Exploring the Student Wisdom Project: Essay Assignment and Resources

This assignment invites students to reflect on insights from the Student Wisdom Project by writing an essay that integrates quotes from interview clips, insights from an interview they conduct, and personal reflections. If you have speakers (e.g., advisors, tutors) come to your class during this unit, students may use these presentations as sources as well. Below you'll find the assignment prompts, learning outcomes, a sample unit plan, rubric, and related resources.

ESSAY PROMPT OPTIONS

Pick ONE of the following to address in your essay. The final essay will be 1,000-1,250 words (this is about 4-5 pages, double spaced) and will use five to ten sources (interviews, articles, presentations, etc.).

OPTION A

What are the three most common/central/repeated themes that you noticed through your research into the Student Wisdom Project? Explain each of these themes using examples and quotes from the interviews and other sources and discuss the importance of each one.

OPTION B

What are the three most valuable/meaningful ideas that emerged from your research into the Student Wisdom Project and how will these ideas impact you as you progress through college? (This question differs from OPTION A in that it asks for your judgement about the most meaningful ideas, rather than just the ones that show up the most.)

OPTION C

What are common misconceptions that students often have about college when they enter that are debunked (proved wrong) by your research into the Student Wisdom Project? How may these misconceptions have impacted students, and how will the correct knowledge impact them?

OPTION D

(This is a great one to do if you're still deciding if college is for you.) What did these alumni get out of college? Do you get a sense of whether or not it was valuable to them? Did they always get out of it what they thought they would get out of it? (If you choose this one, be sure to ask about this in your interview. I can also help you find some additional sources to get more evidence for this question.)

OPTION E

Based on your research into the Student Wisdom Project, what are three policies or procedures that college classes should adopt? How will these policies/procedures help students build the habits needed to be successful in college?

OPTION F

Based on your research into the Student Wisdom Project, what are three programs or supports that the college should be sure to continue to or start to fund in order to support students through their college journey? (These could be programs/supports that already exist or ones that should be added.)

RESOURCES

LEARNING OUTCOMES

  • Gathering evidence from multiple sources (conducting an interview, using evidence from videos and articles)

  • Arranging ideas from multiple sources and making an outline

  • Quoting, paraphrasing, and integrating source material into one’s own writing

  • Writing a structured and well-supported essay

  • Using feedback from multiple sources to strengthen and revise an essay

  • Using the tutoring center to improve writing

  • Evaluating one’s own and others' work

  • Reflecting on the writing process