Personal Essay Assignment What I Have Lived For Bertrand ...

[Pages:2]Name: ____________________

Personal Essay Assignment

What I Have Lived For Bertrand Russell

Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. These passions, like great winds, have blown me hither and thither, in a wayward course, over a deep ocean of anguish, reaching to the very verge of despair.

I have sought love, first, because it brings ecstasy ? ecstasy so great that I would often have sacrificed all the rest of life for a few hours of this joy. I have sought it, next, because it relieves loneliness ? that terrible loneliness in which one shivering consciousness looks over the rim of the world into the cold unfathomable lifeless abyss. I have sought it, finally, because in the union of love I have seen, in a mystic miniature, the prefiguring vision of the heaven that the saints and poets have imagined. This is what I sought, and thought it might seem too good for human life, this is what ? at last ? I have found.

With equal passion I have sought knowledge. I have wished to understand the hearts of men. I have wished to know why the stars shine. And I have tried to apprehend the Pythagorean power by which number holds sway above the flux. A little of this, but not much, I have achieved.

Love and knowledge, so far as they were possible, led upward toward the heavens. But always pity brought me to earth. Echoes of cries of pain reverberate in my heart. Children in famine, victims tortured by oppressors, helpless old people a hated burden to their sons, and the whole world of loneliness, poverty and pain make a mockery of what human life should be. I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot, and I too suffer.

This has been my life. I have found it worth living, and would gladly live it again if the chance were offered me.

Your Assignment

Recalling what you remember about writing an essay, construct a Personal Essay based on the following thesis:

Three passions have guided my life in a positive direction.

You do not need to include any quotations. Instead, use specific examples of how your chosen passions have affected you positively. I will be collecting all rough work, which includes the essay plan. The essay will be done in class.

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What I Have Lived For I Personal Essay

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Name: ____________________

Personal Essay Rubric

Category

Knowledge Organization of

Form and Structure

/ 5

Remedial

Expectations not met

Level 1

Level 2

Shows passable organizational knowledge of the personal essay elements (e.g., introduction with thesis, body with supporting evidence, conclusion with summary)

Shows moderate organizational knowledge of the personal essay elements (e.g., introduction with thesis, body with supporting evidence, conclusion with summary)

Level 3

Shows considerable organizational knowledge of the personal essay elements (e.g., introduction with thesis, body with supporting evidence, conclusion with summary)

Level 4

Shows exceptional organizational knowledge of the personal essay elements (e.g., introduction with thesis, body with supporting evidence, conclusion with summary)

Knowledge

Topic sentences, Thesis and Arguments

/ 10

Expectations not met

Has passably coherent topic sentences. Shows passable degree of understanding of written arguments and evidence

Has moderately coherent topic sentences. Shows moderate degree of understanding of written arguments and evidence

Has clear coherent topic sentences. Shows good understanding of written arguments and evidence

Has exceptional and coherent topic sentences. Shows exceptional degree of understanding of written arguments and evidence

Thinking Evidence

/ 10

Expectations not met

Explains arguments and evidence with passable effectiveness

Explains arguments and evidence with moderate effectiveness

Explains arguments and evidence with considerable effectiveness

Explains arguments and evidence with exceptional effectiveness

Communication Verb Usage and Language Flow

/ 10

Expectations not met

Essay shows passably consistent verb tense use and flow of ideas (written communication)

Essay shows moderately consistent verb tense use and flow of ideas (written communication)

Essay shows consistent verb tense use and considerable flow of ideas (written communication)

Essay shows exceptionally consistent verb tense use and excellent flow of ideas (written communication)

Application

Grammar and Conventions

/ 10

Expectations not met

Poor spelling, use of conventions and sentence structure

Acceptable spelling, use of conventions, and sentence structure

Proper spelling, strong use of conventions and sentence structure

Consistently uses outstanding spelling, use of conventions and sentence structure

ENG2D I HUNT

What I Have Lived For I Personal Essay

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