GUIDELINES
Prewriting: Take no more than five minutes to prewrite, but don't fail to prewrite.
Bring a watch, plan how much time you will allow for each paragraph, and stick to your plan
even if it means rushing.
If you have any electronic devices (phone, pager, electronic dictionary) make sure they make
NO NOISE
Writing: Don't panic.
Write in pencil, unless otherwise instructed, so that you can erase small mistakes.
Write legibly, even if that means printing.
Never, never, never start over.
No one expects your essay to be perfect. It is a test of your normal, human abilities during a
timed session.
Can't spell a word? Use a simpler word.
Make mistakes but make them consistently.
Don't be a stickler for the truth on personal examples.
Pick the first or second text example that comes to mind. You don't have time to pick the "perfect" example.
Revision: Don't be afraid to resort to crossing out and drawing arrows when revising.
Don't write over a mistake. Cross it out, and re-write the word(s).
Don't waist time looking up how to spell words in the dictionary, until you have the essay
completed.
Never use a thesaurus.

FORMAT:
Introduction Paragraph: (1 paragraph, one sentence)
Thesis statement
Body Paragraphs: (at least two)
Topic Sentence
Example:
Explanation: It is important to have at least two sentences of explanation for every
one example
Explanation
Example
Explanation
Explanation
Concluding Sentence
Conclusion Paragraph: (1 paragraph, one sentence)

INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH:
This paragraph is the first paragraph in an essay.
Attention grabber: The attention grabber simply gets the reader's attention in some manner. Even though an attention grabber is considered a waste of time in most college essays--especially mid-term exams--you are more likely to get a higher score on a personal essay, if you have a cute opening.
and the other component of the introduction is:
Thesis statement: The thesis statement announces what the essay will be about. It should
only be one sentence long. If you cannot adequately announce what your
essay will be about in one sentence, then use a semicolon (;) instead of
a period to connect the necessary sentences. The four steps to writing
a complete thesis statement, also known as the four-step thesis, are:
1. Begin your thesis statement with a clear boundary, like "This essay will";
2. A thesis must state the main authorities you will be getting your examples from. If you
quote from one or more texts anywhere within your essay, then you need to mention
the author(s) and title(s) of each (Sometimes you may have to generalize to save space
but not in this class). If you are writing about personal experiences, then you need to
state that you will be doing so.
3. A thesis must state the topic of your essay;
4. A thesis must state your opinion about the topic.

BODY PARAGRAPHS:
Body paragraphs present the reasons that your thesis statement is correct and present the data to back up these reasons. For this class, all your essays will have three body paragraphs. Each body paragraph must have at least eight sentences.
Topic sentence: The topic sentence is the first sentence in a body paragraph. It states
what each body paragraph is about. Like a thesis statement, the topic
sentence needs to be only one sentence long, so use a semicolon if
necessary. The four steps to writing a complete topic sentence, also
known as the four-step topic sentence, are:
1. The topic sentence states a unique reason that your thesis statement is correct; this
reason should be the focus of the body paragraph;
2. A topic sentence must state the main authorities this body paragraph will be getting its
examples from;
3. A topic sentence needs to remind the reader what the topic of the entire essay is;
4. The topic sentence must remind the reader what the thesis' opinion is.

Examples: Types of examples are: (be careful to use them appropriately)
TEXT EXAMPLE: the text example should be used most often in an in-class essay. There will be times that you can choose to only use this type of example. In a text example, you contextualize and paraphrase one scene from a text.
The formula for a citation-paraphrase is:
Context + Paraphrase.

THE PERSONAL EXAMPLE: A personal example is not as easy as it seems. It cannot discuss any topic in general. Words like "always" and "usually" are big no, no's in an example. Saying that you always do your homework is not an example. When writing a personal example, be as specific as possible and tell a little story. One trick is to think to yourself (but don't write) "One time...." Even if you do your homework everyday, you should only write about "one time" in your example. Use a context paraphrase example whenever possible, but sometimes you will be expected to make some or all of your examples personal.
Thus, the formula for a personal example is:
Think "one time" and tell a specific story with as much detail as possible.
When writing personal examples, don't make:
MISTAKE #1: Use paraphrases or direct quotes from your assigned topic as the only examples in a paragraph.
MISTAKE #2: Use examples as a vehicle for displaying how much you know. In contrast, in a mid-term and/or text-based in-class essay. This objective is the entire point of the essay.
MISTAKE #3: Use examples as a vehicle for discussing your future.

Explanations: Each example must be followed by at least two sentences of explanation. An
explanation explains why your example proves your topic sentence. In simple terms, explanations are your opinions or your commentary. If you having trouble thinking of what to write for an explanation, then think (don't write), "This examples shows that...." The examples and the following explanations that go with it is called a chunk. Explanations make up the heart of an essay because they show your unique and interesting thoughts. The rest of the essay is just organization and data to sustain your opinions. The rest of the essay has to be there and has to be written correctly, but college instructors are primarily interested in what your explanations say.

Concluding sentence: A transition needs to be at the end of a body paragraph, not the beginning. A new body paragraph needs to begin with a topic sentence. A transition can remind the reader what the point of the paragraph was, and/or it can hint at what the remaining paragraph(s) will offer.

CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH:
The conclusion is the last paragraph of your essay. Simply restate ALL the information in your thesis statement as a statement of success. Also restate all your essay's main points. In addition, you may want to write about why your topic is worthy of discussion in an essay but do so without using examples. In a mid-term and/or text based essay, you must have a concluding paragraph still, but it can be as short as one sentence long.

Topic: Analyze Galileo, Williams, and Sagan in regard to their criteria for establishing truth?

