English 828 ~ Spring 2015 Essay #1: Analyzing Educational Experiences Background: As we have seen in the readings for this unit, a student’s background can have a large impact on his/her academic success. We started this unit with a chapter from Rebecca Cox’s “The College Fear Factor,” which highlights the fear many students feel about college and the ways they manage those fears. From the Jonathan Kozol piece, “Still Separate, Still Unequal,” we have come to see that social and economic forces have a large impact on how our academic paths play out. Yet, based on the experiences of other writers such as Malcolm X, M. Bella Mirabella, and Adrienne Rich, we have seen how students have the power to persevere, overcome obstacles, and redefine their educational experiences. Your task: Choose ONE of the following options and respond in a 2.5 - 3 page essay: 1. Identify one specific factor (external or internal), and examine the ways that it can ​support​ a student in his/her goals. Use any of the readings from this unit as evidence. 2. Identify one specific factor (external or internal), and examine the ways that it can ​present obstacles​ to a student’s goals. Use any of the readings from this unit as evidence. Examples of external factors: - home/family - cultural expectations - neighborhood - friends/peer group - school resources - social class/economics Examples of internal factors: - fear - self-doubt - motivation - discipline - perseverance/resilience - hope Criteria for Success: A successful essay will accomplish the following: ● Begin with an introduction that orients your reader to your topic. ● Present a focused thesis statement at the end of your introductory paragraph and maintain this focus throughout each body paragraph. ● Develop body paragraphs with clear topic sentences that relate to your thesis statement. ● Each body paragraph will include specific examples and explanations that support the topic sentence. ● Support your points with quotes from the readings. To just say that you either agree or disagree with a point is not enough; ​show​ your reader why you hold a particular opinion by citing evidence and then explaining your point of view. over → Helpful hints: ● Remember to keep your readers’ needs in mind. Ask yourself: After reading my essay, will my readers have any unanswered questions? Can I think of anything else they might want to know? ● While you will likely use your own experience to inform what you write, this is ​not​ a personal narrative. Your thesis statement and your points should be an argument about what affects students in general, not just about what has affected you personally. ● As you proofread, check your topic sentences: Do they support your thesis statement? Check your paragraphs. Do they provide evidence that supports each point (topic sentence)? Essay Format: ● Typed and printed in ...

1. English 828 ~ Spring 2015
Essay #1: Analyzing Educational Experiences
Background:
As we have seen in the readings for this unit, a student’s
background can have a large impact on
his/her academic success. We started this unit with a chapter
from Rebecca Cox’s “The College Fear
Factor,” which highlights the fear many students feel about
college and the ways they manage those
fears. From the Jonathan Kozol piece, “Still Separate, Still
Unequal,” we have come to see that social
and economic forces have a large impact on how our academic
paths play out. Yet, based on the
experiences of other writers such as Malcolm X, M. Bella
Mirabella, and Adrienne Rich, we have
seen how students have the power to persevere, overcome
obstacles, and redefine their
educational experiences.
Your task:

2. Choose ONE of the following options and respond in a 2.5 - 3
page essay:
1. Identify one specific factor (external or internal), and
examine the ways that it can support a
student in his/her goals. Use any of the readings from this unit
as evidence.
2. Identify one specific factor (external or internal), and
examine the ways that it can present
obstacles to a student’s goals. Use any of the readings from this
unit as evidence.
Examples of external factors:
- home/family
- cultural expectations
- neighborhood
- friends/peer group
- school resources
- social class/economics
Examples of internal factors:
- fear
- self-doubt

3. - motivation
- discipline
- perseverance/resilience
- hope
Criteria for Success:
A successful essay will accomplish the following:
● Begin with an introduction that orients your reader to your
topic.
● Present a focused thesis statement at the end of your
introductory paragraph and maintain
this focus throughout each body paragraph.
● Develop body paragraphs with clear topic sentences that
relate to your thesis statement.
● Each body paragraph will include specific examples and
explanations that support the topic
sentence.
● Support your points with quotes from the readings. To just
say that you either agree or
disagree with a point is not enough; show your reader why you
hold a particular opinion
by citing evidence and then explaining your point of view.
over →

