Choose topics of your own or one of the following for each type of essay required. Notice that topics are suggested here for all of the papers assigned throughout the semester. Return to this page often.

1. Development by examples ("illustration"; see also Wyrick):

                    a. Discuss fully, clearly, systematically how a particular adult plays a significant role in your life or how 
                        a prominent figure in the news, popular culture, etc., affects your life, your attitudes, etc. 

b. What are your current dominant impressions of Mars Hill College, the town of Mars Hill, Western
    North Carolina, etc.? Choose only one of those or a similar topic.

c. What are your views on George W. Bush as president? Or what are your views on a prospective
    presidential candidate?

d. What is the best (or worst) movie you have seen within the past six months?

e. Agree or disagree: Advertising sells unnecessary, flattering fantasy, not useful, necessary products and services.

f. Agree or disagree: Children's lives are adversely affected by pressure from various sources,
    including parents, peers, schools, coaches, and the media.

g. Agree or disagree: Rather than provide solutions to problems, technological advances often cause
    more problems.

h. Agree or disagree: In spite of general improvement in American society as a whole, minorities or
    women (focus on one) still face problems of discrimination in certain areas (or in this community or in
    a certain job field, etc.).

i. Agree or disagree: Younger people today have no interest in political or social issues.

j. Agree or disagree: Life is better for people in their late teens than it is for people in their fifties.

2. Development by contrast (or comparison) (see also Wyrick): 

                    a. significant differences between Conley's mother and father OR between white and black culture or 
                        experience as presented in Honky 

                    b. two vacation spots 

                    c. two different places you have lived 

                    d. two jobs 

                    e. two schools 

                    f. two friends 

                    g. two presidential candidates 

                    h. two restaurants 

                    i. two websites devoted to the same topic or purpose (say, MySpace and Facebook)

                    j. two athletic teams 

                    k. a book or a television program and a movie based on it

3. Development by causal analysis (see also Wyrick):

Causes

a. Why should anyone choose to vote for a particular prospective presidential candidate?

b. Why do some people apparently decide not to vote at all in national or local elections?

c. What might motivate someone to buy a particular car?

d. Why should someone choose to attend Mars Hill College?

e. Why should students choose to stay on campus or commute from home? Choose one topic, not 
    both.

f.  Why are some people attracted to "reality" television shows?

g.  Why have "extreme" sports become popular in the last few years?

h.  Why are people attracted to watching television coverage of the Olympic Games?

i.  Why do married couples sometimes choose to divorce?

j.  Why has a particular MHC team or group performed as it has this season? Or how do you expect a 
    particular team or group to perform during the rest of the season or later in the year--and why?

k.  Why do you prefer playing a particular position on an athletic team, playing a particular musical 
    instrument, etc.? 

l.   Why do you support or oppose the war in Iraq?

Effects

a. What are the probable effects of voter apathy?

b. What have been the effects of the music industry's opposition to music sharing through electronic 
    means?

c. What do you expect the effects of your college education to be?

d. What are the effects of excessive permissiveness on children?

e. What would be the probable effects of emphasizing greater diversity in American culture?

f.  What are the main effects of divorce on children?

g.  What are some probable effects of a state lottery in North Carolina? Or what do you know are the 
    effects of a lottery in another state?

h.  What are the effects of excessive discipline on children?

i.   What are the effects of the war in Iraq?

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