The following articles were written by Mrs. Free’s and Mr. Denvir’s ENG 112 students. The introduction and commentaries were written by Isabelle Chao.
In English 111 and 112, students use their writing skills to produce meaningful essays that use argumentation, research, explanation, and/or analysis. This Dual Enrollment class challenges students to both advance their writing skills and be mindful of different elements like diction, imagery, point of view, and more.
Throughout the course, Mr. Denvir’s and Mrs. Free’s students have each written a total of nine essays, all with different styles and topics. From a classical argument essay about dictionaries to an organizational structure essay about X-Men, students’ creativity certainly shines through in their works. Different essays also had different time constraints. For some, students had an entire week for writing. For others, only one class was given.
For this project, students chose one of their nine essays from the semester and revised it or reflected on it to consider a different audience: Tallwood High School students.
In revised essays, a piece with formal headings and citations that was geared toward a teacher may now feature comedic GIFs or a few slang words. Students had to rethink their essay’s tone, word choice, and format, making it more appropriate for publication in the school newspaper.
With essays that feature reflections, students have published their original pieces and paired them with commentary that makes their essays relevant to Tallwood High School students, either in word form or a podcast.
Continue below for links to each piece:
Research Reports
In this essay, students were challenged to write a research report on a topic of their choice. Their sources range from trustworthy websites to professional academic journals. But don’t fret! The revisions in their essays present the information in a more conversational way that leaves the reader’s brain going “ooh” instead of “ow.”
Social Media: Is it All That Social? by Marie Williams
Exposing the “Girl Push-ups” by Samantha Aitken
Do Video Games Have Benefits on Health? By Dean Stough
The Dark Side of Football by Carson Marko and Keegan Boyle
Cats vs….Everything by Charlotte Castillo
Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice by Addison Ori
A Journey Through Familiar Worlds by Victoria Azevedo & Isabel Jenkins
From Paintbrushes to Computers by Abril Paniagua
From Filters to Feelings by Derek Huffman
Top 5 Reasons Why Everyone Should Watch Horror Films by Madison Tecson
If You Drink Energy Drinks, You Might Not Want to Read This by Joshua Olson
How Paralympians are Winning Hearts and Changing Minds by Asia Sapp and Aubrey Agcaoili
4 Reasons Eating Disorders Rose During the Pandemic by Leilani Schultz
The Great Mystery of the Alexandria Library by Mariela Diaz and Bryan Richey
What Your Piercing Says About You by Bella Alcaraz and Zoe Avila
Adolescent Pearlescent: Why Adults and Teens Should Keep Playing by Leilani Williams and Chris Blanchard
The King of Rock: Elvis Presley by Trey Kuriger III and Tru Janeway
Literacy Narratives
Do you remember the very day you learned to read? Or write? Or speak in a language? Neither do many of our authors in this section, but they do explore snippets of times that they do remember learning English or another language, like music. Here, enjoy podcasts where students read their literacy narratives and reflect.
Own the Page by Beillez Perez
Deep Dive by Ruby Coker and Ezekyel Helmstetter
First Day Essays
On the first day of class, students were surprised by their assignment for the day: the first day essay. Teachers presented ten prompts to choose from, ranging from “Draft a future letter to yourself” to “What is your opinion…re first-day-of-school writing prompts?” For the sake of this project, students significantly revised their essays to relate more to Tallwood students.
Students Need a Way to Share Ideas by Miguel Harris
Is Our Education Really Benefiting Us? by Xavier Hall
Personal Statements (or “College Essay”)
With the college application process looming at the time, teachers dedicated one unit in early fall to writing college essays. Below, you will find essays about a variety of personal topics along with recommendations from the authors about strategies for writing good college essays.
