"A" Student #2

1. A.Student
Demonstration #2;
How to Establish
Purpose by Forming
& Writing
Preliminary Decisions
A. Student is working on the
Focus Step for Step One;
Making a Plan, just like you.
Having read the directions
thoroughly and carefully, just
like you, he is setting down to
write the first and 2nd
paragraph of his Preliminary
Decisions.

2. I start by going into my
project folder on Google
Drive to create a new word
document.
I title the document by the
step number and the title of
the step and I begin the
assignment by properly
labeling and titling the
assignment..
I make sure I have read and
am applying the detailed
directions found on Help
Page 2; Focusing on the
Skill Focus.

3. Decisions about the Writing Situation
The Demands of this writing situation are
very demanding. The paper has to be really
long with lots of requirements. The
audience is my teacher who expects a lot. I
have no experience with research projects
so I can’t write about my weaknesses and
my successes. My strategy is to work hard.
The challenge I must overcome is all the
hard work. This project is an opportunity
to get an A on my report card.
I have written about all 4 of
the questions listed in the
directions. But, when I really
think about the questions I
was asked to think about, I
can see this paragraph has
room for improvement.

4. Decisions about the Writing Situation
The Demands of this writing situation are
very demanding. The paper has to be really
long with lots of requirements. The
audience is my teacher who expects a lot.
I have no experience with research
projects so I can’t write about my
weaknesses and my successes. My strategy
is to work hard. The challenge I must
overcome is all the hard work. This project
is an opportunity to get an A on my report
card.
I know my audience, my
teacher, has this thing about
including specific detail in
paragraphs. The demands
of my audience are telling
me to replace vague words
like these with specific
detail.

5. Decisions about the Writing Situation
The Demands of this writing situation are
very demanding. The paper has to be
1,500 to 2,000 words (6-7 pages in
length)... The audience is my teacher who
expects me to include detail... I have no
experience with research projects so I
can’t write about my weaknesses and my
successes. My strategy is to work hard.
The challenge I must overcome is all the
hard work. This project is an opportunity
to get an A on my report card.
This is better, because I
include specific details from
the directions and specific
demands of my audience…
and when I think about it a
little more, I know there are
several more specific
demands which I could
include...
...Demands about Length,
Discussion Topics,
Argument, Bibliography,
Research Requirements,
Process Steps, MLA format,
Skill focus requirements and
more...
...in fact, there are lots of
specific details about the
demands of the writing
situation because there are
many demands and if I
include all of them I would
have a very long
paragraph….
So, I need to think and
decide which demands are
most challenging to my
abilities. Then I will have
selcted wisely the most
substantive details for the
paragraph.

6. I have no experience with research
projects so I can’t write about my
weaknesses and my successes. My
strategy is to work hard. The challenge I
must overcome is all the hard work. This
project is an opportunity to get an A on my
report card.
Now that I have discovered
the most substantive
demands in this writing
situation, I realize I can come
up with some better
strategies.
Even though I have never
done a research project like
this, I can identify some
strengths and some
important weaknesses of my
learning style which are very
relevant to the demands of
this project.

7. Though I have no experience with
research projects like this one, I have
learned from recent five paragraph
essays, how to shape detail in written
arguments. I can use this to strengthen
my final paper. My weakness is that I
don’t know how to find quality sources.
By planning to get extra help and
budgeting enough time to search for
sources, I can find the quality source
material I need in order maximize this
strength in the final draft.
When I think about it, the
recent essay and the current
trails west showed me I have
gained some strengths and I
still have some weaknesses
which are relevant to this
project.
Once again, I will need to
select the most important
strengths and the most
important weaknesses in
order to form the most
useful strategies for my
project.
The better the strategy, the
more I begin to truly take
control of making a plan for
my project.

8. ...The challenge I must overcome is all
the hard work. This project is an
opportunity to get an A on my report
card.
Maybe, if I really think about
it, I can find some more
opportunities in doing this
project.

9. …Though this project is one of the more
challenging academic endeavors I have
experienced so far at Canterbury, it is
an opportunity for me to grow as a
student because it is pushing me out of
my comfort zone to develop the habits
and skills I need to work independently
and to create an interpretive research
project.
There are several
opportunities, and I will have
to select the ones that are
most meaningful to me.

10. …Though this project is one of the more
challenging academic endeavors I have
experienced so far at Canterbury, it is
an opportunity for me to grow as a
student because it is pushing me out of
my comfort zone to develop the habits
and skills I need to work independently
and to create an interpretive research
project… This is an opportunity to
become a young historian.
Seeing the opportunities
that are important to me in
the writing situation can help
me establish a genuine
purpose for this project.

