120/20 Final Exam

As a result of Covid and our transition to an online format, your final exam has changed in its scope. The exam will no longer be an argument based on the reading of two arguments on the same topic as we did in Essays 2 and 4. In even better news, it will be graded by only me.Instead, we will write an argument of a different type. The prompt is below:Due to the introduction of Corona/Covid into our lives, we have transitioned from a traditional face-to-face to a synchronous online class. Since the class has been a synchronous format, we have continued to meet at regular class time and done our best to replicate the face-to-face experience. If we had met asynchronously, we would not have met at regular times; the materials, including lectures, would have been uploaded to Canvas, and you would have accessed them at your leisure.Obviously, the transition has not been seamless, nor necessarily smooth. We have had hiccups, to be sure, but we have also had triumphs and victories. For many of you, this class has been your first online class experience.To address this issue, your final exam topic will be “Education in Covid.” You will be evaluating, assessing, and/or critiquing the experience. You will, ultimately, be arguing for/against the idea of distance education.While you are writing an argument, I do not expect you to do any research for the paper; you have been “living” it, so you are an authority, and your personal experiences are your evidence. Hence, you can use first person (I) voice just like you did in the first essay (the narrative essay about your ideal job) of the semester.Below is a list of questions that you may consider when writing the essay, but, of course, you are able to include anything else that is relevant to your thesis.What are the best features of online learning? What are the worst features of online learning? What, specifically, are the challenges? In what way has online learning helped you? How could the online experience be changed to make it better for future students? What could be done better by the teacher, the class, you for future online classes?Regarding the assignment, you will want to write an essay that is 4-6 paragraphs in length. It must include a thesis, topic sentences for the body paragraphs, specific examples for evidence, an introduction with a motivator/hook, and a conclusion. Before you panic, none of these requirements are new; we have been doing this type of writing all semester.