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Definition of coursework

Examples of coursework in a sentence.

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'coursework.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

1890, in the meaning defined above

Dictionary Entries Near coursework

Cite this entry.

“Coursework.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coursework. Accessed 19 May. 2024.

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[ kawrs -wurk , kohrs - ]

• the work required of a student in a particular course of study; classroom work .
• curricular studies or academic work .

/ ˈkɔːsˌwɜːk /

• written or oral work completed by a student within a given period, which is assessed as an integral part of an educational course

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Word history and origins.

Origin of coursework 1

Example Sentences

Derek Dodson is practicing with the Georgetown University soccer team for a rescheduled season while preparing for the resumption of senior coursework next week.

In San Diego, and throughout the state, an unconscionable number of students are failing or haven’t completed their coursework.

She took a full load of classes in the spring, summer and fall, and in November completed all the coursework for an undergraduate degree in psychology.

Pevzner, who took over the program in 2017, still heads into the field—though day to day he focuses more on developing coursework and swapping insights with similar programs around the world.

Although most schools have increased their offerings of online coursework, the number and sizes of in-person classes vary widely, as does the density of students in on-campus housing.

Digital art coursework at the Rhode Island School of Design simultaneous with an English Ph.D. at Yale?

Her pre-college education had been weak, and Leo was utterly unprepared for the academic part of the coursework.

An obsession with college preparation permeated all of our coursework.

The ad-hocs spent their time badmouthing the profs and tearing apart their coursework.

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Definition of coursework noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

• Coursework accounts for 40 per cent of the final marks.

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How to Write a Coursework

Coursework projects do not resemble essays, research papers, or dissertations. They are the combination of all three. Students spend less time writing coursework than on making a term paper, but this type of work requires more time and efforts than an ordinary essay - it is made of several essays. Thanks to our guide, each student can discover how to write coursework. If you are running out of time or lack experience to complete the specific coursework, we recommend using our coursework writing services to hire professional academic writers.

What is Coursework and Why Does It Matter?

Coursework definition: General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) coursework is a typical academic assignment, given in the course of study to evaluate the student’s knowledge, skills, and identify the final grade. Many students face this type of writing in the US colleges. One of the examples is a coursework UTD (The University of Texas at Dallas) - the requirements of this institution are strict, and many students fail to submit their papers and pass the corresponding courses.

Such type of assignment helps to have the ‘detective’ hat on: a student observes, examines, and evaluates the chosen topic using credible, up-to-date, and relevant sources. Working under controlled conditions is important. Participating in every school class will help to prepare good coursework by the end of the term. Take a look at the examples of what students of various profiles may face:

• English Composition - English coursework is an extended essay in most cases. A student has a right to pick the topic. The tutors provide their students with the list of recommended titles to choose from, sources to observe & analyze, and a format (e.g., a comparison between different relevant articles)
• Sciences - coursework for science is a complicated assignment. Such type of work appears in the form of a scientific paper to test what a writer investigates and reports independently.
• Geography - geography coursework is about collecting, reporting, and explaining information to reply to a certain geographical question or offer solutions to the problem. One idea is to explore the usage of a shopping mall or analyze the recent tornado. No matter whether you have to prepare a coursework Columbia or such paper for other educational institutions, keep in mind these differences!

Types of Coursework Explained

English Language coursework is the most common type of this assignment. At advanced GCE level, the student will be expected to write a couple of essays, totaling 3,000 words. Every assignment is 20 marks maximum.

An analytical essay : Evaluate, compare, & contrast 3 different sources of data interconnected by a common theme; written /spoken / multimedia content. Discuss different uses for targeting various audiences. Learn more on our blog.

Original essay with a supportive commentary : A student will have to come up with a single piece of media writing in the observed modes (written, spoken, or multimodal). Add a supporting piece with details about the aspects of English language. English Language & Literature coursework is a bit different. The basic requirements are the same, and the parts are:

An analytical study : Sharing an analysis of the chosen piece and its relation to the related content. It will show how well the writer understands the original piece. Tutors grade such works based on the:

• Use of the proper terminology and the coherence of the written words;
• Understanding & evaluation of the way a structure, form, and language create the written & spoken word;
• Opportunity to observe relationships between various pieces of writing.