4. Helpful hints:
● Remember to keep your readers’ needs in mind. Ask
yourself: After reading my essay, will
my readers have any unanswered questions? Can I think of
anything else they might want
to know?
● While you will likely use your own experience to inform what
you write, this is not a
personal narrative. Your thesis statement and your points should
be an argument about
what affects students in general, not just about what has
affected you personally.
● As you proofread, check your topic sentences: Do they
support your thesis statement?
Check your paragraphs. Do they provide evidence that supports
each point (topic
sentence)?
Essay Format:
● Typed and printed in black ink
● Double-spaced
● 12 point standard font (Times New Roman)
● 1" margins all around
● No cover page necessary
● At the top of the first page on the left side, single spaced, put:

5. Your name
Course and section # (English 828 AC)
Instructor name (L. Kucera)
Essay # 1
Due date (March 2, 2015)
NOTE: You will always turn in one paper copy of your essay
AND one copy to Turn It In. There will be
a link to Turnitin.com on WebAccess. You don’t have to go to
the Turn It In website.
Assignment Date Due In Class
Working Thesis Statement
Bring in a 1 - 2 sentence answer to one of the prompt questions
Friday, 2/20
Rough Outline (or “shitty draft”)
This should include your thesis statement, 3-4 points, and at
least one
quote to support each point
Monday, 2/23
Complete, TYPED rough draft for a writing workshop
Wednesday, 2/25
Revised Rough Draft (TYPED)

6. Incorporate the suggestions you received from the last class and
bring a
clean draft. Consider it your best effort-- like a final draft.
Friday, 2/27
Final Draft (submitted electronically on WebAccess AND on
paper in a two-pocket folder with the checklist and all other
relevant materials)
Monday, 3/2
Meshal Almutairi
CH S 445
Mexican migrant and Kuwaiti “Bedoon”
During the 20th century, Hispanic Americans — the majority of
whom were Mexican Americans — comprised the largest
minority group in California. One-half million Mexicans
migrated to the United States during the 1920s, with more than
30 percent settling in California. During the Great Depression
of the 1930s, racial anxieties ran high. Mexicans in California
and other states were seen as competition for already scarce
jobs. Various civic organizations and chambers of commerce
successfully pressed local, county, and state governments to
round up Mexican Americans indiscriminately (citizens and
non-citizens alike) and "repatriate" them to Mexico.
This situation shifted in the early 1940s. World War II brought

7. a labor shortage as American workers joined the armed forces.
In 1942, Congress enacted the Emergency Labor Program —
called the Bracerro program (brazos is the Spanish word for
arms) — to allow temporary Mexican migrants into the United
States to work in American industry.
In Kuwait citizens without citizenship
The word "Bedoon" is from the Arabic phrase "bedoon
jinsiyya," literally meaning either "without nationality" or
"without citizenship." The term should not be confused with the
English word Bedouin, from the Arabic word "badawi,"
meaning nomad (the plural is "badu," or the more colloquial
"bidwan"). Although many of the Bedoons are of Bedouin
origin, most of them have long settled in the urban centers of
Kuwait, and many have never lived a nomadic life. In Kuwaiti
usage, Bedoon is used as a singular or plural noun. To avoid
confusion, in this report "Bedoon" is used for the singular and
"Bedoons" for the plural.
Kuwait practices a system of institutionalized discrimination
against its residents known as Bedoons, long-time inhabitants
who have been denied Kuwaiti citizenship and are now being
rendered stateless. Barred from employment, denied education
for their children, restricted in their movements, and living
under the constant threat of arbitrary arrest and deportation;
Bedoons are a community of "have nots" in one of the
wealthiest countries of the world. At the same time, tens of
thousands of Bedoons who fled Kuwait during the Iraqi
occupation have been barred from returning to their country.