2020-2021
2019-2020
2018-2019
2017-2018
2015-2016
2014-2015
2013-2014
2012-2013
Common Read:
Introduce incoming students to the high academic standards of The College of St. Scholastica.
The Common Read is to be used as a diagnostic tool.
2021-2022 Common Read Prompt:
As an introduction to The College of St. Scholastica’s commitment to the love of learning, all first-year students are given a summer reading assignment to complete as part of their Dignitas course. Our reading begins this academic year with the Dignitas Common Read: Transcendent Kingdom (Yaa Gyasi; 2020). Every student in every Dignitas section will read the book over the course of the first semester, and write a thoughtful essay. In your paper, be sure to answer one or more of the following questions:
Student Assignment:
At the top of the first page, center the essay title.
Double space and center your name.
Three or four spaces below that, begin your essay.
Please submit your essay to your Dignitas instructor by email as an attached Word document.
The font should be Times New Roman, 12 point.
Margins should be 1 inch on all sides.
Cite page references in parentheses in the text of your essay, as in the example above.
The essay is due before school begins.
Common Expectations:
The Common read essay will be graded.
An excellent paper is a joy to read, thoroughly responds to the assigned task, provides systematic arguments that are easy to follow, uses excellent grammar, contains no spelling errors, is well-thought out, and is easily read.
Your Dignitas professor will meet individually with you in the first two weeks of the fall semester to discuss your essay. That meeting will also be an opportunity for you and your professor to get to know each other a little better and to discuss any questions or concerns you might have as you begin your studies at The College of St. Scholastica.
