It seems as though a number of us here have been pondering how to start and where to go on our essay prompts, and I'm glad I'm not the only one. I was trying to tell myself that we might be a little "what do I do?" because we've gotten used to professors telling us "choose a topic" because we've all been in high-level courses for such a long time. I honestly don't remember the time when I had a required prompt that wasn't for a standardized test or scholarship essay, and those clearly don't count because they're often shorter.
Like Claire, I'm also wondering how much challenge I should bring to my class. Who says that these students will be willing to explore prejudice? And in a different sense of challenge, what level of knowledge should I take for granted? I saw a student in the WL today who did not seem capable of understanding the overlap between two terms s/he was using in a paper. S/he seemed frustrated with the instructor's assumption that the students would work hard outside the classroom. I was frustrated that I didn't get to write on such a compelling topic!
I think that's what's holding me up the most — there's so much I can say on my topic because it's something that interests me, and I'm not sure where to start. And I'm so stuck in extra-work-involved mode that 3-4 pages is just not enough. Does that mean my assignment needs to be more limited, or does it mean that I'm just a huge nerd?
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Huge nerd? I, on the opposite hand, am relieved that I went with the standard 3-4 page assignment. But I see your point. Perhaps this is one of those "brevity is the soul of wit" times. Or something:)
Yeah, you're just a huge nerd. Just kidding! I was worried about the page requirement on mine, as well. For some reason, I'm never sure if I'm going to be able to make my papers long enough (the effect of having that problem as a freshman, I think), so I was concerned that I wasn't going to be able to say enough to fill 4-5 pages. Actually, though, I had to shorten my paper a little bit to squeeze it all into five pages. I'm still a little concerned about my assignment length, however. I came up with 5 full pages of writing (and would have had trouble fitting everything I wanted to say into anything less), but I don't know if my students will have that much to say. Maybe I should shorten the requirement to 3-4 pp and focus more on the quality of those pages rather than on quantity. Or perhaps I should tell them 3-5, just in case any of them have a lot to say.
As for whether your assignment needs to be more limited, Katie, I don't know. Having a big topic might be helpful for students who don't know what to say, or a more limited one might give them more direction.
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