Creative writing & commentary : Produce a creative piece that imitates the style of the assessed text. Share comments to backup your understanding. The goal is to show the knowledge, prove the competence, and use appropriate language skills in communicating with the target audience. You will also need a relevant coursework resume (review) in both cases. Keep on reading to learn how to write coursework of A level.

How to Write a Coursework: Guide for Students

Several factors may lead to the coursework being disqualified. It is a serious matter! The risk factors include:

• Plagiarism - it is the worst thing that could happen to any type of academic assignment. Lots of relevant information is available on the world wide web today, and the tutors are strict about the issue of plagiarism. Write everything in your own words! If you decide to insert the quotes from the sources, apply the suggested citation format and develop a list of references. Sign the declaration claiming it is your original project. If you're unsure about how to approach this, seeking professional help by choosing to write my coursework can be a wise decision.
• Word count - do not ignore the specific requirements concerning the length of the coursework. Specify if the footnotes, appendices, & references are included in the word count.
• Topics - go through the list of available themes. If there is an examination planned on the specific topic, try to pick another idea for the coursework.
• Tutor’s assistance - do not ignore the help of your instructor, ask them to provide guidance on what to write. Ask the questions to learn more details, but keep in mind they can go through the 1st draft once and just offer some general recommendations.

Choosing a Topic for Your Project

Dedicate enough time to this extra important question. Select the field of your interest if it is possible to relate it to the course. That is the golden rule of choosing a coursework topic - keep in mind the rest of the hints:

• Analyze the offered list of topics or develop yours
• Pick a topic from the area of your expertise related to the studied subject
• Select the topic you are interested in
• Choose the topic you’ve started to observe in the past
• Check how much relevant, up-to-date information is available on the Internet about each of the topics
• Pick what you can measure, change, & control (they call it a ‘fair test’)
• Use the ideas of previous researchers and students
• Do not choose a topic with a vast scope - you risk struggling to research it correctly

10 Good Coursework Topics

• Non-traditional Forms of Poetry with TC Tolbert
• Documentary Foundations: Usage of Oral Histories with Beth Alvarado
• Traditional Forms of Poetry
• Hermit Crabs: Type of Fiction
• Writing the Autobiographical Poem
• Creative Non-Fiction on the Examples of New Journalists
• Authors without Borders
• Writing the Sticky Stuff
• Socially Engaged Literary Arts
• Common Vocabulary

Research & Data Collection

Research is an integral part of coursework. Have you written research papers before? If yes, you will find it easier to select proper primary & secondary sources and gather the necessary information (evidence to support the main point - thesis). Depending on the required paper format, cite & reference the following sources:

• Books & e-Books

Base the project on a specific hypothesis. The research must start with minimum one hypothesis. The research stage for some topics may consist of visiting websites to collect information. Leave another time for collecting the data as it is the heart of the research. Three methods of data collection are known:

• Direct personal investigation : The one an author does individually (using literature and findings from previous studies);
• Interview/Questionnaire : The researcher should gather the data from the respondents asking questions regarding required data;
• Discussion with community leaders : Community leaders are approached to fetch information for the necessary data.

In case a student works on a scientific experiment, they should pay attention to planning the analysis with the help of rigorous scientific methods (keeping in mind the Health & Safety precautions you take). Review background information and theories. Take notes to express what you expect to occur to compare & contrast it to what happened in real life. In the write-up stage, one has to evaluate and present the findings.

Writing a Coursework Outline

The writing process follows the research. Do not start it without preparing an action plan and scheduling the work - a paper pin for English coursework is based on an extended essay . An outline will look different for the science coursework projects. The goal of creating a plan is to prevent a writer from being disorganized and waffling.

Let us explain coursework outline on the specific example - a project on the global pursuit of lower costs and the role of human rights.

Start with the brief introduction explaining why it might be a topic of interest for many people. Mention those vast corporations like Wal-Mart abuse human rights by choosing and using child labor in the factories.

Provide an overview of the problem . Define human rights and costs. Pick the definitions from the official dictionaries and cite them properly when inserting in the text. Try to explain the terms in your own words.

