COM 102 - Essay Assignment #2
Writing from Essays: Prewriting Exercise

Fall 2001


Choose one of the essays you read in Chapter 9 (pp. 124-144) for this assignment. Here are the titles of the essays:

"We Should Cherish Our Children's Freedom to Think" (pp. 125-127)
"Teach Knowledge, Not 'Mental Skills'" (pp. 128-129)
"The Farce Called 'Grading'" (pp. 130-134)
"Grades and Self-esteem" (pp. 135-137)
"College Pressures" (pp. 138-144)
1. Which one of these essays did you find most interesting or informative? Why? Explain in a few sentences.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

2. Skim through the essay again. Then use the "clustering technique" (see p. 150) to examine various ideas and facts in the reading. (You can write on the back of this page or on another paper.)

3. Make a list of at least three points of agreement and/or disagreement with the author of the article.

I agree/disagree with the author when he says:

(a)

(b)

(c)

4. If you were going to write your own 2-page essay about your reaction to this essay, what point or points would you probably choose to focus on most (see "Focusing" on p. 151)? Why? Explain in at least one paragraph. (Write on another paper if you need more space.)
 


COM 102 Essays