25 Sep Week 5 Assignment – Further Clarification

Week 5 Assignment – Further Clarification

The Introduction, Thesis, and Conclusion

Remember that the topic of this assignment is CAREER PATHS. Therefore, the introduction needs to be about career paths and why it is important to explore them, because that is the topic of the assignment. Be sure to include all tenets of the assignment, and there are a bunch of them in this assignment. Using the rubric headings might help with this. Do not include all aspects of the rubric, but only those that are from content areas (i.e. exclude mechanics of writing, the thesis statement, formatting, etc…).

Then, the body of the paper takes each tenet of the assignment and expands on it. 

Finally, the conclusion also needs to include all tenets of the assignment. Do NOT include new information in the conclusion. These components – the introduction, the thesis, and the conclusion – work to build a foundation for the essay. 

Remember from last week: The introduction tells the reader what you’re going to tell them, the body tells them, and the conclusion tells them what you told them: First tell ‘em what you’re going to tell ‘em, tell ‘em, then tell ‘em what you told ‘em. 

Writing in Third Person

Writing about personal experience in third person can be a bit tricky, but once you practice, it is not that difficult. First, please be aware that using “the writer,” “this student,” and so on, is not third person. It is first person disguised as third person and can be confusing for the reader, whoever that may be. Further, referring to yourself as she, him, her, etc… is not third person writing. Again, that is first person disguised as third person.

From there, very often, pronouns are unnecessary, as in the following example:

Original sentence: “The best way for me to get involved is by becoming a local police officer and working my way up the ranks, using my degree to my advantage, and looking for opportunities to become a criminal forensic psychologist.”

Rewrite as: “The best way to get involved personally is by becoming a local police officer, working to get promoted, and utilizing educational achievements and opportunities to become a criminal forensic psychologist.”

Another example is:

Original sentence: “Following the career of a BCBA makes the most sense because it matches my skill level, and aligns with my personality and value systems.”

Rewrite as: “Following the career of a BCBA makes the most sense because of personal skill level, personality, and value systems.”

A third example:

Original sentence: “I have the strong desire to help others and I am known for constantly putting others before myself.”

Rewrite as: “There is a strong desire to help others, as demonstrated by time spent volunteering in a homeless shelter, and a strong sense of selflessness, as evidenced by employer evaluations.”

A few more examples without an original sentence:

“Years of working in retail along with a graduate degree in organizational psychology has laid the groundwork for a career in management.”

“While both career choices have an interesting array of advantages, the more appealing choice is that of postsecondary instructor. This choice would allow for a more flexible schedule and focused, in-depth learning about complex concepts to share with students (Suess, 2014). Another reason this might be the best choice is because personal values align, as demonstrated by commitment to excellence, “Gollybird was an outstanding addition to our faculty because he expected so much of his students and held himself to the same high standards (Witherspoon, personal communication, February 4, 2021).”  

“Counseling is the best overall fit because it would allow for the possibility of conducting research, which aligns with personal experience and values.”

As always be concise, including only the necessary information. Be willing to “kill your darlings.” These are the pieces of the assignment that you like and want to include even though the paper does not lose meaning without them. 

Best,

Doc