June 1, 2010
Dear Eleventh Grade Students and Parents,
In order to make productive use of the summer, the English Department has devised a
summer assignment which will walk students through the college essay writing process. In the
attached packet, students will find a description of the assignment, a rubric with which it will be
graded, writing tips, advice from college admissions directors and sample essays. By October
31st 2010, seniors should have completed and turned in this assignment to their twelfth grade
English teachers. For answers to any questions or for more information, students should contact
their current eleventh grade teachers. We have found that it is never too early to begin the college
essay writing process.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Bonnie Guarino
Humanities Administrative Intern
BG/ed
Encl.
Cc J. Leavy
C. Leonardi
J. Finello
The Huntington High School
Summer Essay Assignment
Name: _________________________
June 2010
Dear Eleventh Grade Student,
As a way to make your summer vacation more
productive and your senior year less stressful, on the
next page you will find a summer assignment-your
college essay. Following the assignment is the rubric
which will be used to grade your essay. The
accompanying packet will walk you through the
requirements and should answer any questions you may
have.
The completed essay is due at the end of
October 2011 and is to be turned in to your twelfth
grade English teacher. It will be graded, so please look
at the rubric and through the packet before you leave
for the summer break, and if you have any questions
ask your current English teacher.
Good Writing,
The English Department
* Your summer assignment is to respond to one of
the topics below in approximately 500 words.
College Essay- Common Application Topics
The majority of colleges require the applicant to write an
essay. The application may simply ask for a personal
statement and leave the decision up to you as to how you
wish to respond. Other colleges might ask you to write
about suggested topics. Some of the questions Common
Application colleges have asked are:
1. Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you
have taken or ethical dilemma you have faced and its
impact on you.
2. Discuss some issue of personal, local, national or
international concern and its importance to you.
3. Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on
you, and describe that influence.
4. Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a
creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had
an influence on you, and explain that influence.
5. A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and
life experience adds much to the educational mix. Given
your personal background, describe an experience that
illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a
college community, or an encounter that demonstrated
the importance of diversity to you.
PERSONAL/COLLEGE ESSAY RUBRIC
WRITER’S NAME:
Content
1. Starts with an engaging introduction
and draws the reader into the topic
Weak Fair Good Strong
2. Focuses on a specific, well-defined
topic — an incident, experience,
person or idea
3. Tells an interesting story and
elaborates with specific, vivid images
and examples
4. Explains why the topic is important to
the author
5. Ends with a satisfying conclusion
Organization
6. Follows a coherent pattern of
organization (beginning, middle, end)
Weak Fair Good Strong
7. Demonstrates proper and effective
paragraphing
