesis, no repetition of
ideas, tight and unified paragraphs, each
papargraph gives new idea/information
Audience appeal: gets and keeps attention,
well-chosen examples, appropriate wordchoice and level of formality/informality,
sensory detail, overall clarity, strong intro
and conclusion, good title
Style: believable voice, precise and nuanced
word-choice, clear and emphatic sentencestructure, concision, variety
Mechanics: correct punctuation, correct
word-use, no fragments, no run-ons or
comma splices, few typos, etc.

Fulfilment of assignment guidelines