Problem
Diagnostic Writing problem Purpose:
The purpose for this exercise is to allow you all to respond to a prompt and develop an essay around the prompt. This allows for you to showcase your writing style so that I can ensure that the course is structured to provide the appropriate value for every student. This is a low stakes problem. Do not overthink it, or labor over it intensely. This is for me to get a feel for your writing styles.
For this problem, students will be asked to do the following:
Compose a well-developed essay that responds to the prompt in its entirety. The essay should have a clear introduction and conclusion. It should also provide clear transitions between paragraphs. Note: This class will require students to break free of the five paragraph structure that has been accepted for the normal length of an essay. Essays, in an academic setting, are more than five paragraphs, and the expectation is to write sufficiently to flesh out your arguments/ideas.
Your essay should respond fully and completely to the prompt below
This problem does not require any outside research, but if you wish to incorporate evidence, feel free, but ensure you include a Works Cited page if that is the case.
Prompt: As we have further progressed into the twenty-first century, the way that we present academic and argumentative arguments and writing has changed considerably. As you will find out when tackling Lunsford's text, writing and what is considered scholarly has become multimodal in its presentation-video essays, YouTube videos, Wikis, Podcasts, Vlogs, and Blogs-which allows information to reach a wider audience. This, however, does not discount more traditional forms of writing and scholarship-written essays, books, theses/dissertations, journal articles, etc.-are not as effective.
Many scholars would argue that more traditional forms of writing are much more effective and professional than the newer multimodal forms of writing that are entering the academy. Do you agree or disagree with this claim? Why, or why not? Make sure to provide a clear and convincing argument that fleshes out your stance. Your essay should have a clearly defined thesis statement, which will provide an effective roadmap for the essay.