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I appreciate the educators that do not try to re-label an assignment. My daughter is a senior in high school. In her sociology class she was given the assignment to complete a cause and effect essay. This is the same assignment that I had and I am sure my mother was probably given the same task to complete. When I look back to when I was given the assignment to write a cause and effect essay, I most likely had the blank look on my face that my daughter came home with. As we experience life the concept of every event having an outcome seems more natural because we have experienced this in our lives. But for a young person just beginning their lives it is difficult to get a handle on the concept.
My daughter is quite independent, yet she asked me for guidance in writing the cause and effect essay. She was at a complete loss on how to start it. As we were talking I realized that this was one of those times when she was making something much more difficult than she needed to. We broke down what was meant by the assignment. The terms of the assignment were throwing her. I explained that the cause is the why portion of the assignment. The effect is what happens as a result. We looked at the assignment sheet that the sociology teacher gave her. The instructions said to write a fifteen hundred word cause and effect essay on any topic that interested you. My daughter is not used to having this much freedom in completing assignments. Most high school teachers are very descriptive in what they want their students to complete. I thought that it was good that this teacher was providing more freedom because this is what the students will be experiencing once they reach college and are given writing assignments.
My daughter has many interests. She has spent her summers working for the park and recreation program. Her job for this summer was eliminated as the result of funding cuts and the removal of summer programming for first and second graders. I told her that this would be a great cause and effect essay for her to write about because she is experiencing the effects. I am sure that this will be a great assignment.
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