How to Attack the Final Exam Prompt!

The Writing Assignment

Writing Assignment According to Gates, it is harmful for young people to look up to athletes and strive to be an athlete rather than something more realistic. Do you feel that it is beneficial for young people to look up to athletes as role models, or is it harmful? Are there other members of society that it would be better for young people to look up to? Write a 200-300 word composition that explains or clarifies your position. Personal experiences, class discussions, observations, conversations, and reading can all be good sources of examples to support your main idea.

The Writing Assignment: Part 1

Writing Assignment

According to Gates, it is harmful for young people to look up to athletes and strive to be an athlete rather than something more realistic. Do you feel that it is beneficial for young people to look up to athletes as role models, or is it harmful? Are there other members of society that it would be better for young people to look up to?
FIGURE OUT: How many questions are we expected to answer? What are the questions?

The Writing Assignment: Part 2

Write a 200-300 word composition that explains or clarifies your position. Personal experiences, class discussions, observations, conversations, and the article can all be good sources of examples to support your main idea.

THE DIRECTIONS: 200-300 words Explain your position/opinion You can AND SHOULD use:
Personal experiences Class discussions with your classmates Observations Information from the articles

The Guidelines
Guidelines and Expectations:

Your composition should open with a clear and focused 1-2 sentence statement that clearly states your position on whether young people should look up to athletes. The body of your composition should use specific detail from your personal experience to illustrate why you think young people should look up to athletes or not. Your composition should conclude with 1-2 sentences that explain the potential impact of young people looking up to athletes as role models. Your sentences should show effective use of independent and dependent clauses with use of conjunctions and semi-colons. Any sentence fragments, run-ons, and grammatical errors should be revised.

The Guidelines
What they expect: A topic sentence (first 1-2 sentences) that directly responds to the prompt. Specific details: from your experience and observations and from the articles.

A conclusion that restates your main idea.

A variety of simple, compound, and complex sentences.

As few grammar errors as possible (run-ons, comma splices, fragments, subject/verb agreement problems, etc.).
Transitional words and phrases: first, also, additionally, in conclusion.

How do I start?
Brainstorm!!!
You can start doing this before the final exam because you will already know the topic. Write down everything you can think of as a response to the questions in the prompt. Once youre done, go through all of your ideas and circle what you think you can actually use.

Now what? Topic Sentence!

To write your topic sentence (now that brainstorming helped you figure out your position/opinion), you just have to turn the question into a statement.

Example: Do you feel that it is beneficial for young people to look up to athletes as role models, or is it harmful? Are there other members of society that it would be better for young people to look up to?

Now what? Topic Sentence!

To write your topic sentence (now that brainstorming helped you figure out your position/opinion), you just have to turn the question into a statement. Example: Do you feel that it is beneficial for young people to look up to athletes as role models, or is it harmful? Are there other members of society that it would be better for young people to look up to? Turn this into a statement: It is harmful for young people to look up to athletes, and there are other people like doctors and lawyers that are better to look up to.

Now what? Details and Examples!

This is where you are going to explain the opinion you put in your topic sentence.

WHY do you feel the way you do?

EXPLAIN using specific details and examples from your own life and the articles.

Now what? Conclusion!

Remind the reader of the main point from your topic sentence. Try to give some sort of new insight and look to the future on the topic. Example: In conclusion, I feel it is harmful for young people to try to be like professional athletes. Hopefully, in the future young people will see that doctors and lawyers are the real heroes and the people to look up to.

Heres an Example of a Passing Paragraph:

It is harmful for young people to look up to athletes, and there are other people like doctors and lawyers that are better to look up to. First, it is harmful to look up to athletes because, as it says in the article, a person has as much chance of winning the lottery as becoming a professional athlete. This means that the majority of kids who think they will play for the NBA or NFL wont actually be able to, so they should spend their time and energy focusing on goals they can achieve. For example, my cousin Brandon used to be obsessed with the Lakers and being like Kobe Bryant. He spent so much time watching and playing basketball that he wasnt keeping up in school and doing his homework, and he failed all of his classes. There is no way Brandon is going to end up in the NBA, and now he isnt even passing his classes. He would have been much better off if he admired the doctors and lawyers in the community rather than a famous athlete whose life is nothing like his. Additionally, the behavior of many athletes like Michael Vick and Chad OchoCinco sends the wrong message. Brandon started to think that its okay to not follow the law as long as you are rich and famous. In conclusion, I feel it is harmful for young people to try to be like professional athletes. Hopefully, in the future young people will see that doctors and lawyers are the real heroes and the people to look up to.