| A "typical" social science course at Swarthmore will have two papers during the semester.
Many times, an "exam" is really a take-home essay question.
From the essay topics my daughter has shared with me, I have been truly amazed at how much Swarthmore professors ask questions that cannot be answered without really thinking about the topic and taking a stand.
The one that sticks out was an essay question in American Politics (the basic intro course that covers the structure of American government and the roles of the exec, legislative, and judicial branches). The question was simple:
"What good is judicial review....really?"
I wouldn't worry about the the quality of work that is expected. It's very high...but here's the deal: the whole point is that Swarthmore teaches you to be smart and express yourself.
Swatties take advantage of the Writing Associates program to get drafts of their papers reviewed by student writing mentors. It's a model program that is held up as an example of how to do it by other top liberal arts coleges. In fact, many courses require a WA review. Many other courses require a draft to be turned in and reviewed by the professor.
My daughter had, IMO, poor writing preparation at her public high school. Swarthmore taught her what she needed to do to write good papers. I was stunned at the difference in her writing as a senior in high school and a year later after writing Swarthmore papers. |