the PRESENTATION Essay 

   

    a. Students will be required to develop an essay and then a presentation based on these

        Washington State Board of Education requirements.

    b. Think of the essay as a written example of what your actual panel presentation will be.  In

        other words, if someone was unable to attend your panel presentation, they could read your

        essay and obtain similar information.

    c. Make sure to tell your whole story by covering the eight key points required from the State

        Board of Education listed below. Students are to demonstrate while in high school how they

        have learned:

 

            i. to think analytically, logically and creatively

 

            ii. to integrate experiences and knowledge to form reasoned judgments and solve

                problems

            iii, to understand the importance of work

            iv. how performance, effort and decisions affect career and educational opportunities.

 

    d. Each student must address each of these topics their essay.

 

NOTE: Often students find that an activity or project (Drama, FFA, Sports, ASB, Church Youth Group, 4-H, Music, Art, Work Experience, etc.) that they have been involved in while in high school will help demonstrate the above four points

 

    e. The State Board of Education further asks students to explain their education plan which

        includes:

 

5            i. Significant and helpful courses completed while in High School (9-12)

6

            ii. Significant activities both in and out of school completed while in High School (9-12)

            iii. Experiences, both in and out of school completed while in High School (9-12)

            iv. Detailed goals and plans for the four years following graduation including a detailed the

                 13^th year plan

 

    f. Suggestion: Emphasize a few relevant courses and activities that were significant in your

        high school career. 

            i. Your short and long term goals, visitations, job shadow reports, transcript, high school

                activities log, and community service log may assist you in developing this section of

                the essay. 

            ii. You may describe:

                    1.  what went according to plans and what didn’t

                    2. evaluations of your high school experience

                    3. what you have gained from high school courses, activities and experiences

                    4. what you learned doing PEARLS, and how the project has or has not helped you. 

            iii. Some state what they might do different during their high school years if they could

                 do it over again. 

 

NOTE: Be sure to cover in detail your 13^th year plan within the essay, even though it may be reported in your goal statements.

 

    g. The essay should be of sufficient length and neatness to give a person a complete picture of

        your presentation.

    h. The essay should be typed, 1 inch margin frame, double spaced, 12 pt font and be at least

         five pages in length.

    i. You may use any kind of supplemental materials to illustrate this essay, but they do not

        count into the five pages of text. 

 

    j. This essay must be error free,  proofed and initialed by a ZHS advisor/staff member before being checked off.  So 

        plan ahead!

    k. This PowerPoint demonstration will provide you with tips on organizing your Senior Essay.

    l. Senior Essay Classes:

            i. Brainstorming Worksheet-Classes and then once completed add to the

            ii. Outline for Classes Worksheet

    m. Senior Essay Activities:

          

             i. Brainstorming Worksheet-Activities and then once completed add to the

           

            ii. Outline for Activities Worksheet

n. Senior Essay Focus Area:

       

        i. Brainstorming for your Focus Area (Section 3 of the essay) and then once

            completed add to the

      ii. Outline for Focus Area Worksheet

o. Write out your essay

 

        i. The next step is to use your outlines to write each of the three sections of the essay. 

 

        ii. I suggest taking them one at a time since it is easier that way. 

 

        iii. Notice that the classes and activities sections are formatted in much the same pattern,

              so once you get in the groove for the first one, the second one is not too tough. 

        iv. The Focus Area section can also follow that same pattern, though the narrative (story-

             telling) part of it will probably be longer that the other sections.

 

          v. When you write them out, it is a good idea to get them typed up as early in the drafting process as you can. 

                  vi. Remember, eventually, they will need to be DOUBLE SPACED and with 12 point font and 1” margins. 

                  vii. The faster you can type them, the more you can take advantage of your word processor’s spell check and 

                         grammar checks (though don’t rely on them completely!)

        viii. Once you have the three body sections written, you still aren’t through!  Here is

            what is left to do:

        1. You need to write a paragraph length INTRODUCTION to the entire essay and

            put it before the Classes section.  Click on the link below for instructions and a

            model.

        2. You need to make sure that the first sentence in the Activities and Focus Area

            sections TRANSITION smoothly from the previous section (“Not only did I learn a

            lot from my classes, I also learned….from my activities.”)

        3. You need to write a paragraph length CONCLUSION to the entire essay and put it

            after the Focus Area section.  Click on the link below for instructions and a model.

            ix. Once it is all written, it most commonly goes together like this:

 

Note:  This is the easiest and most common method of organizing the essay.  Some students have chosen to alter this pattern for various reasons.  That is OK as long as you DO NOT FAIL TO HAVE THE CONTENTS OF ALL THREE SECTIONS IN THE ESSAY!  For example, one student chose to write the Focus Area first because his moving to this country and learning English needed to be explained first because it happened first and because it so drastically affected the other two areas.  He did follow the organization pattern in the classes and activities sections once he got to the description of his high school experience, however.

 

            x. After you have it all written out, you need to…

                    1. Make a title page

                    2. Proofread it, proofread it, proofread it….It has to be perfect before it will be

                        signed off!

                    3. Print it and turn it in to your advisor! (at least two weeks BEFORE the grading

                        due date. This will allow time for any corrections prior to grading.

 

        xi. Resources to help you write the essay:

                    1. SAMPLE ESSAY, including the format for a TITLE PAGE

 

                    2. Instructions for INTRODUCTIONS and CONCLUSIONS  

                    3. Evaluation form for PEARLS Essay (What your advisor will be looking for.)