“How Agassiz Taught Professor Scudder”
Consider the way Professor Agassiz dealt with his student. It would have taken a lot less time if Agassiz had simply explained bilateral symmetry, and then gone on to other things. Why didn’t he do it that way? What can you learn from this reading and from the Professor’s teaching technique that you can apply to your own university studies?
When I gave this assignment in previous semesters, I received several papers which were obviously written by AI programs. The most vivid evidence was over-the-top theoretical language and total misreading of the original document. At its heart, the original document is a narrative—a story—about something that happened to Samuel Scudder when he was a college freshman. Your task is to figure out what you might be able to learn from his adventure. If you cannot get that part right, there is little hope for a decent grade. And if you forget all that Macrorie was trying to teach about accessible language, your grade won’t be too good either.
This essay is worth 100 points.