Department Handouts

Diagnostic

Writing Topics

Choose one of the following and write a 300-500 word essay.

1.	Write an essay in which you provide specific suggestions for improvement in one

	of the following:  the high school from which you graduated, the place where you
	work, your neighborhood, your family.

2.	Write an essay in which you explain why someone you know takes drugs or drinks 
	too much.

3.	Formulate an answer to the following question and use it as the thesis of your essay:
	Why do so many entering college students have trouble reading and writing?

4.	Write an essay in which you describe an incident involving racism, sexism, or ageism
	that you know of and try to explain why it happened.

5.	Contrast two people you know or know of, one who is successful and one who is not,
	and try to explain why one is successful and the other isn't.