Student Resources

Student Writing Fellows
A student Writing Fellow is a FAMU undergraduate student that has been identified by one of their professors as an outstanding writer. 
 
The Writing Fellows are expected to take a training workshop called "Working with Writers: Theory and Practice" as well as participate as peer tutors in the Writing Resources Center.
 
As a result of their training, Writing Fellows are able to help students with things like understanding writing assignments and interpreting professor feedback.
 
In addition to collaborating with the professor, the Writing Fellows can also help the professor better understand how students think about writing assignments, rubrics, and feedback.

Student Document Repository

This collection of Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) student resources includes well-written artifact samples of resumes, essays, papers and reports, as well as other written works. These documents have been generated by FAMU faculty and peers, as well as from students from other institutions. The included documents cover the most common types of writing assignments generally encountered by students. There are also samples of different writing styles. To help you as a student learner create and generate your own written works, these artifacts can be downloaded and used for free.

What is a Resume?

 

The FAMU Career & Professional Development Center Describes a Resume as:

  • A summary of your experiences and skills relevant to the field of work you are entering.
  • It highlights your accomplishments to show a potential employer that you are qualified for the work you want. It is not a biography of everything you have done.
  • Its purpose is to get you an interview. 
  • A resume can (and often should) reflect more than just your paid work experience. Current students, in particular, should consider including the details of your more important extracurricular, volunteer and leadership experiences.

Resume Sample #1
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What is an Essay?

 

Purdue Owl  defines essay as:
 

“A term coming from the Latin verb exigere, which means "to examine, test, or (literally) to drive out." Through the excavation of this ancient word, we are able to unearth the essence of the academic essay: "to encourage students to test or examine their ideas concerning a particular topic” and present them in written form.

“Essays are shorter pieces of writing, compared to papers or reports, that often require the student to hone a number of skills such as close reading, analysis, comparison and contrast, persuasion, conciseness, clarity, and exposition."

Below are descriptions and samples of different types of essays assigned in academic settings



1. Descriptive Essay
Purpose: to describe details of a subject or object. The primary, secondary and novel features are delineated in terms of appearance or other characteristics, every detail counts.
 
Descriptive Essay Sample #1
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2. Narrative Essay
Tells a story about an event in a person's life. It is personal and expresses feelings It should be written in the 1st person using "I."

Narrative Essay Sample #1
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3. Process Essay

This type of written composition is similar to a manual in that the instructions to do something are  outlined. The purpose is to tell about something you know well how to do and are good at.
 
Process Essay Sample #1
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4. Definition Essay

This type of essay concentrates on the significance of the topic. The purpose is to explain something on a higher level than a dictionary would.

Definition Essay Sample #1
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5. Compare & Contrast Essay
This type of essay looks at differences and similarities between two subjects. It should delineate what things they have in common and what is different about them. It provides an obvious contrast of the two subjects.
 
Compare and Contrast Essay Sample #1
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 6. Cause & Effect Essay
In this type of essay, an event has occurred and the writer must demonstrate what caused or has led to that events happening, if the cause is unknown multiple potential causes and the logic of them being the actual cause can be explored. Drawing out in writing a logical connection between the event and the cause of the event is important.

Cause and Effect Essay Sample #1
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 7. Argumentative Essay
The goal of this essay is to sway the reader to take the author's stance. It involves changing the reader’s position; where the reader has maybe the opposite viewpoint than the author

Argumentative Essay Sample #1
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8. Critical Analysis Essay and/or Evaluation Essay
In this essay a work, usually a written one, but not always, is appraised and critiqued focusing on what you the author thinks to be good or bad about it. It focuses attention upon how well something is done or written. Was it done correctly or not? Was the work convincing or not? Did it deliver effectively its intended message. Was it written at an appropriate level for the audience it was intended for?  Was the table, car, computer, essay well-constructed? Did it have a good plot? How well did it develop its theme? Did the investigators use the proper controls in their experiments?  Did the authors over draw their conclusions based on the presented evidence? To write this type of essay, you must be extensively informed on the subject you are evaluating.

Critical Essay Sample #1
Critical Essay Sample #2



9. Evaluation Essay
Evaluation Essay Sample #1
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 10. Expository Essay
Exposition is explanatory communication. This type of essay is hence, an organized written work, which explains a topic to a target audience. This type of essay is less detailed than a major research or argument paper. These types of essays are common to write for school exams or on GRE or MCAT exams.  With an exam or a standardized test, the examples available to use to support your points will be based on the knowledge already inside your head. In a research or argument paper, the author can provide more detailed support via detailed research findings

 Organization of This Type of Essay:

  • A clear focus concept or thesis must be initially created
  • Essay should begin with the introduction of the focus point
  • Body of the essay should give supporting evidence that the info you are presenting in your
  • Explanation is valid and correct and should connect that evidence to the thesis.
  • Transitions that connect points should be present.
  • Essay should conclude with emphasis on the focus concept

Expository Essay Sample #1
Expository Essay Sample #2


 
11. Persuasive Essay
This essay is an extreme form of an argumentative essay. The purpose is to change the readers' point of view completely, abandoning it in favor of the author’s. At the end of your essay your audience should want to accept your viewpoint as the only one that makes sense.

Persuasive Essay Sample #1
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 12.  Analysis Essay

This essay looks at a natural or societal observation and tries to explain why it is occurring. It presents an argument on an issue the author is trying to explain.
 
Analysis Essay Sample #1
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13. Summary Essay
In this essay, one must compile the information in a given text or event in a neat, understandable concise abridged manner.  It can be a book summary, an article summary, a movie synopsis, or a summary of a live event etc… It is not a review and does not critique only summarizes.

Summary Essay Sample #1
Summary Essay Sample #2



14. Reflective Essay
reflective essay is an essay in which the writer examines his or her experiences in life. The writer then writes about those experiences, exploring how he or she has changed, developed or grown from those experiences

Reflective Essay Sample #1
Reflective Essay Sample #2


 
More Essay Examples
 
The Essay Archive
The Custom Essay Archive
 

What is the Difference Between a ESSAY and a Term or Research PAPER?

 

Term Paper

A term paper is an investigative assignment that covers material presented in a course in an academic semester. It is used by an instructor to assess how thoroughly a student has comprehended the text and class presented materials that are related to the core learning outcomes of the course.

Term Paper Sample #1



Research Paper

Research papers are compositions more extensive than regular essays that require in depth research in order to write them. Creating a research paper further requires documenting the sources you utilized.

Research Paper Sample #1
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What is a Lab Report?

A lab report is a written report that describes the topic background on a research investigation and the methodology involved in conducting the research. It should explain the basis of conducting the proposed research and what the findings were and whether the collected data matched the predicted outcomes.
 
Lab Report Sample #1
Lab Report Sample #2

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

An annotated bibliography is a list of citations. Each citation is accompanied by a short paragraph, the annotation, which serves to inform the reader of the significance, exactness, and quality of the sources cited.

Annotated Bibliography Sample #1
Annotated Bibliography Sample #2

Are you interested in helping other students? Consider submitting your own original writing for consideration to become a part of this archive!

Submit Today!

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To add a new resource or suggest a new category or subcategory, please contact Michael Thornton

Biology | ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Florida A&M University

P:
(850) 412-5059
E:
michael.thornton@famu.edu