Diagnostic Essay

Sonnet #1 - William Shakespeare
From fairest creatures we desire increase,
That thereby beauty's rose might never die,
But as the riper should by time decease,
His tender heir might bear his memory:
But thou, contracted to thine own bright eyes,
Feed'st thy light's flame with self-substantial fuel,
Making a famine where abundance lies,
Thyself thy foe, to thy sweet self too cruel.
Thou that art now the world's fresh ornament
And only herald to the gaudy spring,
Within thine own bud buriest thy content
And, tender churl, makest waste in niggarding.
    Pity the world, or else this glutton be,
    To eat the world's due, by the grave and thee.

(1592-1598)

Consider your audience (your teacher, classmates, and hypothetical readers) and purpose (inform, entertain, persuade, etc.) for the following assignment.

Assignment:
Compose a 500 (2 page) handwritten response to the following prompt:

Prompt:
In this sonnet, Shakespeare writes, "From fairest creatures, we desire increase" (line 1).  Reflect on your own goals and aspirations. How will you, as Shakespeare implores, give the "world" its "due"? In other words, what academic and professional aspirations do you have? How will classes like English 120 help you to fulfill these academic and professional goals?

Directions: Use a blue or black ink pen. Write legibly, not skipping any lines. Compose your response in essay format (introduction with thesis, body paragraphs with clear topic sentences, and conclusion). You have 40 minutes to complete this essay. This assignment will not be graded, but your writing and grammatical skills will be assessed.