To Use the First-Person Pronoun I in an Effective Manner And

Process Analysis

Essay Prewriting

OBJECTIVE

To use the first-person pronoun I in an effective manner and

incorporate narrative and descriptive techniques. You’ll use

the process format to create a draft that will eventually be

developed into a lengthier essay.

TOPIC

The topic for this essay is balancing Penn Foster studies with

work and family demands.

DRAFTING YOUR ESSAY

This assignment contains two parts. Each part is one paragraph

of no less than 500 words.Using the narrative or storytelling technique detailed in your book, you’ll describe, in detail, the stresses you face in daily life, and then you’ll detail the process of how you cope and accomplish your schoolwork. You should use a paragraph structure to plan the narration portion of what will eventually become your essay in Lesson 5. This part of the assignment should be at least 500 words.

Next, you’ll use process analysis to describe, through narration, how you accomplish your weekly scheduling of family, work, and school. You should again create a paragraph to accomplish this, and this second paragraph should be at least 500 words.When completed, you’ll have the two segments that will eventually help to form your first essay.

This is an example of what the description portion might look like:

My name is Jean. I am in my mid-forties, and I would never have expected that I would one day have so many

different hats to wear. My husband thought it was a great idea; he knew that I always wanted to be a real nurse and

that if we hadn’t gotten married so young and I hadn’t put him through school that I would have been one. He was

so encouraging about it in the beginning. The boys thought it was cool too; they both said it was going to be fun to

have to nag me to do my homework for a change. So finally, with my family’s blessing, I decided to go back to school

to get a degree in nursing. When I made the decision,everyone in my family agreed to do their part to make

sure I would have time to study and get through the exams successfully. But now, a few months into school,

when I come home from my full-time job as a nurse’s aide and take off that hat, it seems as though my day

has barely started. With two teenage children living at home, I must put on my mother’s hat and enforce household

rules, dispense of advice, help with homework, and occasionally provide a shoulder to cry on. Before my

husband comes home from his job, I have to pop on my

chef’s hat and get dinner started; the maid’s hat will come out later when I do the family’s laundry and clean the

bathrooms. As if all this weren’t enough, the responsibility has also fallen to me for looking after my aging mother,

thanks to my sister who can’t even look after herself. Two or three evenings a week I slip on my daughter’s hat and

make the trip across town to my mother’s house, where I spend an hour or so paying bills, restocking the cupboards,

and helping with other household chores. At least all I have to do is light dusting, sitting at the table, and listening to

her talk about her television programs. In between all of these other pressures on my time, I need to study and

take a test because I got an e-mail and need to attend another webinar! Sometimes I really don’t know where I

am going to find the time, energy, or money to do all of this, and I wonder once again if this is really worth it.

When I finally get some time around 11:30 at night, I discover that the dog has chewed through my study

guide. Okay, I take a breath because I think I can remember most of the material, and I log onto the Web

site to take the test. However, when I do I discover that my son has gotten onto my account and taken the exam.

Of course he failed! The next day when I call the school, no one there believes me at first, and then I get advise

not to leave my passwords out and that I can retake the

exam in 48 hours. My frustration level has hit a new high! Once again I am wondering why I am putting

myself through all this. Here’s an example of what the process portion might look like:

After the first time that rotten dog chewed one of my study guides and my 13-year-old son took one of my exams

because he wished to be helpful, I realized I needed a better strategy to accomplish this whole school thing. I mean, I

am organized at work. After all, I need to be because I am a nurse’s aide and I can’t mess up people’s charts or else I

would get fired. I must be organized in paying my mother’s bills and taking care of my home finances, or else the bill

collectors will come after me. I make decent meals and make thought-out grocery lists for both houses because I

only want to go to the store once a week and don’t want to track back and forth through the aisles and buy impulse

items like I know they want me to. However, I need to get a plan in place to make this work because this is

important to me. First, I call a family meeting and remind

them about the conversation we had and all the promises they made before I started school. Next, I decide to

change my password and not leave it lying around so that my son won’t get at it when he thinks he is trying to help.

Then, I get all my books and put them in one place on a shelf next to the dining room table. I cannot have my own

room because we can’t afford another computer, but now everyone knows this is my stuff and no one is supposed

to touch it. I made that fact clear after I yelled at them during my tirade over the destroyed book and exam my

son took. Next, I ask my husband if he could help with the cooking or would mind pizza one night a week so I would

have more time to study. Then, I teach my oldest son how to run the washer and dryer; after all he is almost 16, and

if he thinks I am going to follow him to college and do his

laundry he has another thought coming! I cannot do anything

about the time I devote to my mom, and I will not

begrudge her that. However, my sister can help a bit more

and has agreed to at least do the shopping and spend one

night a week with her; I’ll still pay the bills because my

sister can’t manage her own finances. Honestly, now that

I have a plan and everyone has agreed to help out more, I

don’t feel so stressed and have a bit more time to study,

so I feel better and think I can accomplish this.

SIX TRAITS OF GOOD ESSAY

WRITING

All the assigned readings you’ve been given to date, coupled

with the objective exams, have brought you to the point where

you’re about to submit your first writing assignment. Your

submission will be evaluated according to a predetermined

standard.

From this point on, each time you submit a writing assignment,

you’ll have a similar rubric. Working with these rubrics, both

you and your instructors will understand exactly what’s expected.

Therefore, you should have an understanding of what each

of the areas in the rubric mean.

Criteria

Ideas and content. The essay’s content is clear, original,

and pertains to the assigned subject. In addition, you should

have a well developed thesis that fits the topic, audience, and

purpose of the assignment. There should be enough evidence

(which shouldn’t be researched unless this is part of the

assignment) to help the reader understand the point you’re

making and to keep the reader’s interest.

Organization. All essays need a clear beginning, middle,

and end. Consider each paragraph as a mini-essay, containinga thesis that’s related to the main purpose of the entire

essay. Thinking this way can help your essay retain unity

and make sense. Use transitional phrases to ease the movement

and make connections between the paragraphs.

Voice. Use first person for personal essays. You want to

connect to your audience and demonstrate that you’re present in your writing.

Word choice. Don’t, however, use slang, jargon, Internet abbreviations, or profanity. Remember, these are college-level

essays; you aren’t texting your friends. However, you do want to write from your heart—don’t use a thesaurus to

find awkward words that you would never use in normal conversation. Sentence fluency. Mix your sentence styles. Readers often dislike reading all short choppy sentences or one big run-on

sentence.

Conventions. You’ve run a spell check and grammar check, and you’ve proofread the essay. In addition, you’ve met the

length requirements Skill Levels

All these criteria are evaluated according to skill levels. here’s an explanation of the skill levels:

Skill not evident. If the essay scored in this category, the assignment either does not include this required element or

severely lacks this trait. Skill emerging. If the assignment scored in this category,

the writing lacks the trait or is below average for a college level paper.

Skills developing. If the essay scored in this category, the essay shows effort and competence but indicates a lack of

complete understanding or command in this area.Skill realized. If the assignment scored in this category,

the writing demonstrates that you’re in command of the skills.

Essays must be typed, double-spaced, using a standard 12-point font and left justification. Use 1-

inch margins at the top and bottom and 1.25-inch margins for the left and right sides of the

document. Each page must have a properly formatted header containing your name, student

number, exam number, page number, mailing address, and e-mail address (see page 6 for an

example). Name each document using your student number first, then the six-digit lesson number,

and finally your last name (for example, 23456789_050177 Doe). Save each as “File Type:

Rich Text Format,” regardless of your word-processing program.