Directions: Write a paragraph on one of the prompts below. 1. Do you have a habit you would like to break? Describe the habit and the problems it causes. 2. Write about someone you admire or love and describe why you truly appreciate that person. 3. Describe an exciting event that has happened to you. What effect, if any, did it have on you? 4. Describe a small, sustainable commitment you could make and how it would improve your life. Grading Criteria Grade: ________ 30 pts 1. Did you write one paragraph with at least 250 words? You may write more but limit your response to one paragraph. 2. Did you write about one of the prompts found above? If your paper does not respond to one of the prompts above, the most it can earn is 50%. 3. Was your paper mostly free of proofreading errors (silly spelling/capitalization errors, funny spacing, missing words, wrong words, or confusing/awkward wording---things that reading aloud should catch)? 4. Did your paragraph have: A. a clear topic sentence/focus that states the controlling idea for the paragraph B. adequate development, where there are plenty of details that develop the topic sentence, C. unity, where all your details support your topic sentence, D. coherence, where your ideas are well organized and easy to follow and understand E. a satisfying end, where you tied up your ideas and explained why what you wrote matters? 5. Did you follow the MLA formatting criteria for college papers? (Full Heading, Correct Title, Size 12 Font, Indented paragraphs, and Double-spaced) 6. Did you avoid sentence fragments? (incomplete thoughts written as sentences) 7. Did you avoid run-ons: fused sentences and comma splices? 8. Did you use commas correctly? A. when joining only two words or phrases B. in a list of three or more C. with introductory prepositional phrases (use a comma as needed for clarity with phrases) 9. Did you use commonly confused words correctly, for example: there, their, they’re, too, to, it’s, its?