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Assignment 8

1. Following the Content Revision Checklist, read, then evaluate the following essay.

As I exited the plane with my classmates, I realized that relying on each other’s

strengths would be essential to our visit in Russia. Throughout the ten months that I spent in

Russia, studying, traveling, working, and adapting to a new world, I learned some valuable

lessons—assumptions differ across cultures, my way is not the only way, and be prepared for

the unknown.

As an exchange student in St. Petersburg, I had to overcome daily cultural, linguistic,

and physical challenges. Each of these challenges taught me the important lesson of being

flexible in planning when dealing with others. I was able to witness many changes in the

country during my stay.

When I came home from Russia, I was elected President of the Russian Club. As

President, I took on a project to record a Russian textbook to cassette tapes for students who

are visually impaired. I recruited 15 volunteers and trained them on the recorders. Then, I

developed a schedule for the volunteers and set down reading guidelines. We completed the

project ahead of schedule.

I am currently a Team Leader at work. I manage a team of customer service

representatives. Being a team leader has honed my communication, management,

organizational, leadership, and team skills. Deciding how to reorganize teams with other

managers and successfully complete team restructuring with changing staff has become

commonplace. Completing daily reports has allowed me to track trends and adjust office

procedures or teams as needed. By training and mentoring coworkers, I have gained the

reputation of being a trusted resource and leader in my office.

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The skills that I have learned from the many trips I have taken will allow me to succeed

in the business technology program at Johnson Community College. This certificate will give

me the skills to further my career, and I will be an asset to companies in managing changes in

technology.

Content Revision Checklist

Checklist Items Answer
Does the introduction clearly explain what the
paper is about? Does it prepare the reader for
what comes next?
Is the thesis statement clear and easy to
understand?
Does each paragraph relate to the thesis
statement?
Are the main ideas (subtopics) — topic
sentences — related to the thesis statement? Do
they back it up?
Do the paragraphs support the thesis
statement? Is the support specific? Is it
convincing?
Does the conclusion logically end the paper?
Does it give a take-home message that stems
from the rest of the paper?
Overall, does the paper meet the goals of the
assignment? Does it meet personal goals?
How might this paper be improved?