English 1301 "A" Essay
Due Dates for all
assignments will be posted on ACConline.
Essay Assignment
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Length: Minimum of
1000 words. There is no maximum, but
please do not overwhelm me. I am giving
myself only one day to grade these because of the time constraints of
the eight-week session. Please count the
number of words in your essay and put that number at the end.
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Aim: Referential
(informative) or persuasive. Your essay
cannot be expressive.
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Mode: Comparison
and contrast.
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Format
Your
essay must have both an introductory paragraph and a concluding paragraph. Underline your thesis statement.
All
the information in this essay can come from your own knowledge and experience,
or you may draw upon online or printed sources.
If you do use outside sources, they must be properly documented. Use the guidelines for documentation provided
in the assignment for Essay 5.
The
English Department guidelines for this essay give you a great deal of leeway in
choosing your topic. All they specify is
that the essay must be at least 1000 words long and must use comparison and
contrast as the dominant mode. You
may use any additional modes of your choice in the essay. For instance, you might want to write an
evaluation in which you compare and contrast two things. What follows is an example of one possible
type of essay that would fulfill these requirements. You may choose this topic or design your own.
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Sample Topic:
A comparative evaluation of two products or
services
(This
is just a suggestion, in case you can't think of your own original
topic. I hope that you do come up with an
original topic of your own.)
Pretend
that you are about to invest in a new or replacement product or service, and
you want to make certain you get the most for your money. Go to a library or bookstore and find a
recent issue of Consumer Reports magazine or their annual buying
guide. Find the evaluations of a product
or service that interests you, and compare the two that seem to come closest to
fulfilling your needs. Make certain you
compare products or services that are similar and in the same price range. For instance, if you are comparing two
automobiles, you would not want to compare a Mercedes with a Geo. Consumer Reports evaluates products
and services using lots of different criteria; there may be too many criteria
for you to include all of these in your paper.
If this is the case, select the criteria that are most important to you. In the conclusion of your essay, tell which
product or service you have decided would be the best buy for you, and which
criteria carried the most weight in your decision. For instance, one make of luxury car might be
a thousand dollars cheaper than another, but if it does not seem to be as safe
as a more expensive make, you will probably be willing to spend the extra money
to ensure your family's safety. Select
for your comparison two products or services that actually interest you. In the past, students have chosen everything
from Internet providers to low calorie cookies for their comparisons.
If
you do choose to write on this topic, you must have a very short (one entry)
list of works cited that documents the source of your information at the Consumer
Reports magazine or annual buying guide.