A Hope in the Unseen

A-Hope-in-the-Unseen Papers

A-Hope-in-the-Unseen papers are assignments that are turned in to the instructor as paper (hard copy) assignments, not electronic submissions.  All “Hope” papers are worth 30 points each.

Note: All of the four “Hope” papers are to be at least two double-spaced pages in length, using a #12 font size.

Paper # 1.  

Topic: Consider the titles of the first three chapters of the book: “Something to Push Against,” “Don’t Let Them Hurt Your Children,” and “Rise and Shine.”

1. What does the first chapter title mean? That is, what is the “something to push against,” who needs to “push against” that “something,”, and why does that “something” need to be “pushed against?”
2.  In the second chapter title, who is the “them” and how were the children kept from getting hurt?
3. Why do you suppose the author entitled the third chapter “Rise and Shine?” Other than the literal meaning of the words, to what do you think the words “rise” and “shine” refer?

Grading Guidelines:

1. Does your paper present examples and illustrations directly from the book to explain, support, and justify your answers to the above questions. Are your answers specific and clear? (25 points)
2. Is your paper correctly formatted: Is it at least two pages in length, double-spaced, and typed in size-12 font? (2  points)
3. Is your paper “reader-friendly?” Did you use a spellchecker to correct any spelling errors and read your paper aloud (or have a friend read it to you) to check for good grammar usage and clarity of ideas? (3 points)

Paper #2.  

Topic: In chapters 6-9, Cedric is described making the transition from high school to college. Pretend you are writing a guide for high school students who are reading the Hope book that is designed to help them learn how to overcome the major challenges they will face in making this transition successfully. First, identify what the three major challenges that Cedric, the new college student, faced, and second, point out to them both the good and bad things Cedric did to build his own self-confidence and to take responsibility in dealing with these challenges.

Grading Guidelines:

1. Does your paper actually identify three specific challenges that Cedric faced? (5 points)
2. Does your paper clearly describe two things Cedric did that bolstered his self-confidence and two that diminished it? (10 points)
3.Does your paper clearly describe two things that reflected him taking responsibility and two that clearly described him avoiding it? (10 points)
 4. Is your paper correctly formatted: Is it at least two pages in length, double-spaced, and typed in size-12 font? (2 points)
5. Is your paper “reader-friendly?” Did you use a spellchecker to correct any spelling errors and read your paper aloud (or have a friend read it to you) to check for good grammar usage and clarity of ideas? (3 points)

Paper #3.  

Topic: Write a Question & Answer Outline (as described in Module 7 of the LMS book) for Chapter 12 of the Hope book. Your outline should contain 1 Recap Question, a minimum of 12 Reflection Questions, and 1 Reasoning Question. Be sure to include one or two sentence answers to each question, the answers being based on what is in the book.

Grading Guidelines:

1.  Does your paper include the required number of each type of question, are they all actually questions, to they span the chapter from beginning to end, and do they adequately represent the main points of the chapter?     (15 points)
 2. Does your paper include an answer for each question, is each answer drawn from the text, and does each answer actually answer the question posed?    (10 points)
3. Is your paper correctly formatted: Is it at least two pages in length, double-spaced, and typed in size-12 font? (2 points)
4. Is your paper “reader-friendly?” Did you use a spellchecker to correct any spelling errors and read your paper aloud (or have a friend read it to you) to check for good grammar usage and clarity of ideas? (3 points)

Paper #4. 

Topic:  In Chapters 10, 11, and 12, Cedric finds himself in a number of situations that challenge him and require him to effectively manage or deal with them in order to succeed. In Module 10 of the LMS book, you are learning about 10 techniques that work for managing challenges in one’s life. In your paper, identify and describe in detail three of the challenging situations that Cedric faced, how he used one or more of the recommended techniques for dealing with each of the three challenges, and what results he obtained. For each of the three situations, pick one recommended technique from the LMS book that he did not use, but might have, in each situation, and how that might have altered the outcome. Be sure to use at least two different techniques for the three situations. Be as specific as you can.

Grading Guidelines:

1. Does your paper identify and describe in detail three of Cedric’s challenging situations. (7 points)
2. Does your paper explicitly describe how Cedric used one of the recommended techniques, although not necessarily the same one, in dealing with each situation, and with what results? (9 points)
3. Does your paper describe a recommended technique Cedric did not use in each situation, and what results he might have obtained had he used it? Have you suggested at least two recommended techniques he could have used in dealing with the three situations? (9 points)
4. Is your paper “reader-friendly?” Did you use a spellchecker to correct any spelling errors and read your paper aloud (or have a friend read it to you) to check for good grammar usage and clarity of ideas? (5 points)