Galileo's Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina and The Essayer and Carl Sagan's "The Fine Art of Baloney Detection" establish criteria--grounded in empirical observation--for establishing the truth; whereas, Raymond Williams' The Long Revolution establishes a criteria for truth that pertains to social development and change.
Galileo's most important criteria for establishing truth are open-mindedness and empirical observation. For example, he reasons that, since God controls everything, God controls nature. In other words, Galileo is trying to convince the people of power in his country that there is no reason to pit science against religion. He is pleading with them to try to make them understand that with an open mind they could learn from observing nature without feeling threatened that this knowledge goes against the precepts of the Holy Bible. At another point, Galileo discusses the fact that just because a the Grand Duchess may want the power to melt and stop an opposing forces arrows and bullets in the air does not mean that she can be granted that power. Again, Galileo is trying to convince the people in power to adhere to his criteria for establishing truth. The popular belief at this time was that the earth was the center of the universe. Galileo's empirical observations of the universe showed that the earth traveled around the sun. Galileo saw this information as more valid than belief based in tradition or faith.
Sagan relies on the modern scientific method and upon healthy skepticism as his main criteria for establishing truth. For instance, in what he calls his baloney detection kit, he discusses the importance of control groups, if truth is to be established; more specifically, he talks about attempting to find out whether a cure for sea sickness works by using only that treatment. In order to establish that something is definitely true, according to Sagan, a scientist can't try two cures at the same time, because, if the sea sickness goes away, there is no way to tell which factor is the cure. Sagan insists on the use of strict scientific whenever possible, as does Galileo. An example of Sagan's belief in skepticism takes place at the beginning of the article, where Sagan expresses his wish that his dead parents' souls have somehow prevails and where Sagan also expresses his doubt that there is live after death. Sagan firmly believes that the criteria for truth can only be established through the scientific method. Social situations, which are not open laboratory scrutiny, should be observed with a great deal of skepticism. It is not that something like Sagan's love for his parents or the society of Galileo's love of God are not nice emotions to have, but they do not constitute the high level of truth.
Williams' criteria for establishing truth entails taking social development into account. For example, he mentions the fact that people of different generations sometimes seem to be speaking different languages. This examples shows that human culture changes over time, just as what is considered to be true, valuable, and important changes from generation to generation. Unlike Galileo's and Sagan's beliefs in observable truth, Williams states that each culture reinterprets what is true to a greater extent. Another good example Williams provides is his argument that art, which has been valued for generations, should not be studied in the context of the time period in which it was created. Part of truth being established through social development means, for Williams, there is little truth to be gleaned from observations about the past. Instead, we should view the art we study in the context of what our continued interest in studying it says about culture and truth now. Williams would probably not take issue with Galileo's and Sagan's insistence on empirical evidence, but, nonetheless, Williams might interpret Galileo's clash with popular values as going against social truth at that time.
This essay has demonstrated that Galileo's writings and Sagan's article argue that truth can be established by non-biased and empirical observation, but Williams believes that what is true changes overtime within the context of society.

Topic: Develop a brand new college course.

Extreme sports have changed dramatically. Today, what we consider extreme, years ago would have never been attempted. Not only is this trend growing in popularity, but you have more individuals making careers out of it. Although this is a rapidly growing sport, there is a lot of potential for injury. If a class taught the proper techniques, we could avoid this problem. There would also be a lot more successful athletes. This essay will describe how a college-level extreme sports course could be set up.
Bungie jumping could be effectively taught as an extreme sport. At this activity, you have more chances of death because of all the factors which come into play. Still, a lot of people continue to try this death defying stunt. I remember when I was 12, sitting at home on the couch and watching the news. I heard about a man dying because his bungie cord was too long. If a course was taught in college, people who are interested in bungie jumping would know the proper way to try this stunt. People don't realize you must satisfy many checks to ensure the trick will work. When I went to Great America one year with my family, a girl died because the worker operating The Drop Zone forgot to check her shoulder strap. This could have been avoided. If all safety precautions are taken, then bungie jumping can be safe. If a college course was taught, people would learn to take these and other safety precautions.
A section of the course should also cover extreme biking. Two years ago at the summer X-Games, Dave Mirra pulled one of the first double back flips on a free style dirt bike. Since then, biking has evolved into one of the foremost entities for extreme sports. A extreme sport class would need to include biking. I ride a bike to class now, and this morning, while peddling to class, I day dreamed about pulling tricks like a super man or a bar spin. Well, I can't do these things, but it is possible to learn. Tournaments such as the X-Games promote sports and make people strive to be the best. I wish there was a college course I could take to achieve my dream.
An extreme sport class should also cover wake boarding. This sport is performed in and on the water. I believe the tricks involved with wake boarding would be a great addition to any class at college. I was out on the Delta one day this summer on my cousin's boat. We were trying to last on the wake board for just a few minutes, but this guy flew by and did an effortless flip in the air. Wake boarding is done by holding on to a handle that is attached to a pretty long rope. The rope is then attached to a moving boat. Yeah, this may seem dangerous, but that is why it is called extreme. Only an expert would be able to provide the essential education and background to master this very exciting skill. The board that is used is like a little surf board. This allows you to freely jump or slide form side to side off the waves that the speeding boat creates for you with the motor wake. The first time I tried, I used an old sled bottom, and I couldn't even hold on or even get up from the water. When the boat started to accelerate, I fell. That day, I ended up with many scratches and bruises. So the reason I was not good at this sport was I had no practice and no instructor. I would be able to advance my learning with these two factors combined. I could also have a lot of fun.
I think an extreme sports class has many benefits. It could teach safety and skill. It would also help students become fearless. It would be impossible to teach every extreme sport during this course, but learning to bungie jump, bike, and wake board would provide a good introduction to this field.