Some suggestions for writing assignments

I’d like you to use the writing assessments as an opportunity to push yourselves a bit. You should all have received some feedback from me directly and through the blog. Try to bear this feedback in mind as you work on your next written assignments.

Some students said that they’d like some suggestions of topics. Here are some ideas:
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Argument-based essay:

Carol Ann Duffy’s poem "Education for Leisure" was recently removed from the GCSE curriculum over fears that it glamorises knife-crime.

Discuss the point of view that censorship is sometimes a necessary evil.
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The film “Die Welle” confronts the notion that we should never become complacent about the mistakes of the past.

Discuss to what extent you believe that modern European society is capable of re-embracing the fascist ideals of the early-part of the twentieth century.

Your essay may look at arguments for and against the notion that European society is capable of a return to fascism. You might want it to be a “balanced” essay: ie. looking at the views of others, while largely keeping your own ideas to the background.

However, you may feel strongly about this and use evidence and other peoples’ views to persuade us that it is (or isn’t) possible.
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Fact and analysis: report

Choose a popular tourist destination in Europe. Investigate the effect that tourism has had on this location. Write a short report which examines the impact of tourism (positive and negative) on this location/region.
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The beauty and the meanings of a literary work are distorted by translation. Discuss.

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Here are some links to sites which may give you some ideas for essays:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/ (look at the issues in the drop-down menu entitled “ethical issues”)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree (this part of The Guardian is a very good site for opinion-based articles. There is an A-Z index based on subjects and issues in the top right)
Some “green” issues: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/sci_tech/green_room/default.stm
http://www.spiked-online.com/ (some demanding but thought-provoking opinion articles on topical issues)
http://www.idebate.org/index.php (a site which promotes debating by considering topical issues)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learning/ (general learning site of BBC – explore!)