Lesson Activity

key word , 

Name:

Key Words Activity (Personal Response Essay)

NOTE: This is an individual activity. Do not work with another person to complete this.

Key words are an efficient way of organizing your ideas on any topic and then expressing them clearly, because they help you to focus your argument. The following activity will help you to focus your argument for the personal response Essay

TOPIC key word: this key word is the general topic of your essay, and is usually something learned during the course you are taking. For a response essay, it is the prompt you are responding to. Your topic key word for this essay is therefore the chapter you are responding to, or the chapter topic.

THESIS key word: this key word is your main idea for the essay. It is a word/short expression that focuses your ideas/argument for an essay. It should be unique/original to you. Consider this word/expression carefully! It is the most important word/expression in the essay.

Think about the chapter you read. What, in your opinion, is the most important idea from the chapter that you want to write about (please beware, this should NOT be the title of the chapter).

Please write your thesis key word here:

Your answer will be the thesis key word you use in your thesis statement.

PARAGRAPH key words: These words control your body paragraphs. The number of paragraph key words you use depends on the length of your essay. They are more specific aspects of your thesis key word idea (i.e. they have a clear and specific relationship with the main idea of your essay). Because this essay requires 2 body paragraphs, you must write 2 paragraph key words.

Think of the main idea (thesis key word) you wrote above. What are two more specific aspects of this idea, from the chapter you read, that help to prove/reveal your main idea?

Please write your 2 paragraph key words here:

Name:

Personal Experience (PE) Response Activity

A strong response essay will often include a personal experience response where you connect your assertion idea and prompt evidence to the experience of yourself or someone from your social circle. The experience does not have to be the exact same experience; it can be something/someone in the abstract (something that is similar in some way). You must explain in some detail how your PE response is connected to the idea.

For the Leadership personal response essay, the Comparative and PE responses will be divided by paragraph (if you place your comparative response in one paragraph, the personal experience should be in the other). You will show your plan for the comparative response to the learning coach, so I would like you to share your plan for the PE response in this activity.

Think about the ideas that you plan to write about in your essay. Consider the paragraph key word idea that you WILL NOT write the comparative response for.

Answer the questions: Who in your social life is a leader that represents your assertion key word idea? Explain the connection between your idea and chosen leader with a few sentences.

Some things to consider:

· The leader can be someone close to you (i.e. a teacher, parent, relative, coach, etc.) or yourself (when you were a leader or did something that required leadership).

· It is helpful to think of one specific situation or event that demonstrates the idea.

· The PE response can be something in opposition of the idea—it can show the opposite of what the idea is in order to explain what the idea is by showing what it is not.

· The PE response must have a clear connection to the evidence from the prompt and the thesis/assertion key word ideas you are using. This connection must be explained.

Name:

Personal Response Essay Worksheet 1

(Please check with learning coach during 1 session)

NOTE: Please read the essay assignment sheet carefully BEFORE filling out the worksheet. Then answer the questions below here. Pretend the worksheet below is a conversation with your instructor.

My prompt (chapter reading) title is:

THESIS KEY WORD (for the thesis statement/assertion sentences):

In your opinion, what is one significant idea from the chapter that you would like to write about? Your answer should not be the title of the reading. It should be expressed as one word
or short phrase.

PLEASE WRITE IT HERE (this could be copy/pasted from the Lesson 4 Activity):

PARAGRAPH KEY WORDS (for the thesis statement/assertion sentences):

Consider the idea you wrote above. Now, think of 2 specific parts (aspects) of that idea that you can use to focus your 2 body paragraphs. Try to express each aspect as one word or short phrase. This could be copy/pasted from the Lesson 4 Activity.

ASPECT 1 (please write here):

ASPECT 2 (please write here):

THESIS STATEMENT (for the last sentence of the introduction)

Follow the course pack formula/instructions for personal response thesis. Your thesis should include the important idea (thesis key word) and the aspects (paragraph key word) that you indicated in the first section above.

WRITE YOUR THESIS STATEMENT HERE:

QUOTATION EVIDENCE (for the body paragraph evidence):

You will need to find a “quote” (evidence) from the reading to prove each aspect. Consider one of your aspects above. Can you find a quote from the reading you did that reveals it?

QUOTE FROM THE READING (please write here):

Does the quote you wrote above match aspect 1 or 2?:

Don’t forget you need to find a quote for each aspect (1 for each body paragraph). Please ask your instructor/learning coach for clarification.

COMPARATIVE RESPONSE (for the body paragraph discussion section)

Consider the two aspects/quotation that you wrote above. For one of the two, can you think of a public leader that represents the idea (positively or negatively)? This person can be a famous historical personality, a politician, business person, or celebrity. This leader should not come from your prompt (your assigned reading), or be someone you learned about in leadership class. It should be someone you know about from your previous education, experience, or knowledge of the world.

WHO IS YOUR COMPARATIVE RESPONSE LEADER? (please write one leader here):

You will add this comparative response to one of your essay body paragraphs. It must include an APA citation/reference for an online (internet) source that proves the leader is a public figure. The source does not need to be an English language source.

Personal Response Essay Worksheet 2

(Please check with learning coach in a session following the work above)

Personal Response Body Paragraph Worksheet

The purpose of this worksheet is to complete one body paragraph of your essay step-by-step using the course pack instructions.

ASSERTION (1 sentence only):
Write your assertion below. This should be only one simple sentence. Please don’t forget to use the thesis key word and paragraph key word as they are written in your thesis.