Develop a body of the coursework , start with the case for & against ethical business practices. Using evidence and examples, list the arguments supporting ethical business practices and another side of the coin. Include a business case for ethical practices after the opening body paragraph.

Move to discussing ethical responsibilities ; explain why business organizations should care about the ethical aspects of their activities. After three sections of the body, one can conclude the paper. It can be a good idea to share a fact or statistics stressing the importance of research problem in the essay conclusion. End up with the reference list that may look this way:

• Klein N (2000) No Logo (Flamingo, London)
• Marcousé I, Gillespie A, Martin B, Surridge M and Wall N (2003) Business Studies 2e (Hodder Arnold, Oxon)
• Royal Dutch Shell (2006) 4th Quarter Financial Report at (site example)

Additional Elements

Supporting materials and pictures are a must! The sciences & geography projects require tables, charts, graphs, and other types of images to illustrate the complicated topic. Not only should you add the pictures - it is essential to interpret and reference each of them. A separate part of the coursework where the student list and explains every visual element is Appendix , and it is an optional part. The presence of appendix increases the chances to earn an A+.

How to Write an Introduction for Coursework?

Most of the students underestimate the role of introduction & conclusion when it comes to writing an essay. An eye-catchy introduction is a key to success. The primary purposes of a coursework introduction are:

• To grab the reader’s attention
• To introduce the topic
• To explain the research importance
• To come up with a compelling thesis statement

The opening paragraph shows the depth of the writer’s acquaintance with the topic. Look at the expert tips below. They will help to learn how to write a coursework introduction to make the tutor want to read your entire paper.

What Is an Introduction?

The introduction of GCSE coursework is the opening paragraph that aims to interpret the central questions and purposes of the entire paper. It should have several elements to be effective. Those are:

• A hook sentence
• Background information
• Problem significance
• Solid thesis statement

Advice from our Experienced Writer

How to write an introduction to coursework? The quality of this part predetermines paper’s success. Look at some common mistakes writers do while working on the coursework introduction - try to prevent them!

Ignoring the prompt. Many students tend to neglect the tutor’s instructions. It is critical to read the prompt several times, highlight the main points, research question, rules, and grading rubric details.

Missing a plan. The prompt does not always say to develop a coursework outline. Without a plan for every separate section, it is impossible to write a flawless piece step-by-step. No matter whether you have to write a term paper, research paper, dissertation, or C3 coursework, get ready with the detailed plan. Once you understand how to write an introduction, it will be easier to develop the rest of the paper.

For those who need a helping hand in ensuring their work meets all the standards and deadlines, don't hesitate to buy coursework from trusted professionals.

Daniel Parker

is a seasoned educational writer focusing on scholarship guidance, research papers, and various forms of academic essays including reflective and narrative essays. His expertise also extends to detailed case studies. A scholar with a background in English Literature and Education, Daniel’s work on EssayPro blog aims to support students in achieving academic excellence and securing scholarships. His hobbies include reading classic literature and participating in academic forums.

is an expert in nursing and healthcare, with a strong background in history, law, and literature. Holding advanced degrees in nursing and public health, his analytical approach and comprehensive knowledge help students navigate complex topics. On EssayPro blog, Adam provides insightful articles on everything from historical analysis to the intricacies of healthcare policies. In his downtime, he enjoys historical documentaries and volunteering at local clinics.

Related Articles

What is Coursework? | Definition, Meaning & keypoints!

What is coursework.

Coursework is a practical work or study done by a student in partial fulfilment of a degree or training. Projects, field work, design studies, long essays etc constitutes a coursework. The nature of work which requires to be carried out depends on the course. It is largely a part of learning exercise and a step to prepare you to handle the required work/ task effectively and efficiently.

• folios of essays
• art and craft items
• speaking tests
• practical work
• assignments and experiments undertaken and assessed during the course

As per Oxford dictionary “Coursework” is defined as

Written or practical work done by a student during a course of study, usually assessed in order to count towards a final mark or grade.

Who assigns coursework and why?

