Special Assignments: Essays on Children / Infants

When I receive reports of child abuse, neglect, accidental injury or abandonment, I assign an essay to the alleged offender.  Just as in real life if you are reported for one of these issues you must go through a long process to prove your innocence or make restitution.

Essay assignments must be 2 pages single-spaced, size 12, in a readable font (Arial, Times New Roman, etc.) with standard margins.  Essays must be researched and sources included in a Works Cited / Bibliography.  This assignment is worth 15 points.

Assigned Topics May Include:

• Child Endangerment
• Child Abuse
• Child Neglect / Abandonment
• Smoking Around Infants / Children
• Top Causes of Death in Infants
• Losing Parental Rights

Important:  It is possible for you to be assigned more than one essay if you are accused of more than one offense.  If you are clearly not taking the project seriously you will lose your parental rights and fail this project.

Scholarship Essays

Reminder, your scholarship essays are due tomorrow.  There should be 5 small single-topic essays and today's general essay.

Which brings us to today's assignment:  In addition to the short essay questions, I also want you to write a general "scholarship essay" which blends together your short essays into a general "why you should pick me" essay.  Imagine that you find a scholarship online and realize the deadline to submit it is today -- so you go and grab your "general scholarship" essay and simply modify it to fit the specific requirements.

It should include things such as:

• Financial Need
• Life Achievements
• Life Experiences
• Career and/or Education Goals
• Community Service

Remember to watch your spelling, punctuation, and grammar.  Little things make a difference in a scholarship essay.  If it's between you and another applicant and you write "collage" instead of "college" (for example), that may be enough to tip the balance.

This essay should be a full essay -- perhaps a page or two.

Writing Scholarship Essays

When you start researching scholarship opportunities, you will quickly find out that many of the scholarship programs for which you qualify involve writing a scholarship worthy essay. Very few programs are based strictly on an application form or transcript. Scholarship committees like essays because they are able to get a better sense of who the applicants really are from reading their original writing than from simply looking at a form or seeing a listing of completed classes and grades.

When you are faced with the challenge of scholarship essay writing, remind yourself that the effort you put into writing your essay represents the chance to sell yourself to the scholarship committee. A winning scholarship essay is one that truly sets a particular applicant apart from the others. If you tell your story clearly and persuasively, you just might find yourself receiving a congratulatory letter from the scholarship committee!

Tips for Writing Effective Scholarship Essays:

• Read the instructions and make sure you understand them before you start writing.
• Think about what you are going to write and organize your thoughts before you start writing.
• Begin the writing process by writing an outline.
• Make sure your outline touches on every aspect required per the instructions.
• Write your essay by elaborating on each of the points in your outline.
• Use clear, concise and simple language throughout the essay.
• State your accomplishments without coming across as if you are bragging.
• Make sure your grammar and spelling are impeccable.
• Read the question again and then read your essay to be certain that the essay addresses every point.
• Have someone with strong writing and editing skills proofread the essay before you submit it.
• It’s better to be too long than too short. You can always edit down the material you find to be least relevant, but it is much more difficult to add to an essay that is too short.
• Talk to teachers, counselors, and admissions officers and have them read your sample scholarship essays. Doing so will allow them to give you feedback about specific questions as well as suggestions about your writing in general.
• Unless there is a very specific prompt [as you will see below], choose a topic that truly interests you. If you are genuinely passionate about something, it will show in your writing

Today and Tomorrow's Assignment:

The following sample scholarship essay examples have been taken from a number of accredited universities from across the country, including Cal State University Northridge, Purdue University, The University of California, and the University of Washington. All of these questions are somewhat common as scholarship essay prompts—the chances are high that you will see at least one of them on your scholarship application.

1. Where do you see yourself in 1 year? 5 years? 10 years?
2. How would an education from (name of college you are applying to) enrich your personal life and help you reach your career goals?
3. Describe your cultural background and how it has shaped the person you are.
4. If you know what you intend to major in, discuss what led you to choose this area of study and how you hope to contribute to this field upon graduation from college.
5. What is your favorite novel, movie, song, or work of art? What resonates with you and why has it become an important part of your life?

Write responses [up to a page] for each and use them as a general foundation for your written statements —most scholarship essays will require you to answer one of these three questions in some way.  Save these essay prompts do your ThawSpace and back them up to a USB drive and in your email.  You are building a collection of these kinds of documents to use later in life.

However, do NOT simply copy and paste your responses on multiple applications. Every written statement you submit should be unique—simply use this exercise as a means to better prepare yourself for the application process.

Begin Scholarship Research

Today we are going to begin researching scholarships for college.  Even if you aren't planning on going to college, do the project.  You may find something that interests you or that inspires you to look further.
Believe it or not, there are scholarships for some very strange things.  If you're a guy over 6'1 or a girl over 5'10 you can qualify for a "Tall Clubs" scholarship.  There's a scholarship for left-handed people.  There's a scholarship for duck callers.  If you're a skateboarder, you can qualify for a skateboard scholarship.  There seriously is free money out there if you're willing to work for it.  (Here are some other strange scholarships)

TODAY: Find a college scholarship that you think you would qualify for and begin the application process.  There is a list below that you can start with.  You may also want to check out "Paying for College Student Resource Guide" for information on scholarships, internships, fellowships, resource books, and websites -- there are a LOT of scholarships in there.  You can also view the Congresswoman's web site here: http://roybal-allard.house.gov/students/

Read about how to apply for the scholarship and begin writing your essay [scholarships generally require an essay wanting you to explain why you deserve the money].  Note the requirements of the essay -- it might be 500 words, 750 words, or 2500 words.  The essay may want specific topics covered, want you to address certain issues, or have you solve a certain problem.  Watch your spelling, punctuation, and grammar.  We will complete these essays tomorrow and turn them in.

We have many scholarships posted on the KHS Web Site -- or you can go directly to the Scholarships page here.