My bunch has to formulate a problem-solution approach to their essay. One was actually not bad and on an interesting topic (male anorexia) but was severely under-researched. The other one was on that overfamiliar topic, obesity--the writer started to tailor it toward women and specifically African-American women and then got sidetracked into fast food calories and two or three other topics and was one word over three pages long. It was riddled with spelling errors and citation errors.
I started to read a third one--again, on an interesting topic (foreclosure) but peppered with surface errors. Time to walk away.
I'm about to the point where I know how good the essay will be based on the topic the writer picks. Like, one of the other essays, which I haven't read yet, is titled "Pollution." Do I need to read any further?
Dear Lord, this may be the most under-performing bunch I've ever seen in this course. It's now two business days past the due date; at least five essays haven't been handed in yet and will each be penalized 10 points. Subtract that 10 from the (probably) poor scores they'll get anyway for writing shit essays, and we're now looking below the bottom of the barrel. (What *is* below the bottom of the barrel, anyway?)
At least one other essay, which I looked at quickly, appears to have no citations. You read that right: a research essay without citations. I guess he assumed all his statistics were common knowledge.
I press on. I hope this isn't a rant against the students, which I vowed not to do early on in posting; I prefer to think of it as a rant against their writing. Which might also be a rant against their lack of motivation. And their too-busy lives. And...
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