Sample Student Essays

About the Sample Student Essays

All of the sample essays resulted from a multi-step writing process. Students completed activities from Schreiben lernen and followed the steps outlined there to a first draft. The instructor graded the drafts according to the rubrics on this website. She also indicated linguistic errors using a detailed correction key. In some cases, the instructor conferenced with individual students to discuss their planned revisions and to answer questions before they submitted a second draft of the essay. Several of the essays presented here were revised a second time.

Each of the sample student essays successfully fulfills the expectations laid out for the assignment in the pages of Schreiben lernen. Please see the overview of the assignments (found in Appendix I of Schreiben lernen), as well as the rubrics on this website, for more information.

Each link below brings up a sample student essay in PDF, which includes the teacher comment on the strengths of the essay with reference to the assignment and grading rubrics.

Sample essay: Kapitel 1C (Biografie)

Sample essay: Kapitel 2A (Nachricht)

Sample essay: Kapitel 2B (Dankesbrief)

Sample essay: Kapitel 2C (Bewerbungsbrief)

Sample essay: Kapitel 3C (Erlebnis und Identität)

Sample essay: Kapitel 4B (Erinnerung)

Sample essay: Kapitel 6B (Märchen)

Sample essay: Kapitel 6C (Kurzgeschichte)

Sample essay: Kapitel 7B (Inhaltsangabe)

Sample essay: Kapitel 8B (Märcheninterpretation)

Sample essay: Kapitel 8C (Kurzgeschichten interpretieren)

Special Thanks

Most of the essays here were written during the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 academic years by students at Franklin & Marshall College, an undergraduate liberal arts college with 2300 students in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Many thanks to the following Franklin & Marshall students for allowing us to use their work:

Kelly Cox
Hannah Foley
Tim Hoerner
Mariya Koleva
Michael Malloy
Libby Nichols
Michael Osenni
Amer Suljenic
Kristen Wymer