Essay 2: Patriotism or Education or Racism
150 Points
Choose one of the following options and write an insightful, thought-provoking essay. First and second person are not allowed. This
is informal writing, and this is a formal writing class. Your paper should incorporate at least one of the essays discussed in class for
this unit. Be sure to have at least four sources, use MLA format, and have a works cited page. Three of your sources must come from
outside the book. Your essay is to be 5-6 pages. You must go all the way to the bottom of the fifth page or you will not get a passing
grade for the essay no matter how good the rest of the essay is! Failure to meet the page requirement means you did not finish the
assignment. An incomplete assignment is not a passing assignment. The essay will be evaluated using the scoring guide you already
have that uses UMKC standards. The essay is due at 7am on the due date through turnitin. Essays submitted after 7am will be
counted as late and get a full letter grade deduction! Note that if you wrote on Patriotism last essay, you cannot do that topic for
this essay. If you do submit two essays on Patriotism, this one will be a 0!
Patriotism Options
Option 1: After 9/11 we conducted the Ashcroft Raids that rounded up thousands men of Middle Eastern descent and deported
them based only on their race and religion. Research what happened in the raids and explore the importance of them while
addressing if they were right or wrong.
Option 2: Research the Patriot Act. Explain it and argue for or against it.
Option 3: Research the way the American culture has spread across the world in recent years. Focus on how positive or negative this
is for other countries as well as our own.
Option 4: Research the reasons people of Islamic descent generally dislike the United States. Focus on each of the reasons and how
reasonable it is (try to be as impartial as possible).
Option 5: American textbooks are often edited to omit some of the more distasteful aspects of American history in order to promote
patriotism. Research this common action and then explain whether this is an acceptable practice or not. Is it positive that we are,
according to Hertsgaard, “ignorant” of our role in the rest of the world?
Option 6: Argue whether we are or are not headed toward a closed society.
Option 7: Anything else you choose, but it must be approved by me prior to writing the essay.
Education Options
Option 1: Explain No Child Left Behind. Argue for or against this policy
Option 2: Explain Affirmative Action. Argue for or against this policy
Option 3: Argue whether schools in America are setting students up for failure
Option 4: Argue whether schools are as segregated now as always and argue if that is a good or bad thing or even a racist situation
Option 5: Examine the different types of education in America. Argue which one is more effective at creating successful people.
Option 6: Argue whether or not a person’s success is defined by education or by social class
Option 7: Anything else you choose, but it must be approved by me prior to writing the essay.
Racism Options
Option 1: Argue whether certain races still have a greater potential to succeed in America
Option 2: Argue if immigrants have a fair shot at attaining the American Dream
Option 3: Choose one of the reasons that racism still exists in America and argue that this reason is the main reason racism does still
exist
Option 4: Argue for the reason blacks are still the prominently lower class in America
Option 5: Anything else you choose, but it must be approved by me prior to writing the essay.
You will lose half a letter grade for each of the following items that is NOT turned in. I need these items to effectively grade your
essay:
 All workshop documents
 Everything turned in inside a two pocket folder and neatly organized
The following items are worth points in addition to the essay points. Failure to turn them in inside the folder on the date due will
result in a 0 for them.
 The hand edited rough draft
 Outline