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Writing Program

Instructions

Guidelines: When writing the essay, please observe the following guidelines. Submit the essay using the space provided in the online form to upload your essay.

  • Limit the length to approximately 750-1000 words.
  • Be sure to include an essay title and your name in the text boxes provided for these in the online form. This will ensure that when your essay is printed out, it will be identified as yours; otherwise, the essay will appear to have no author or title.
  • Compose the essay without any assistance, either in the form of other people or outside commentary. You cannot use the web or the library for research. You are, however, permitted to use a dictionary (online or paper) for words which are unfamiliar to you. And you can use reference tools (online or otherwise) to identify names which you don’t recognize. Your best interests will be served only if the Writing Program can make an honest appraisal of how you write on your own. This will be your first opportunity to put Haverford’s Honor Code into practice.

Assignment: Read Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" (PDF) or in the placement package.

This now widely-celebrated piece was first published in 1963. Drawing upon evidence from the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” , construct a response that answers the question: what does this mean now? Your essay should be well-structured, clear, and thoughtful in its approach to the subject.

CITATION: For this essay you can use parenthetical citation within your text where the page numbers for direct quotations or paraphrased material from the article appear in parentheses after the cited passage. 

    When evaluating your essay, Writing Program faculty will draw upon the following criteria:

    • Engagement and reasoning: How well do you demonstrate an understanding of the argument while still establishing and supporting your own position?
    • Structure and style: Does the organization help or hinder readers? Is there enough control of particular sentences to allow us to follow your reasoning?

    Any questions, please contact Prof. dsherman [at] haverford.edu (Debora Sherman), Director of College Writing.