Funding Your College Education

Integrated Reading and Writing Project

Introduction

Download a Google Docs version of this assignment.

What is the cost of tuition and fees for your major/program of study? Do you know about the financial aid options that are available for students? Have you applied for scholarships, or do you know where to look for scholarship opportunities? Are you able to create an effective resume and application letter to apply for a job?

This project is designed to help you explore the various ways that students fund their college education, including scholarships, grants, loans, or jobs. You may have some background knowledge about this subject, but this project will help you learn more and to make plans to fund your education.

You will be asked to read several resources about funding for college. While reading these resources, you should use the assigned reading strategies to help you understand and remember the material. (See specific instructions below.)

After reading these resources, you will be asked to write an informative resume and a persuasive letter to apply for an open scholarship or job posting. You will learn how to create effective topic sentences and how to develop an outline. The goal of these assignments is to introduce you to these forms of professional writing and to give you more practice with using reading strategies, a writing process, and technology.

To receive credit for this project, you will need to turn in evidence of using reading and writing strategies, develop a resume with appropriate headings for each section, and develop a scholarship or application letter that meets the minimum length requirement of 300 words.

Skills you will learn and use:

• Describe your previous knowledge
• Take notes and annotate while reading
• Summarize information from a resource
• Plan and write a resume
• Develop effective topic sentences and an outline for a professional letter
• Plan and write a scholarship or application letter

Learning Outcomes:

The chart below describes six student learning outcomes and the associated activities for each outcome:

Assignment 1: Reading Process Assignment

There are four steps to complete for this reading process assignment. Please use these instructions to help you with the steps. Type your answers for each step in a Word document. After you have completed the four steps, save your assignment and submit a copy of your assignment to your instructor.

Step 1: Pre-Reading Questions

1. Before you read or watch this project’s resources, answer the following questions: (Note: It is okay if you are not familiar with the topics below. Describe what you know or any questions you have; please do not look up information to answer these questions.)
   1. What do you know about grants that students can use to pay their tuition?
   2. What do you know about loans that students can use to pay their tuition?
   3. What do you know about scholarships that students can use to pay their tuition?
   4. What are your plans to fund your educational goals? Are you planning to use grants, loans, scholarships, or employment earnings?

Step 2: Build Your Background Knowledge

Watch the following videos and use the cost calculator to build your background knowledge about student loans and tuition.

1. Video 1: Watch the video “Responsible Borrowing”
2. Website: Use CNM’s Net Price Calculator to determine how much each academic year (which is three terms) may cost at CNM: CNM’s Net Price Calculator

After you have explored these resources, describe your reaction. What did you find interesting, helpful to know, concerning, or troubling about this information?

Step 3: Active Reading

1. Print the following resources so you can read and annotate them:
   • Resource 1: Print the Federal Student Aid’s webpage on Federal Student Loans.
   • Resource 2: Print the webpage “CNM Financial Aid and Scholarship Services” (You can explore the links on this site to learn more about the topics.)
2. Annotate the resources (above) as you read them. Select a method that will work for you in regard to marking key elements. Some students prefer multiple highlighters or pen colors, while others may prefer to develop a set of symbols that represent different elements.

• Mark the main points of the text. Underline or highlight what you think is the most important sentence in each section or paragraph.
• Mark key terms and unfamiliar words (Example – key terms starred * and unfamiliar words marked with a question mark or circled).
• Summarize the topics or ideas in your own words. (Be careful to use your own words and not to copy the text directly.)
• Write your comments, questions, and connections to your personal experiences in the margins (white space) of the piece.
• Mark any elements that need a reread or parts that you would need to come back to (Example – brackets or a different color highlighter).

3. Choose one of the options below:

Option 1: Watch the video “PBS Looks into the Student Loan Problem.”

Take good notes while you watch the video. Watch the tutorial on useful note-taking strategies if you need to improve your note-taking skills. Type up your notes into summary form. It does not have to be a formal summary, but it needs to include full sentences on the topics covered in the video. You may organize your ideas into paragraphs or an outline form. If you use the outline form, provide useful subheadings and list the ideas under the correct subheading (also called sections).

Option 2: Read the article “Student Debt Crisis at Community Colleges”.

Take notes and use annotation and highlighting to identify key ideas.  Watch the tutorial on useful note-taking strategies if you need to improve your note-taking skills. Type up your notes in an outline form. List the title, main ideas, sections (subheadings) and supporting details. Use full sentences.

Note: For 10 points of extra credit, you can complete both options above. If you would like extra credit, turn in notes for both resources. Make sure to clearly label each section of notes so I can tell that you created notes for both resources.

Step 4: Post-Reading Questions

Use the resources you annotated and your notes to find the answers to the following questions. Use your own words and avoid the word YOU in your explanations.

For example:

Too informal: Loans refer to money you borrow.

Formal: Loans refer to money students borrow in order to pay for educational expenses.

1. What are grants? List two types of grants CNM offers.
2. What are loans? List the types of loans CNM offers to students. Explain if you need to borrow money in form of student loans and describe the type of loan you borrowed or will borrow in the future.
3. What is FAFSA? Why should students complete a FAFSA application? (Hint: Look or search for this on the CNM website.)
4. How can you minimize your reliance on borrowed money to pay for your education? What specific steps can you take to avoid large student loans?
5. What does the word default on a loan mean? How does this relate to student loans?

After you have completed the four steps above, save your assignment and turn in your assignment to your instructor.

Assignment 2: Plan Drafts of the Resume and Letter Assignments

Answer the following questions to plan your resume assignment:

Main Idea: What is your main idea for this writing assignment? Who or what does the assignment focus on? What kind of information (or content) will you include? Why will you include this information?

