MS/ Essay

Fall Essay 1 – 5% of course grade

Due NLT 2359 hours on 21SEP2020 via https://turnitin.com/

Task:

Review the “old” Army Writing Guide (on blackboard) and discuss one real world

example where unclear writing had an adverse effect on military personnel, systems, or

strategy.

Standards: One page, between 300 - 350 words, double spaced per the picture below

Arial 12 font, normal 1’inch margins all around, with regular word spacing, and an intro,

body, and conclusion paragraphs; see example on page 3. You must cite your sources

and provide a Work Cited page using MLA Style; see example on page 4. Do not use

more than two sentences of quotations as this prevents me from assessing your writing.

A Citation Generator is found at :

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_

guide/mla_formatting_and_style_guide.html

Source:

1. Army Writing Review and AR 25-50 Excerpts on ROTC Blackboard

2. The Real World – Use reputable sources i.e. Houston Chronicle, Times

Magazine, Academic Journals, and History textbooks. No blogs, social media,

the “History” Channel, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube (unless it’s an academic

lecture given by a professor at a real college), or hearsay.

51 A Sample Essay

MS301 - 2020

Essay 1

Prepared by:

Cadet : 51

I pledge my honor that I have not violated the Honesty Policy during any part of this assignment.

05 MAY 2015

By submitting this paper, I confirm that I understand UH Academic Honesty Policy,

specifically:

3.02 Academic Dishonesty Prohibited. “Academic dishonesty” means employing a

method or technique or engaging in conduct in an academic endeavor that contravenes

the standards of ethical integrity expected at the University of Houston or by a course

instructor to fulfill any and all academic requirements. Academic dishonesty includes,

but is not limited to, the following:

Plagiarism a. Representing as one’s own work the work of another without

acknowledging the source (plagiarism). This would include submitting

substantially identical laboratory reports or other materials in fulfillment of an

assignment by two or more individuals, whether or not these used common data

or other information, unless this has been specifically permitted by the instructor.

Plagiarism includes copying verbatim text from the literature, whether

printed or electronic, in written assignments, candidacy exams, and

theses/dissertations;

4.01 Sanctions. The sanctions for confirmed violations of this policy shall be

commensurate with the nature of the offense and with the record of the student

regarding any previous infractions. Sanctions may include, but are not limited to: a

lowered grade, failure on the examination or assignment in question, failure in the

course, probation, suspension, or expulsion from the University of Houston, or a

combination of these. If a sanction of probation or suspension is assigned, it must

have a specified starting and ending date, unless the sanction is expulsion, in which

case, an end date is not specified. Students are not permitted enrollment under

sanctions of suspension and expulsion.

51 A Sample Essay

Concise and clear writing is extremely important in the Army because it is

essential to teamwork. The United States Army is the world’s largest team and thus

must be able to communicate. Without adequate writing ability, written communications

fail and operations Command and Signal breaks down. Such was the case at Fort Hood

on 05 May 2009.

On that date, four Soldiers were offered a chance to present the colors at 0900

for an event at Mikey Stadium. I volunteered and awaited information from the chain of

command. I was added to an email list and was told to report to Battalion NLT 0630,

allowing my group ample time to get ready and practice before heading out. Everything

went smoothly because of this straightforward written communication from the CSM to

the color guard commander and other participants. The team was on time and ready to

work.

After arriving at the venue, the CG commander called the POC for the event.

After a brief time on the phone, he turned to us and said, “She said we were supposed

to be here at 0530.”1 This conflicted with emails between Battalion and the POC as our

1SG assured us that he had an email stating 0900 to be the time of the event.2 The CG

commander elaborated, saying that the POC wanted the Battalion’s color guard to

attend the rehearsal at 0530, which somehow didn’t make it down to us. Someone

either misunderstood or miscommunicated and the mission failed as a result.

Correspondence leading up to this event seemed to not have been “understood

by [readers] in [single rapid readings].”1 When messages were written according to

Section IV of AR 25-50, everything was fine. Without the Army Writing Style, things fell

apart. This small example shows how teams need clear and concise writing to succeed.

Indent all

Paragraphs

1’in

margin

Don’t forget your title! No names; just your MS3#

Cite your

quotes and

paraphrasing!

1’in

margin

1’in

margin

1’in

margin

Always capitalize Soldier or Soldiers in Army Writing

Use all the available space on this page to develop your ideas, but

do not exceed the one-page limit.

51 A Sample Essay

Works Cited

1. Carnegie, Dale. How to Win Friends and Influence People. Diamond Pocket Books, 2010.

2. Smith, Dale. A Good Book. Diamond Pocket Books, 2012.