For your English Exam you will write an in-class essay on the topic below. All writing must be in an official college Blue/Green Exam Book unless given permission to do otherwise prior to the exam day. Absentees will not be allowed to make up the exam unless written request and documentation are received and approved before the exam day.

TOPIC: A September, 2013 report by Complete College America, a group seeking to raise college graduation rates, found that, in Texas, out of every 100 students who enroll in a public college, 79 start out at a community college. Of those 79, only 2 earn a two-year degree on time, and even given four years to complete a degree, only 7 of them graduate. Or, to put it another way: 79% of all Texans who enroll at a public college do so initially at a two-year college, yet only 7% of these Texans graduate with a two-year degree, even given four years to complete all coursework.

Write a convincing essay in which you first, intelligently speculate as to the causes of this great discrepancy between college entrance and college graduation. Then, address whether this graduation rate will change in the next decade and if so, how? Explain your factors clearly.

Be clear and convincing; write an essay that mirrors the writing training you have received. You may bring a dictionary to use, if you wish, but no electronic devices will be allowed. You are encouraged to prepare an OUTLINE for this paper beforehand and bring it to use on Exam day [no rough drafts any will be confiscated].