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Response Using Personal Experience

So far we've explored our own ideas about education and created a class text that summarizes the readings we've discussed as a class. Now it's time for you to situate yourself within that class text: where do your ideas about education fall in relation to those of one of the authors we've read? For this essay, again aimed at an outside reader interested in what's going on in our class, you'll briefly recap the main ideas of one author's essay and then explain how (and why) those ideas are similar to and/or different from your own expectations or beliefs.

The key question you'll answer is "What are the main points of this writer's essay, and how do the author's ideas differ from yours?"

You're answering the key question for a reader you identify. You might choose an outside reader (say, an academic advisor) who wants to know how the class is coming along. S/he is interested in the kinds of essays you've been reading and in how you see them confirming and challenging your expectations. Or your outside reader might be a family member who knows less about the academic context of our class. Or you might write for a classmate whose ideas have consistently differed from yours in our class discussions. (Hint: it's always easier to write to someone who disagrees with you at least a little bit.)

Your goals: This is where you pull together all of the ideas about writing we've been exploring so far. Obviously your summary skills will come in handy. You'll also want to think about questions like these: Strategies for completing the essay include these: