This document provides an agenda for a class discussing an upcoming essay assignment. It reviews the requirements of the 750-word Essay #5, including defining an education problem, its causes and consequences, without proposing a solution. Sample topics are listed and research using outside sources is required. Strategies for the thesis statement, body paragraphs on causes and consequences, and conclusion are covered. Students are instructed to write an outline for their essay, including a quote and source citation, to post for homework.

1. EWRT 1A
Class 27
What do these three words have in common?
1. earth—book—inch
2. days—continents—seas
3. florist—obstetrician—pizzaOutlining Paper 5

2. AGENDA
• Review: Essay #5 Assignment
• The Thesis Statement
• Writing Strategies for Defining the Problem
• The Conclusion
• Annotating Sample Essay #5
• Outlining Essay #5
• Homework

3. Review: Essay #5 Assignment
 In-class essay that you will
write in class.
 Can use an outline that
you will prepare
 At least 750 words.
 MLA-style format and
citations.
 Prompt: Write an essay presenting
to your reader a well-defined
problem in education today.
Describe in detail the causes and
consequences, and convince your
audience that this is a problem
worth solving. Address your
presentation of your problem to
your audience: one or more
members of the education board,
its leadership, or to outsiders who
may be able to contribute to
solving the problem.
 Note: you should not (yet) propose
a solution to this problem (that’s
for Essay #6).

4. Review: Essay #5 Potential Topics
 Common Core State Standards
 Student Learning
 Technology
 Social Media
 Politics
 High Stakes Testing
 School Leadership
 Instructors
 Curriculum
 Funding and Resources
 Inequity
 Classroom size
 Poverty
 Family factors
 Bullying
 Student attitudes and behaviors
 No Child Left Behind
 Parent involvement
 Student health
Which of these did you narrow for your own topic?

5. Review: Essay #5 Research Requirement
 While you can discuss your own personal experience, limit this to a
single example, and be careful not to turn this into a narrative essay
about your personal challenges in school. Rather than relying heavily on
personal experience, you should use facts, statistics, or data relevant to
the larger population affected by this problem.
 To this end, quote (and cite) at least one outside source.
 Harry Potter does not fulfill this requirement.
 Your source should be a book or an article from a popular magazine or
newspaper.
 You should locate this article using the library databases.
 You should include your quote(s) and citation info from this article on
your outline.
What source did you find for your homework?

6. Review: Causes and Consequences
 Causes
 What is the cause of
this problem? Are
there multiple
causes?
 How did this problem
come into being or
how was it created?
 Ex.: A cause of school
traffic congestion
might be the lack of
public transportation
options near that
school.
 Consequences
 What effects does
this problem have--
on students,
educators, and/or
society at large?
 Ex.: School traffic
may cause students
to be late to class,
which may cause
them to do less well
in school.

7. Now that you’ve chosen your problem
and narrowed it, what do you do?

8. The Thesis Statement
 In a full proposal (essay #6), your thesis
statement will be the solution that you
are offering.
 HOWEVER, Essay #4 is not a full proposal.
You are only describing a problem.
 So your thesis statement for this
essay (an explanation of the problem)
should be a statement of the problem
and its causes and consequences.

9. Defining the Problem:
Writing Strategies
As you are describing the problem and discussing the
causes and consequences, you can make use of the
following strategies (from SMG, p. 324).

10. The Conclusion
 You should finish your essay by:
 briefly summarizing the problem.
 reminding readers of its
importance.
 calling readers to action by noting
the consequences of inaction.
 Note: In this essay, you are not (yet)
proposing a solution!

11. Sample Essay #5
Keep in mind, this is an “out of class” response to this
assignment.
It is more polished than I am expecting from you.

12. Read and Annotate Sample Essay #5
Bracket/underline and then label the following components or
strategies:
1. The MLA-style heading
2. The informative title.
3. The thesis statement.
4. The causes of the problem.
5. The consequences of the problem.
6. A specific example of the problem.
7. Personal experience or observation (anecdote).
8. Testimony of those affected by the problem.
9. Statistics.
10. Vivid description.
11. A conclusion.

13. Where is the thesis statement?
What is the problem?
What is the cause?
What are the consequences?

14. Specific Causes
Causes: too many students and too little space.

15. Specific Consequences
Consequences:
Stress for commuters.
Expensive for families.
Damaging to student success.
Specific Example?
Personal Experience?

16. Specific Example
Personal Experience/Observation (or Anecdote)
Testimony of those affected?

17. Testimony of Those Affected
Statistics?
Vivid Description?

18. Statistics
Vivid Description (Or the start of one.)
Conclusion?

19. Conclusion
Briefly restates the problem and why it is a problem.
Suggests who should care and why.
Calls us to take action.
But does not specify the action! (That’s for Essay #6)

20. Write Your Outline: Start It Now!
 Informative or Interesting Title
 Introduction
 How will you introduce your problem?
 How will you make it seem important?
 Your thesis statement:
 State the problem: causes and
consequences.
 Body paragraphs: likely between 3 and 5
 Cause(s)
 Consequence(s)
 Conclusion
 Briefly restate problem
 Who should care and why?
 Do NOT include a solution.
 Works Cited. Prepare accurately in
advance, include it on your outline, and
then copy into your essay.
 As part of your outline, include:
 A brief reminder (one sentence)
of your personal observation or
experience (anecdote).
 The quotation(s) from your
outside article, including
accurate MLA citation.
 Any statistics or examples with
accurate MLA citations.

21. Homework
 Write your complete
outline (no more than
one page).
 Post your outline for
Discussion #28. Make
sure you have included
your quotes and have
your source(s) cited on
the outline.
 Bring your outline to our
next meeting.