I attached the pdf file.

After all, it is one thing to say that a beach is beautiful with its sandy shores and clear waters; it is another to describe the grainy sand, warmed by the sun as it squishes between our toes, while the glare of the gun casts diamonds across the deep blue water . Both are descriptions of the same thing, but the second truly gives us an experience with words. The more specific a writer can be, the better the picture will be in the reader’s mind.

This use of description is especially helpful when it comes to the way we use support in writing. The best ideas in the world can fall flat without adequate and specific support points to back them up. Strong, descriptive, and specific support paints the same kind of picture that the description of the beach did, but it gives life to ideas more so than just paint mental pictures. A lack of support cripples an essay , and it is one of the most common things I comment on while grading.

For your second essay, you will write a description essay focusing on ONE personal quality that you feel you embody in your life . Of course, it is impossible to narrow down a human being into just having one quality, so my advice is to really think about which one you want to focus on. Y ou will then construct an essay that describes and shows how you embody this quality , focusing on organizing your essay in a way that clearly distinguishes HOW, WHEN, and WHY you are this quality.

ORGANIZATION:

Please note that you are not telling three stories about how you are this quality; this trick here is to think about where this quality comes in as you live your life day to day: the various contexts and roles, how you might change your behavior while still embodying this quality , and even the negative consequences of having this quality. For example, if you were to write about empathy , you might have three paragraphs, organized this way:

Paragraph 1: Empathy allows me to connect to others easily because I can put myself in their shoes and understand what they are feeling.

Paragraph 2: Empathy fuels a very vivid imagination, and I often find myself connecting to fictional characters in books, television shows, and movies in very strong ways.

Paragraph 3: Empathy can become a hindrance to my life at times because I feel too strongly , and I often get caught up in negative news events or sad stories. 3/14/2021 Description Essay -- submit essay here https://learn.vccs.edu/courses/353673/assignments/7252991 2/5 These three paragraphs are different from each other, yet they all focus on the quality of how empathy plays a role in my life in different ways. BODY PARAGRAPHS:

Your body paragraphs are where you will be using descriptive writing. Y ou want a variety of examples from your own life that each capture enough detail to make them vivid and effective for your reader. Note that this does not mean you need long winded stories for each example; just give strong detail that focuses on “showing” vs. “telling”.

For example, if you are writing about compassion, and your paragraph’ s focus is how compassion makes you a strong listener, tell us about specific moments in your life when you displayed this. Perhaps tell us about an experience where a friend opened up to you about something: losing their job, breaking up with a partner, or dealing with a medical crisis. Include a description of what you said to them, what advice you gave, or how you were there for them. Follow that up with a second example: say , an employee was late for their shift, and you pulled them aside, away from other employees, to gently but firmly explain the rules on tardiness, while at the same time, listening to their explanation and trying to see their side. The more detail you can provide – the expression on the employee’s face, your tone of voice while speaking with them, the place in which you had this conversation – can contribute to our understanding of your kind of compassion. It shows us who you are more than just telling us. USING OUTSIDE SOURCES & CITATION:

In preparation for your final essay , where you will be using a large variety of outside source materials, you will also need to incorporate TWO outside sources somewhere into your essay . Only ONE of these can be a dictionary definition. This can take the form of expert opinion, definition, data/statistics, etc. For example:

Empathy can become a hindrance to my life at times because I feel too strongly , and I often get caught up in negative news events or sad stories. This can put a real damper on my day when I come across a story or event that affects me too deeply. One example of this is mass shootings, which often cause me a great amount of distress, as I envision the terror and heartbreak that the victims and their families went through. After the October 2017 mass shooting in Las V egas, I found myself seeking news articles about victims, reading almost compulsorily about the massacre, imagining the events in my mind, yet unable to stop. I felt so terrible about what had happened to these people – people that I had never met before – that for days, I could barely muster smiles, and my mind seemed to constantly worry and stress over what had happened. This is an example of empathy af fecting a person’s life in a negative way. A 2017 Washington Post article discusses possible “empathy fatigue” that people in helping professions, such as teachers, doctors, and social workers can experience. There can even be negative health consequences to too much empathy; a 2016 research study is quoted in the article, stating that "Parents who readily engage with the struggles and perspectives of others may leave 3/14/2021 Description Essay -- submit essay here https://learn.vccs.edu/courses/353673/assignments/7252991 3/5 themselves vulnerable to additional burdens, expending physiological resources in order to better help others." (Wallace). If an empathetic person is not careful, they will devote too much of themselves to others, or get too caught up in the negative events of others that they expend all of their energies on others, leaving little to nothing for themselves. When I find myself getting too caught up in sad news articles, I try a number of strategies for redirecting my energies. I will cut myself of f of news reports and focus on a task at home that renews my energy: playing with my son, cooking, gardening, or even just tidying something around the house. Trying to put myself back into the present allows me to focus on my actual life, rather than endlessly worry about the pain of others.

