write Essays and, also, learning from you is what I look forward to on the final examination
I am writing to you today, and presenting materials to you, in the hope that youwill start working on your two required Essays. You may ask: What does WORKmean? To me, and I hope for you, it means, first, weeks of thinking and thenplanning. This is necessary in order to complete an essay that you will be proud ofand from which I will learn. Yes, I am here to learn from you. And that is why Iwant you to write Essays and, also, learning from you is what I look forward to onthe final examination.But, first, what IS a suitable essay for this course? And here I quotefrom our syllabus:The Formal Essays:The formal essays in this course are neither book reports nor research papers. Rather, theessays are demonstrations of the student’s understanding of how TWO minds haveworked on an idea, problem, perspective, or goal. The essays are designed to enable youto demonstrate your expertise in asking and answering questions using the techniques thatyou have learned in this course. In sum, the essays are selfdirected inquiries. They areintended to be a presentation of the results of an investigation by you. The length of eachessay is four pages. TO RECEIVE A SATISFACTORY GRADE FOR THIS COURSE,ALL ESSAYS AND WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS MUST BE COMPLETEDANDWITH A SATISFACTORY GRADE. TO REPEAT: IF YOU FAIL TO COMPLETEALL THE REQUIRED WORK FOR THIS COURSE, YOU WILL RECEIVE AFAILING FINAL GRADE.Time is a fundamental obstacle, as always, in carrying out any hope orplan. So the key hint I can give you is: start now. And what should you be doingright away? Look again at my Code of Socrates. Despite its highsounding title,this page is nothing more than the sequence of questions that you must ask andthen answer in order to really “know” anything. This page is, in essence, ananswer to all the years in elementary and high school when reading and“knowing” meantnothing more than “glance and recite.” That is, you glanced at the page and thentried to memorize and then repeat whatever you saw. For years, it worked well foryou, right! If someone asked for the names of the fish in the Delaware River underWashington’s boat, you could give the answer. But, really, will the President ofGeneral Mills want to know that? Will he also discuss with you how many of theGreat Lakes you can name?Recently one of my former students was hired by General Mills as anIT. The entire interview centered around my student’s ability to engage in ameaningful, adult conversation about knowledge and life. THIS is what I ampreparing you to do by writing Essays and by sharing ideas and learning with youin class. The days of “glance and recite” as a way of reading and knowing are overfor you: I hope you realize this.1. So I call upon you to, first, take a look at my Code of Socrates. Give time tothis, in order to decide what you often think aboutand that means, possibly, whatyou enjoy thinking about. Look at any linewhich line, which part of a line,expresses your thoughts and interests the most? Do you, for example, find yourselffocusing on the origins, the substance, the functions, or the consequences ofproblems, challenges, or events? I call this your ANALYTICAL DISPOSITION.2. You choose the type of idea that you often think about. Is it a political, social,economic, cultural, religious, or educational idea?3. Then you simply go down the list: leaders or followers etc.4. This enables you to choose people who will be genuinely interesting andmeaningful to you.5. NOW YOU ARE READY TO CHOOSE THE IDEA.All in all, doing an essay means putting STATEMENT, EVIDENCE, ANDAMPLIFICATION to work. Look at “The Code” and see what I mean.Next, here are the tips for preparing yourself to plan for the writing. I have giventhem easy names.1. Carving. 12 paragraphsnot pages. THINK AND EXPRESS YOURSELF inparagraphs.2. Aiming. Express the obvious. Tell me in the first paragraph: “I intend or Iwill….”3. Balancing. Charlie and Al are your two thinkers, let’s say. On the page, shouldyou discuss them together? sometimes separated? This is for you to map and plan.4. Sequencing. In what order do I present an idea? Early to late, hard to easy,important to un, center to periphery: or the opposites of all. You decide whatworks for you according to the materials, the people, and problem that you havechosen.5. And, naturally, there should be NO spelling, vocabulary or Banned Errors in allyour paragraphs.LET ME REPEAT:1. CARVING. Think in terms of paragraphs: 12, not 4 pages. That meansyou have an introductory paragraph and a concluding paragraph. That leavesyou with only have TEN paragraphs to present your evidence andarguments.2. AIMING. Express the obvious. Tell me in YOUR first paragraph WHATyou intend to do. IT IS FINE TO USE I in your first paragraph: I am lookingfor clarity and intent. Just DON’T USE I in your conclusion. Let theevidence, and your arrangement of it, bring the conclusion to the surface.See what I mean?3. Balancing: Present Charlie and Al together, or separately in eachparagraphyou do the mapping and planning.4. In your arrangement of the material. You have to think aboutSEQUENCING. That is, do I want to present evidence or arguments goingfrom early to late, or hard to easy, or important to unimportant, center toperiphery, etc.? You decide what works for you as well as the materials andthe people and problem that you have chosen.5. You need, tops, only ten appropriate quotes per person or document. Thisdoesn’t mean you must use all of them: all that I mean here is that when youhave collected TEN APPROPRIATE QUOTES PER PERSON ORDOCUMENT, STOP. It is now time for SEQUENCING AND WRITING.6. ErrorsNo: Spelling, Vocabulary, and Banned Errors.So, to review, here are the FIRST STEPS in the writing of an essay:1. You choose your analytic disposition.2. You choose the idea.3. You choose the people or documents.Worthy students,I want you to be proud and confident of your upcoming effort at essay writing;this week I will be giving you my instruction sheets. So here are some tips.I am impressed with your command of the new methods of analysis that I havepresented to you. I think you will go far with them. Also, I sense, and have heard already,how much you want to apply them with the greatest possible effect in the upcomingchallenge.Let me remind you, however, that this is only a fourpage essay. There is notenough information that is available for you that would enable you to really do a polishedjob on theAorigins@of any idea. Also, there is not enough time to do the very ambitiousprojects that I have heard on the Aconsequences@of an idea or topic.Somy suggestion to you is to concentrate on doing either the Asubstance@thatis, the definition of an ideaOR its Afunctions@that is, its process, or how it works.Imagine what you can do with “The Functions of Education in Plato and Aristotle”or ASubstance of Rebellion as Expressed by Locke and Jefferson@or “The Functions ofWar in Clausewitz.” These are winning topicsI am sure you can see that. And also, theyare quick and easy. It is strategies like this that you can and must make use of foryourself. In sum, you must continue to learn NEW ways of thinking and expression. Iencourage you in this endeavor, of course. This is a tough time for you, re: your first essay. Let me see if I canlighten it up a bit.Take any TWO people, or documentsone can be from the firstsemester.1. Show me your smartsabove all.2. Don’t waste time with junk: I am not interested in Bibliographies,Indexes, Recommended readings, or any other timewasting stuff. This isonly a 4 page essay.3. Remember: this is an essay, not a story. And don’t tell me why you liked“doing it” or why it is “so important.”4. Define your terms: don’t use words that I know you don’t really KNOW.5. Get right into the essay, immediately at the start: don’t give me a historyof the world. Remember: 4 pages.6. Proofread. That means reading your work out loud. If it makes no sense toyou, or only your cat can understand itwhat grade will I give you?7. Be neat, clear, attentive. Show me that you were awak
e to your ownthoughts and goals.8. Remember all the technique that I have taught you.9. Remember the goals of the essay. If you give me a high school bookreview, or a collection of quotes, what can you expect for a grade?10. Just staple the pages. Keep all plastic for your cat’s litter box.11. Do not copy anyone else’s stuff: I will spot it in a flash.12. Get an A.
