Performances of Understanding #1a: English 99 Reading/Writing Diagnostic Student _________________ SID __________________ Instructor __________________ Background: The English Department at SFCC is exploring the connection between reading and writing abilities. Instructors usually ask their students to write a short essay at the beginning of a term to get a sense of who is in their classroom. This term, many instructors are assigning readings that connect to the theme of heroism. All three of these initiatives are addressed in this reading and writing diagnostic. Your instructor will use this essay in the same ways s/he would use any other diagnostic essay. Additionally, a small group of English instructors will read a copy of your essay, looking for indicators of reading abilities. At the end of the quarter, that group will look for correlations in performance on this essay and in English 99 overall. Neither this essay nor the analytical work done at the end of the quarter will affect your course grade. Although your name and SID will be written on this form, they will only be used to manage the paper flow. The results of this diagnostic analysis will be keep strictly confidential and will be reported in anonymous, summary statistics form only. Instructions: Please read the attached article, highlighting whatever seems important or interesting to you, writing in the margins, or doing whatever else you would normally do to a text that you read for a class. Then write a short essay, using this piece of paper (both sides if necessary) explaining the controlling idea of the article, describing the ways in which the author develops and supports that controlling idea, and applying that idea to someone (a friend, a family member, a celebrity, a politician, a character in a book or movie, or even yourself). You could write a three‐paragraph essay, in which the first paragraph summarizes the article and ends with what you believe to be its controlling idea, the second paragraph offers support for that belief from the article, and the third paragraph applies the idea to a person. Please leave the article attached when you submit your essay to your instructor. Thank you. Write your essay here: Assignments developed by Jared Anthony, Spokane Falls Community College, as part of the Washington Center’ Reaching College Readiness project. Comment [J1]: Supports UG #2
because students find people they know
and characters in popular media
interesting --maybe not infinitely, but
interesting nonetheless.
Comment [J2]: Supports UG #3 and
UG #4
Performances of Understanding #1b:
English 99 Essay 1 Assignment
This first assignment gives you a chance to become familiar with the academic essay format
while building on the diagnostic essay you’ve already written. In that essay, you identified a
person who fits Joseph Campbell’s idea of a hero. In this essay, you need to answer the
following question: what makes that person a hero? And the best way to answer that question is
to connect specific examples from that person’s life to specific passages in Campbell’s article.
Begin your essay with an introductory paragraph (see page 74 of your handbook) that ends in a
thesis statement (see page 27 of your handbook) that answers the question in the first paragraph
of this assignment prompt. Write as many body paragraphs as you need to introduce your
supporting evidence. Then wrap it all up with a concluding paragraph that follows one of the
patterns listed on pages 76 and 77 of The Concise Wadsworth Handbook. The essay must be
typed (double-spaced) and should be proofread very carefully. Use Times New Roman, 12-point
font and one-inch margins. Don’t forget a title, page numbers, and a works cited page.
A working draft of this essay is due on Wednesday, September 23rd. You’ll get input on that
draft from classmates and the instructor, and then a synthesis draft is due on Tuesday,
September 29th.
Your grade for this essay will be based on how well it displays





a clearly stated thesis, supported by relevant details and examples
a coherent structure with introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion
paragraphs that are each unified by a topic sentence
sentences that are grammatically correct and properly punctuated
an ability to read and accurately follow the instructions for the assignment
An A paper will display all of these characteristics, as well as a thoughtful, engaged approach to
the topic. A B paper will display all or almost all of these characteristics, but it may be overly
simplified. A C paper will display most of these characteristics. A D paper will display few of
these characteristics, and an F paper will display none of them.
The grade this essay earns will count for 5% of your English 99 course grade.
Works Cited
Campbell, Joseph, with Bill Moyers. Excerpts from “The Hero’s Adventure.” The Power of
Myth. New York: Doubleday, 1988. 123-163. Print.
Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell. The Concise Wadsworth Handbook: Spokane
Falls Community College. 2nd ed. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning, 2009. Print.
Assignments developed by Jared Anthony, Spokane Falls Community College, as part of the Washington Center’ Reaching College Readiness project. Comment [J3]: Supports UGs 1, 4,
and 5
Performances of Understanding #2: English 99 Essay 2 Assignment
You’ve written one essay applying Joseph Campbell’s theories about heroism to an example
from real life. Now you’ll apply those theories to a fictional character—specifically, a character
from Jess Walter’s novel Citizen Vince. Your thesis statement needs to argue that one character
(it could be Vince, but it doesn’t have to be) from the novel is or is not a hero. Your support for
that claim will come from both the novel itself and from Campbell’s article.
This essay is a good opportunity to practice the “seems like x, but really is y” formula for writing
a thesis statement. For example, you could say that although Vince seems like just another
criminal, he’s really a hero. Conversely, you could argue that although he seems to be a sort of
criminal-class hero, he’s really just a criminal. Either way, you would then include specific
passages from the book to show evidence of both possibilities. Applying Campbell’s theories
could help you tip the scale in favor of whichever possibility you’ve chosen.
The essay should be two to three pages long. As always, this essay must be typed (doublespaced) and should be proofread very carefully. Use Times New Roman, 12-point font and oneinch margins. Don’t forget a title, page numbers, and a works cited page.
A working draft of the essay is due on Thursday, October 15th. You’ll get input on that draft
from classmates and the instructor, and then a synthesis draft is due on Wednesday, October
21st.
Your grade for this essay will be based on how well it displays





a clearly stated thesis, supported by relevant details and examples
a coherent structure with introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion
paragraphs that are each unified by a topic sentence
sentences that are grammatically correct and properly punctuated
an ability to read and accurately follow the instructions for the assignment
An A paper will display all of these characteristics, as well as a thoughtful, engaged approach to
the topic. A B paper will display all or almost all of these characteristics, but it may be overly
simplified. A C paper will display most of these characteristics. A D paper will display few of
these characteristics, and an F paper will display none of them.
The grade this essay earns will count for 10% of your English 99 course grade.
Works Cited
Campbell, Joseph, with Bill Moyers. Excerpts from “The Hero’s Adventure.” The Power of
Myth. New York: Doubleday, 1988. 123-163. Print.
Assignments developed by Jared Anthony, Spokane Falls Community College, as part of the Washington Center’ Reaching College Readiness project. Comment [J4]: Supports UGs 1, 4,
and 5
Walter, Jess. Citizen Vince. New York: HarperCollins, 2005. Print.
Assignments developed by Jared Anthony, Spokane Falls Community College, as part of the Washington Center’ Reaching College Readiness project.