You will compose 3 short essays in class that will address different small group communication topics.
These essays will be written and completed in class using a “Blue Book” essay booklet that I will provide to you. The dates for these essays are February 2, March 4, and April 1.
For each of these essays, I will ask you to think about/reflect on one or more topics that have been recently covered and discussed in class.
- The February 4 essay will deal with topics found in the Week 2 (Chapter 1), Week 3 (Chapter 2), and Week 4 (Chapter 3) course material
- The March 4 essay will deal with topics found in the Week 5 (Chapter 4), Week 6 (Chapter 6), and Week 7 (Chapter 7) course material
- The April 2 essay will deal with topics found in the Week 8 (Chapter 8), Week 9 (Chapter 13), Week 10 (Chapter 9), and Week 11 (Chapter 12) course material
In each case, your essay should address the topic or topics for the essay by answering one or more questions posed, demonstrating your understanding of these topics. While I won’t require that your essay to have a specific word length, I will be looking for you to provide some fairly substantial responses. It is important that you go beyond just answering the question and provide context or examples of what you know about the essay topics.
You must be present in class to complete these essays. An unexcused absence will result in a grade of zero. If you have an excused absence, you will be permitted to complete the essay during the next class meeting. You may or may not get the same question as the rest of the class. There will be no exceptions to this rule.
I will grade your essays based on the following criteria:
- Writing Quality – What is the writing like? Do the sentences make interesting statements or ask pertinent questions? Do the sentences connect ideas together to form paragraphs that address a particular situation or concept? Do the paragraphs in the work lead the reader to some kind of outcome or conclusion? Also, are there spelling errors and/or punctuation problems? Are sentences structured correctly from a grammatical point of view?
- Content – Does the essay deal with the subject matter effectively? Does the essay address the question or questions posed? Is it clear that some thought has been applied to what is written? Are the explanations provided understandable and clear? Is the essay thorough in the way it explains or answers what has been posed?
- Organization – Is the work organized in a meaningful way that aids the reader in being able to follow along with what is written? Do paragraphs follow each other in a logical order?