Assignment: This essay should examine the process you went through in the Prejudice simulation. Note: You may assume that your audience understands the simulation (don't spend time explaining it). Note: I've given you questions to think about, but please don't just make a list of "answers". Instead, please write this in essay form (introduction, body, and conclusion) and include information which will address some of the questions I have posed.

You should probably focus on two of the four topics below. Everyone's essay should address the issues in question 4.

1. Your score -Were you pleased with your score? Why did you receive the score you did? If you could do the simulation again, what would you do differently to improve your score? (If you want to, you may replay the simulation --without discussion, this can be done in 15 minutes or less).

2. Group decision-making process - What was the strongest point about your group? What was the weakest? How well did you share information? What did your group do when there were disagreements? Were you satisfied with the decision making process? What was the most difficult part of making decisions in your group? What would you change in the process if you did the simulation again?

3. Advisors - Which were the most influential pieces of advice you received during the simulation? Did you listen to one advisor more than another? If so, which one and why? Was it related to the student who had the role-- or the occupation/role of the advisor?? Were the advisors' (as presented in the booklets) opinions influenced by their gender, race, religion, or ethnicity? How about t the gender, race, etc. of the students who played the advisors?

4. Overall view of the simulation - Do you think the simulation accurately reflected real life? Why or why not? Did you learn anything about U.S. history, politics, or government from the simulation? Explain. Do you feel that the simulation helped you develop English skills which will be useful to you? If so, explain. If not, explain why not? Did you learn more during the hours we spent on the simulation than you would have with a more usual classroom activity? Explain. Did you enjoy the simulation? Why or why not?

Length: Minimum 750 words

Evaluation: Your grade will be based on content, organization, vocabulary, language use, and mechanics. The number of drafts and quality of your revisions will also affect your grade. To determine the "content" part of your grade, I will be looking to see how closely you have analyzed your experience during the simulation and what conclusions you can draw that will be useful to you in your English language study.

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Created by: krauss@lclark.edu
Updated: 2/15/98