**Whatever sources you find, please cite them in MLA formatting , though I acknowledge that we have not yet covered this yet in class. I will not take points off for incorrect citation; I will take points off for not citing at all.** Please visit the Purdue OWL MLA Citation guide to get started acclimating yourself with citation style.

INTRODUCTION/CONCLUSION & THESIS Please also include a short introduction and conclusion with your essay ( no more than 2-3 sentences each ), and include a thesis statement that explains the three qualities you are going to write about in your introduction . An example introduction: The ability to put ourselves in another person’ s shoes is perhaps the most important quality in the human experience. This ability, to envision the life and feelings of someone else, allows us to connect to others and attempt to improve the lives of others, making the world a continuously better place. This quality is empathy, and it is one I try and lead my life with each and every day . Empathy comes into my life in various contexts: in the way I connect with others, in how vivid my imagination is, and it can even affect me negatively , sometimes causing me a great deal of stress if I get caught up in sad news stories or events.

For your conclusion , you want to quickly wrap up your essay and restate your thesis. For example: Empathy is a very strong quality for human beings to have because it fuels connection to each other . In my own life, empathy allows me to connect to others in profound ways; it is how I am able to problem solve effectively with my husband, when I try and see things from his perspective. It is how I can connect with my students, by never forgetting what it feels like to have to balance multiple classes, work schedules, and demands from friends and family at a young age. Empathy also gives me a very vivid imagination; movies become lifelike to me, and I get very immersed in the fictional lives I read or watch.

However , empathy can also be negative, when I find myself too caught up in sad stories in the news or 3/14/2021 Description Essay -- submit essay here https://learn.vccs.edu/courses/353673/assignments/7252991 4/5 heartbreak that my friends have experienced. All in all though, empathy is such a unique human quality, one that makes this world a better place. It is a quality we should demand our leaders embody, and one we should practice each day ourselves. After all, if we cannot picture ourselves in another person’ s shoes, we are doomed to live our lives in a very selfish and self-centered existence, never imagining what others might be feeling or experiencing. Human beings are built to empathize, and we should never devalue this important quality. PAPER TWO CHECKLIST Therefore, your paper should have the following sections (make sure you check each one as you complete it – NOTE THA T YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WRITE THESE IN ORDER. Start with whatever section is easiest to write!!!):

_____ Introduction that grabs reader ’s attention and presents your thesis _____ Thesis statement: a sentence at the end of your intro that states your main point (what quality about yourself that you are going to write about). Think of this as a statement that sets up your “argument”; that “argument” is to prove that you are these three qualities.

_____ Paragraph one: the first context of your quality + 2-3 specific examples of experiences that exhibit this quality _____ Paragraph T wo: the second context of your quality + 2-3 specific examples of experiences that exhibit this quality _____ Paragraph three: the third context of your quality + 2-3 specific examples of experiences that exhibit this quality _____ A short conclusion that restates your thesis _____ TWO outside sources (at least) used throughout your paper , cited using MLA formatting Formatting requirements: At least 1100 words Double-spaced 12 point standard fonts (T imes New Roman, Garamond, Arial, etc.) Standard 1 inch margins on all sides Your name should be on every page Remember to use spell check and grammar check before turning anything in FIVE EXTRA CREDIT POINTS for tutoring center visit OR library visit! 3/14/2021 Description Essay -- submit essay here https://learn.vccs.edu/courses/353673/assignments/7252991 5/5