WRITE HERE:

EXPLANATION (1 sentence): Write your explanation sentence focusing on explaining your paragraph key word. Don’t forget to begin the sentence with a transition word/phrase as suggested in the course pack. This should be only one sentence.

WRITE HERE:

EVIDENCE (1-2 sentences): Share evidence from the prompt that supports your key words. Don’t forget to introduce with a transition as suggested in the course pack, as well as context for the quotation (i.e. information about what the quote was about, who the speaker is unless the speaker was already introduced).

WRITE HERE:

DISCUSSION (4-6 sentences): Write your discussion sentences below. This should include at least three responses, including the comparative response. Start with an emotional or intellectual response first. Don’t forget to begin the discussion with a transition as suggested in the course pack, and to also include an APA citation/reference for the comparison. Don’t forget to follow the steps for writing a comparative response as outlined in the course pack.

WRITE HERE:

CONNECTION (1 sentence only): Write your connection sentence here. Don’t forget to begin with a transition as suggested in the course pack, as well as include the same key words from your assertion and a summary of what the paragraph discussed.

WRITE HERE:

Personal Response Assignment (20% of Final Grade)

Grade Breakdown

PART 1: APA Template (5%)

· Due January 21 at 11:59pm PT via Dropbox

PART 2: Personal Response (PR) Essay (10%)

· Due February 11 at 11:59pm PT via Turnitin

PART 3: In-Session Writing (5%)

· To Be Held February 7 during class time

PART 1: APA Template (5%) Due January 21 at 11:59pm via Dropbox

APA Template Assignment

Your resources for this project:

· APA Guide (Especially APA information)

· Purdue OWL website (Google “APA” & “OWL” and it will bring you to the site)

· “True North” (Leadership 301 book by Bill George)

Instructions:

1. Read the APA Guidelines from the APA Guide & the Purdue OWL Website. It demonstrates how university APA essays should be FORMATTED and explains the basic rules for setting up your paper in APA style, as well as correct CITATION/REFERENCING for sources of evidence.

2. Set up your essay, including a title page, paragraph pages (writing pages), and a References page. Pay attention to all details of formatting, including the title page layout, the header, the page numbering, the margins, paper size, and line spacing (NOTE: No Abstract or Appendix page is required; No subheadings required)

3. In your template, provide draft writing of the introduction and background paragraph for your personal response essay (assignment outline found on Moodle). You may include more paragraphs if you choose. You must include at least 2 APA citation references in the writing (one for the prompt and one for a secondary source about the author or leadership theory that is used in the background paragraph).

4. Set up your References page. Put the source information (for the book, article, or website) into correct APA style. (See APA References and/or OWL). Make sure the list is in alphabetical order. Do not forget to be careful with names (use family names for author entries, not given names), spelling, and punctuation (e.g. correct use of periods, commas, and italics). This page must include APA references for the two citations used in the draft writing. Don’t forget to correctly cross-reference the citations and references.

5. Upload your template to the APA Template dropbox on the assigned date. The template will be graded for correct APA formatting, citation, and referencing.

PART 2: Personal Response (PR) Essay (10%) Due February 11 at 11:59pm Via Turnitin

Instructions

Read the following from Bill George’s book True North: Introduction, Chapter 1, Chapter 2. You will write a response essay to Chapter 2 (i.e. This chapter will be your prompt for this essay).

Write a personal response essay (2-3 pages) according to the patterns taught in Writing 101 class. This paper should include:

· APA format including Title page (no abstract/no subheadings)

· An Introduction Paragraph (Following the general introduction pattern from the Writing 101 Course Pack)

· A Background Paragraph that outlines information about the book author and their theory, and includes a short (1-2 sentence) summary of the reading.

· The background paragraph must include secondary source citation: Using the internet, find additional source(s) of evidence about the author and/or his theory of leadership.

· Two (2) response body paragraphs that respond specifically to the information in the chapter above. These paragraphs must follow the body paragraph pattern that is taught in class and appears in the Writing 101 Course Pack. Each type of response learned in class must be used at least once in the essay.

· In particular, the personal experience response must include reference to a personal leader (i.e. a parent/teacher/relative/coach); someone that reflects the leadership characteristic/quality you are highlighting.

· The comparative response must include reference to a public leader (i.e. a historical figure, political leader, religious leader, celebrity, etc.). An APA citation is required for the comparative response. Using the internet, find a source of evidence about at least one public leader you know that reflects one of the ideas that you learned about in the chapter above (either a positive or negative idea). The leader does NOT have to be a business leader (i.e. the leader could be a political leader, religious leader, celebrity, etc.), and must not come from the book chapter itself.

· A Conclusion paragraph.

· References page including a minimum of 3 references (include the reference for the prompt, a reference for the source(s) used in the background paragraph, and a reference for the source used for the comparative response in the body paragraph)

NOTE: Remember that the purpose of a personal response is to critically interact with the prompt and demonstrate connections with your knowledge outside of the class. This is NOT a chapter review/summary. It is expected that you will choose specific ideas, quotes, or situations from the prompt and you will respond to them directly. Any essay that is not a personal response will not pass.

PART 3: In-Session Writing (5%) To Be Held During Class Time February 7

The last part of the Personal Response Essay will be to complete one (1) body paragraph of a personal response essay in a timed writing session to be held during the class session. You will respond to a reading prompt chosen by the instructor on an historical issue of race/racism in North America.