11. Decisions about the Writer’s Persona
Once when I was young, I fell on a rock.
This experience shaped my beliefs because
I believe life can be hard sometimes.
As I did with the first
paragraph of the Preliminary
Decisions, I read and apply
the detailed directions
found on Help Page 2;
Focusing on the Skill focus
to write the paragraph.
Hmmmmmmmm. This first
question on the list in the
directions is a tough one.

12. Decisions about the Writer’s Persona
Once when I was young, I fell on a
rock. This experience shaped my beliefs
because I believe life can be hard
sometimes.
If I really think about it, I fell
on a lot of rocks but I don’t
really think life is hard. So
this experience didn’t really
shape the person I have
become. I need to think about
this some more.
Hmmmm…….

13. In 2012 I left my home in Vermont to go to
school at Canterbury. The first year was
very difficult for me because my home is
where my heart is. The next year wasn’t
any easier, but I had come to realize I was
embarking on a life changing journey, and
that I would try to make the most of it.
This experience has turned me into what I
am today.
This is definitely identifying
an experience that has
influenced who I am.

14. In 2012 I left my home in Vermont to go to
school at Canterbury. The first year was
very difficult for me because my home is
where my heart is…(add details or
examples) The next year wasn’t any easier,
but I had come to realize I was embarking
on a life changing journey, (why?) and that
I would try to make the most of it…(add
details or examples) This experience has
turned me into what I am today.
I need to add some
substantive details or
examples to describe the
experience more fully in order
to convey why this was such
an influential event.

15. ...This experience has turned me in to
what I am today. ...And I need to define more
precisely, accurately and
sincerely how the
experience has shaped the
person I have become..
Hmmmm.

16. ...This experience has taught me to
persevere....
Now I have identified a
character trait which I can
definitely relate to because
every time I go home for
vacation I have persevered
through a difficult marking
period.
Do I think this character trait
defines who I am? Yes,
because it is a character trait
I have developed from my
experience.
...is it something that makes
me unique? Not really; lots of
kids at Canterbury have
developed perseverance.
Well, then I need to think
more deeply. What else is
there about this experience
that defines a little more who
I am?

17. ...This experience has taught me to
persevere and to value the journey. Now I have identified a belief
which I have come to value
as a result of my experience
of coming to Canterbury..
It is a belief that I don’t
practice very much at
Canterbury because I am
usually too busy or too
focused on small things to
see the big picture...
….Since I decided to leave
home, which is where my
heart is, why is it that I spend
so much time not valuing the
time I spend away from
home? Why don’t I value the
journey? Hmmmmm.
Asking questions like these
causes me to think more
deeply about my persona
because they hit close to
home. I am thinking
truthfully about something
that matters to me.
An idea is born. If I can tie
this idea about valuing the
journey into my paper, I will
establish a purpose which
is meaningful to me.

18. ...The Pioneering spirit is one of the most
important character traits that makes up
the American Dream because it required
perseverance and learning to value the
journey.
Now I have defined the
American Dream with a
character trait that I can
relate to.

19. ...The Pioneering Spirit has continued in
the post-World War II era to inspire
Americans to find new journeys into the
unknown where they overcome more
challenging hardships and accomplish even
greater results.
This is a meaningful
argument because I think it is
important for America to
continue to have a pioneering
spirit. And I can pick from
several topics like the Apollo
Moon landings to prove that it
still exists.

20. ...The Pioneering Spirit has continued in
the post-World War II era to inspire
Americans to find new journeys into the
unknown where they overcome more
challenging hardships and accomplish
even greater results.
...But when I think about it, I
wonder if Americans really do
persevere through
challenging hardships
anymore.
Even here at Canterbury, so
many things are done with
the push of a button. I can
constantly “upgrade” with the
push of a button. What
perseverance is that, really?
Perhaps the better argument
is that the pioneering spirit is
on the decline...

21. ...The Pioneering Spirit has declined in the
post-World War II era because the fast
pace of technology has taken the journey
out of our lives and made perseverance a
thing of the past.
I could study the invention of
the i-phone to support this
argument. Have we become
a society that is preoccupied
with quick results? Or are we
a society that still values the
journey?
Hmmmm.. What do I see in
my own life? Is my own life
more focussed on the quick
results? or am I able to
appreciate the journey?

22. Decisions about the Writer’s Persona
The decision as to what will
be A. Student’s purpose for
this paper will force him to
think about which view of
America he believes in most
sincerely and why.
It is a decision that is likely to
result from some soul
searching and some
discovery about the
meaning of his personal
experiences.

23. When the writer experiences a decision such as this,
a purpose is established for his research project
which is meaningful because it is
genuine and relevant.