ENGLISH 10: ESSAY WRITING

Essay Writing
We will officially begin essay writing at the end of the month. Before we can begin, however, I need you to get some things down on paper. So, in order for you to prepare for what is coming, I need you to select 5 of the topics below and just write. I don’t want you to worry about what an essay is – not yet. I just want you to write one page on any 5 of the topics below – or any ideas of your own. Some of the topics are really too broad to write about in just one page, so you will have to narrow them down and make them specific. You are to complete all five “writings” by March 1st and put them in your essay folder.

The following is a list of topics suggested by students this year for discussion and writing:
Sports
Music
Natural disasters
Family
Teen pregnancy
Movies
Sex
Drugs/alcohol
Abuse/harassment
Fashion
Culture
Religion
Travel
Depression
Teen issues
Drinking age
Books
Racism S
chool uniforms
Peer pressure
Abortion
Violence (T.V./video games)
Sex in media
Legal voting age
Violence in music
Gay marriage
Crime vs. punishment
The U.S.A.
The media’s influence
Famous people
Fast food
Media vs. Body image
Suicide Career choices
Colleges/universities
The supernatural
Computer/internet
The privacy act Censorship
Holidays
War
School rules
Courses @ SHS
Hobbies
Life after death
Airport security
Legalizing marijuana
Unusual pets
Good vs. bad teachers
Graduated licensing
NHL lockout
Bullying
Eating disorders
Parent-child issues
Respect
Piercings & tattoos
Divorce
Co-ed sports
Teen smoking
Downloading music
Judging others
Exams Car insurance
Ageism
Popularity
School shootings
Homophobia
Euthanasia
Job searching
Diseases
Death
Love
Human rights
Sexual assault
Trends & fads
Relationships
Stress

You will be given a folder to keep your essay writing in throughout the semester. Each essay you write will be evaluated 3 separate times for different criteria. Each time it will be marked out of 5 and the final mark will be out of 15.

The first essay you write will be referred to as Essay 1A and will be evaluated on essay format. You will re-submit that same essay, after you have reviewed my evaluation and made any necessary corrections; this will be Essay 1B and it will be evaluated for grammar and mechanics. Once you make those corrections, you will submit the essay a final time and it will be evaluated on content. This will be Essay 1C.

Obviously, additional essays will be referred to as Essay 2A, B, or C, and so on. A detailed explanation of the evaluation of each part will be given to you prior to anything being handed in.

The point of this is for you to learn the writing process and to encourage you to focus on the parts involved in good essay writing.