“No, Mom. I Haven’t Started my Essay yet” by Mia Foreman
Two College Essays by India French and Kailyn Myers
A Recipe for College Essays by Marcus Ross
Guide to Writing the Perfect Common App Essay by Dasean McLendon
Writing Your Way In By Eleina Diaz and Devon Taylor
Walmart Changed my Life by River Tonn and Alissa Scott
Speak Their Language by Alyssa Reilly
I Am Good Enough by Jiana Evans and Kyli Seymour
The “Anecdote” Sandwich by Naaji Dawson
Throwing Up at The Golden Corral by Rakil Boone
Another Strike by Brandon Mackiewicz
Thank You For Everything & Nothing by Janiyah Langley and Sanaa Martin
Crafting the Perfect College Essay by Shawn Bailey
“Describe yourself in one word” By Zulainy Martinez
Organizational Structure Essays
Have you ever had to define something to your friend? Maybe it required some explaining or describing. Perhaps you even compared & contrasted it with another thing, classified & divided into a category, or showed its causes and effects. Well, for this essay, students picked one of these bolded essay structures and used it to write about any topic they wanted. In their reflections, authors explain the benefits of using these organizational structures in writing.
Michael Jackson vs. Prince by Genna Stewart
Understanding Caffeine by Aaliyah Sampson
The Three Kinds of Students in Every Class by Amara Waples
My Favorite Dish by Vivian Ubaka
X-men in Reality by Marissa Fulgencio
Effects of Sports by Johnathan Britt
Cats and Dogs: Comparing and Contrasting by Carson Taylor
New York Yankees by Andrew Parker
Ramen to Success by Primo Roaquin
Explanations are Needed by Ezekiel Mercado
Battle of Tex-Mex: Moe’s Vs. Chipotle by Gregory Reeves
Classical Argument Essays
The essays in this section are just as they sound: argumentative. But instead of a family bickering over politics at Christmas dinner, these essays take a more professional approach, using research and argument strategies to talk about Minecraft in schools, telling kids about Santa, and more. Revisions of these essays make them similar to opinion articles from the morning newspaper.
Read the Dictionary to Raise your I.Q. by Rihanna Argueza
Does Minecraft Belong in High School Curriculums? by Emily Thomas and Kendall Wuesthoff
The Money Problem by Jesus Bergollo
The Magic of Belief by Tony Lee
Top 5 Reasons Why Everyone Should Watch Horror Films by Madison Tecson
Humility vs. Pride by Melissa Edwards
Rogerian Argument Essays
Similar to the classical argument essay, the Rogerian argument essay argues for something, but instead of choosing this or that, yes or no, or right or left, the writer defends a middle ground solution. In these revised works, you can expect an opinion article like the classical argument essays.
Balancing Dreams and Dollars by Emma Sarino
Is Homework Actually Necessary? by Aidan Tardif
Balancing the Scales by Xzavier Bias and Kameron Bellinger
Should Police Officers Carry Guns? By Mariah Howard
Natural Remedy or Harmful Plant? by Leila Henley
AI in Education: Revolutionizing Learning by Alpha Barry
Dress Codes In Tallwood High School by Ivelisse Ortiz
To Hit or not to Hit:? The Argument for Legalizing Marijuana by Cashis Gaston
The Legalization vs Illegalization of Prostitution by Ayden Helmstetter
Is Animal Testing Good or Bad? By Kaitlyn Holister
Evolution or Creationism? by Arianna King & Quay Morton
Literary Analysis Essay
In elementary school, we learned how to identify “language of the discipline” and sometimes even drew the purple lips icon that went along with it. In this essay, students continue using this skill by identifying and analyzing choices that authors make in their works, such as figurative language, patterns, and word choice. While this essay features no revisions or reflection, its writing about Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech shows how to flow from noticing literary devices into thinking about what they mean and with why the author chose to include them.
More than a Dream by Isabelle Chao
Reflective Essays
If your mind naturally falls down into a rabbit hole of thought, then these essays are for you. Here, writers took personal anecdotes and explored them to think about broader societal discussions. For their reflections, authors created a podcast in which they share their essays and talk more about the process of writing them or how their essays are similar and different from each other’s.
The Shoes we Wear by Aula Beitazzam
Should we Bring our Pets to College by Davis Slattery
