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The College Essay: An Assignment – Possibly the most important one you will ever have.For this assignment, your job is to write a well-written essay for a college in which you are considering applying. Check their website first, as some require a specific longer writing task or other shorter pieces. If your college does not require a writing piece, you must complete an essay for the purpose of the assignment. In that case choose a Common Application Essay. If you do intend to apply to a school that seeks the Common Application, use one of the prompts on the back of this page. These are exactly how the prompts appear within the Common App.For this assignment, you must complete the following within your essay:Submit a copy of the college’s prompt at the top of your essay.Have an eye-catching hook – check examples from Stanford’s Strongest Starts 2012. (Underline)Use 6 rhetorical devices (i.e. parallel structure, analogy, aphorism, simile, metaphor, euphemism…) – circle and label them in blue.Use 2 appeals (logic, emotion, ethical; or ethos, logos, pathos) – circle and label in red.Use 2 sensory details (imagery) – circle and label in yellow.Reveal your character… let your character traits shine by showing not telling. (Identify 3 character traits that shine through in your writing. Write these words in the side margin and EXPLAIN how what you wrote is achieving the objective of expressing your character. Conclude with purpose – have a clear and succinct statement that leaves the paper feeling finished, justified, purposeful, and well-executed. Sometimes this can be short and powerful. Other times it needs great detail. Provide word count at end of paper.2016-17 Common Application Essay PromptsThe Common Application has announced that the 2016-2017 personal statement essay prompts will be the same as the 2015-2016 prompts. These?prompts are designed to elicit information that will strengthen the other components of the application.?"We want to make sure that every applicant can find a home within the essay prompts, and that they can use the prompts as a starting point to write an essay that is authentic and distinguishing," said Scott Anderson, former school counselor and current Senior Director for Programs and Partnerships for The Common Application. ?Among the more than?800,000 unique applicants who have submitted a Common App?so far during the 2015-2016 application cycle, 47?percent have chosen to write about their background, identity, interest, or talent - making it the most frequently selected prompt;?22?percent have chosen to write about an accomplishment,?17?percent about a lesson or failure,?10?percent?about a problem solved,?and four percent?about an idea challenged. ?2016-2017 Essay Prompts?1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.2. The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?3. Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?4. Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma -?anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken?to identify a solution.5. Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.The College Essay: The Rubric Meets or Exceeds Expectations (33)Adequate (25)Emerging (20)ContentWriter addresses prompt with creativity and accuracy, colorfully depicting life experiences or personality for reading audience. Strong nouns and verbs splatter the paper with vivid detail.Writer addresses prompt with creativity and accuracy, colorfully depicting life experiences or personality for reading audience. Strong nouns and verbs splatter the paper with vivid detail.Writer addresses prompt with creativity and accuracy, colorfully depicting life experiences or personality for reading audience. Strong nouns and verbs splatter the paper with vivid detail.MechanicsWriter crafts sentences with intention and significant purposeful variety. Punctuation, spelling and grammar are all used correctly. Zero to two errors surface in the paper. Writer crafts sentences with some purposeful variety. Punctuation, spelling and grammar are all used somewhat correctly. Three to six errors surface in the paper.Writer crafts sentences with little intention or purposeful variety. Punctuation, spelling and grammar are all used somewhat correctly. Several errors litter the pletionWriter considered all color-coding directions, completed them with accuracy, and directly followed instructions to include prompt and word count at specific locations. Writer included all pieces requested and used them effectively.Writer considered some color-coding directions, completed some with accuracy, and followed instructions to include prompt and word count at specific locations. Writer included most pieces requested and used them adequately.Writer considered some color-coding directions, completed them with accuracy, and failed to fully follow instructions to include prompt and word count at specific locations. Writer included some pieces requested and used them adequately._________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Total: ________/100The College Essay: The Rubric Meets or Exceeds Expectations (33)Adequate (25)Emerging (20)ContentWriter addresses prompt with creativity and accuracy, colorfully depicting life experiences or personality for reading audience. Strong nouns and verbs splatter the paper with vivid detail.Writer addresses prompt with creativity and accuracy, colorfully depicting life experiences or personality for reading audience. Strong nouns and verbs splatter the paper with vivid detail.Writer addresses prompt with creativity and accuracy, colorfully depicting life experiences or personality for reading audience. Strong nouns and verbs splatter the paper with vivid detail.MechanicsWriter crafts sentences with intention and significant purposeful variety. Punctuation, spelling and grammar are all used correctly. Zero to two errors surface in the paper. Writer crafts sentences with some purposeful variety. Punctuation, spelling and grammar are all used somewhat correctly. Three to six errors surface in the paper.Writer crafts sentences with little intention or purposeful variety. Punctuation, spelling and grammar are all used somewhat correctly. Several errors litter the pletionWriter considered all color-coding directions, completed them with accuracy, and directly followed instructions to include prompt and word count at specific locations. Writer included all pieces requested and used them effectively.Writer considered some color-coding directions, completed some with accuracy, and followed instructions to include prompt and word count at specific locations. Writer included most pieces requested and used them adequately.Writer considered some color-coding directions, completed them with accuracy, and failed to fully follow instructions to include prompt and word count at specific locations. Writer included some pieces requested and used them adequately._________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Total: ________/100 ................
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