Purpose: What is your reason for writing? Is it to record a record, request information, inform/explain, convince/persuade, reflect/express feelings, entertain, or some combination of these purposes? Why is this your purpose?

Audience and Tone:

1. Who will be the audience for your résumé? What do these readers need to know about you, and why do they need to know this information?
2. Is it acceptable to include emotional language, personal examples, swear words, slang, and contractions (informal words like can’t, won’t, and doesn’t)? Why or why not?
3. What are the audience’s expectations for the format or the layout of the document? (Should the assignment be formatted in a particular way?)

Prewriting

Choose at least one of the three strategies listed below to generate ideas for your assignment. Please turn in evidence of your planning process. You should spend at least 10 minutes typing out the ideas you create from one of the following three choices:

Choice 1 – Free writing or Power Writing: You should set a short time period (about 10 minutes), and try to write for the entire time. After reading the instructions for the résumé assignment, spend 10 minutes writing answers to the following questions:

1. What is your objective for this résumé? (Do you want to work in a particular environment, for a certain type of company, or in a specific position?)
2. What is your educational experience? Where have you gone to school? (Include names, cities/states, degrees/certificates, and dates of attendance.)
3. What is your previous work experience for the last five years? (Include your job title, dates of employment, names of employers, and your job duties – describe your work.)
4. Do you have military experience? (If you do, include the branch, dates of service, and highest rank). Do not include this section if you do not have military experience.
5. Do you have computer literacy skills (such as word processing and experience using software)?
6. Do you have specialized skills or training (such as licenses and certification)?
7. Have you received any awards, honor, or scholarships?
8. Do you participate in community activities, volunteer work, and/or memberships in clubs or associations?

Choice 2 – Clustering/Concept mapping/Webbing: Use a blank sheet of paper and a pen or pencil and cluster for 10 minutes. Create a visual map that includes your main idea (your résumé) in the center of the diagram and topics, examples, and details in connected circles. Use circles to add ideas to the cluster.

You could create circles with labels such as objective, educational experience (including names, addresses, degrees, certificates, and dates), work experience (including job title, dates of employment, names and addresses of employers, and your job duties), military experience (including branch, dates of service, and highest rank), computer experience (word processing and programs), skills, training, licenses, certification, awards, honors, scholarships, community service, volunteering, and memberships in clubs or organizations.

Choice 3 – Brainstorming/Listing: Spend 10 minutes and create a list. Just list ideas as they come to mind. This is similar to free writing. If you choose this strategy, re-read the assignment instructions and make a list of what comes to mind.

You might list ideas related to the following topics: objective, educational experience (including names, addresses, degrees, certificates, and dates), work experience (including job title, dates of employment, names and addresses of employers, and your job duties), military experience (including branch, dates of service, and highest rank), computer experience (word processing and programs), skills, training, licenses, certification, awards, honors, scholarships, community service, volunteering, and memberships in clubs or organizations.

Answer the following questions to plan your letter assignment:

Main Idea: What is your main idea for this writing assignment? Who or what does the assignment focus on? What kind of information (or content) will you include? Why?

Purpose: What is your reason for writing? Is it to record a record, request information, inform/explain, convince/persuade, reflect/express feelings, entertain, or some combination of these purposes? Why is this your purpose for writing?

Audience:

1. Who will be the audience for your assignment? What do these readers need to know about you, and why do they need to know this information?
2. What are the audience’s expectations for the format or the layout of the document? Should the assignment be formatted in a particular way?

Prewriting

Use freewriting, listing, or clustering to answer the following questions:

Application letter questions:

1. What position are you applying for?
2. How did you find out about the position?
3. Why do you want to work for this company?
4. What are the job requirements (skills and experience) as described in the job posting or on the company’s website?
5. What experience do you have with these requirements (skills and experience)? Provide specific examples.

Scholarship letter questions:

1. WHAT scholarship are you applying for?
2. How did you find out about the scholarship?
3. Does any attribute, quality, or skill distinguish you from everyone else?
4. What are your major accomplishments, and why do you consider them accomplishments?
5. What was the most difficult time in your life, and why? How did you overcome it?
6. What have you done outside of the school that demonstrates qualities of an ideal candidate?
7. What are your most important extracurricular or community activities? What made you join these activities?
8. What is your major? (if undecided, what majors might you choose?) When and why did you choose your area of study? Did any personal challenges or accomplishments encourage you to pursue this major?
9. What is the highest degree you plan to achieve (certificate, Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD)? Be specific about the plan you have to achieve your educational goals.
10. What are your career aspirations? Why have you chosen this career?
11. What are your dreams of the future?
12. How will the scholarship help you achieve your personal goals?
13. What has compelled you to attend college?
14. Does your chosen scholarship ask you to answer any other questions? If so, what are the questions and what are your answers to them?

Create an outline for your scholarship letter. Use the ideas you wrote (above) to develop an outline. Your outline should include the topics and topic sentences you plan to use for this assignment.

Assignment 3: Develop Drafts of the Resume and Letter Assignments

Complete writing assignments that will give you practice with one of two ways to fund your educational goals:

1) A resume and application letter for a job advertisement or

2) A resume and scholarship letter

To begin this writing assignment, please decide whether you will write a resume and professional letter for an employment or a resume and letter for a scholarship opportunity. You will also be asked to select potential job or scholarship postings this week.

Here are the IRW project 3 writing assignment choices:

Note: You can use your college’s mailing address for this assignment so that you do not have to post or submit assignments with your real address, but if use your resume for a real job or scholarship application, please make sure to use your real address.

This project was developed by Judith Tomasson and Pamela Herrington-Moriarty.