Culture Connection Tips
To the Student: Tips for Writing a Successful Culture Connection Essay
- Make an argument. In every paper you write for Culture Connection, you are to convince your reader that your take on an event is valid and valuable. Especially because these papers are relatively short, this argument should appear in the opening paragraph of your essay. With regard to the kind of argument you could make about an event you attend, you might explain what you think an event tells us about a community or our times, or whether it is successful in what you see as its goal.
- Prove your argument throughout the body of your paper, breaking it into supporting points. Devote a paragraph or two to developing each supporting point.
- While summary is useful insofar as it allows your audience to understand your topic, keep in mind that summary is not an end in itself. Your task is to analyze rather than strictly summarize. If your paper is primarily summary, you have not written a successful paper.
- Use your research to support your argument. Do not allow your research to be your argument. Cite your sources both in the body of your paper and in a bibliography or "Works Cited" page.
- Pay attention to grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Error-riddled papers will have to be rewritten.
- Consistently use the style (MLA, Chicago, AP, APA, etc.) you and your reader agree you are to follow in your papers.
To the Reader and Student: Evaluations of Student Work
If a reader determines that a paper does not meet the requirements for the course, s/he may request that the student revise it. Readers should evaluate essays in a timely manner and students must pick them up before they begin a new essay so that they have the opportunity to review comments on previously completed work.
A Final Note
If either the student or reader has concerns related in any way to Culture Connection during the semester, s/he is urged to contact a member of the UHP staff as soon as such concerns arise.