Coursework can be assigned by your teacher or mentor. The reason can be an assessment by the teacher but in most of the cases it’s a requirement as per course structure. A coursework is meant to reflect understanding of what has been taught. How well you understand it and apply it in different situations. Your own thoughts and way of thinking about a topic is reflected in your final work. As mentioned earlier nature of coursework is very diverse. Institutions may make you to write (essays, paper, term paper, thesis etc) or make something (sculpture, are & craft related things) or take some form of test. All these activities done as a coursework award you marks or grades which are counted to evaluate your overall grade for a particular course or purpose. Your creativity, understanding, innovative aspect, talent etc are reflected in the work done by you. Some of the most widely used form of coursework include thesis, dissertations, research paper & term paper as far as writing is concerned. Model making, crafts and other similar activity is generally given when creativity aspect is to be assessed. There may be a combination of these in few cases. The whole purpose largely depends on what your course and what it prepares you to be.

Major types of coursework & how to go about them?

Students have different and mix reaction when coursework is given. Some are excited as it gives them an option to put in effort and bring out something new. They are happy and confident to present their viewpoint and grasp of the topic. While some feels it is a burden and unnecessary task and just want to get away with it. Whatever the case may be there are few guidelines and rules while writing coursework which everyone should follow. Writing a coursework can also be fun!

Some of the steps to help you get started includes:

Coursework for academic topics which require writing:

• Do some research about your topic of interest or assigned topic
• Finalize your topic
• Prepare a structure especially for long writing coursework such as thesis
• Write an abstract or summary for approval from mentor/teacher.
• Do a thorough research for collecting data , facts.
• Start writing and keep on doing the required research
• Check for plagiarism (if any) and work to remove it
• Give credits & references

What makes a good and effective content

A good and effective content is easy to read and understand by readers. Some of the points while writing a content to improve its quality are

• Well- structured
• Well Illustrated
• Predictable

Coursework requiring you to make something like model, sculpture or artwork

• Find something which you appreciate (its design, concept, through, history, significance)
• Come up with what remains the focus area for your coursework
• Decide what you wish to make and in what form eg. model (scaled or not to scale), sculpture or some craftwork
• Finalize the materials to be used such as waste materials, wax, wood, metal, plastic etc
• Collect all the required stuff for making your masterpiece
• Have a mental image prepared and preferably a rough sketch
• Get working!

Key points to be kept in mind while working on coursework

• Originality – Your topic/ idea should be original. Originality of idea is given significant importance and can be a deal breaker. This is not just of the requirement in most of the cases but also a scoring parameter. There are countless number of students and scholars doing research so having an original idea keeps you on positive side. Some students prefer contacting  SmartWritingService coursework writing service to get professional help from experts.
• Need – If you coursework is solution oriented then you must clearly identify the key problems and issues which you aim to cover under your work. A good solution cannot be provided unless the problem has been understood well.
• Uniqueness – Uniqueness in terms of idea and work. Preparing good questionnaires and conducting surveys adds to uniqueness and originality of content. Not only your topic and but also content should be unique. Avoid plagiarism, copying is a strict “NO”. Any form and extent of plagiarism is dealt seriously if caught and can even disqualify your submission.
• Your Input – This is the most crucial aspect. Your inputs will reflect the understanding and applicability of topic by you. This is the whole purpose of having a coursework. Try your best and put best foot forward. Having a well structured and presented work is something a teacher and mentor is looking for.
• Outcomes & way forward – Having worked and making lots of efforts doesn’t have much value unless useful outcomes are shown. Having a good & meaningful analysis and presentation of data with the  best data extraction service is an essential factor. These can be in form of proposals or problem identification. Your work might conclude your topic or pave a path for others to continue working. Depending on the work and nature of coursework give a conclusion to your study and propose what can be done next or how it can be used.

Coursework & Higher Education

Doctorates are the highest degrees conferred by universities. An online or on campus doctorate can lead to a high-level position in a number of different fields, from business administration to health care to quality control. The lengthy road to earning a doctorate can be shortened by at least several months through online study.

The doctorate degree requires two to five years of postgraduate work, the writing of a thesis, and the passing of oral and written examinations. Most doctoral degrees are the doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degree, although recipients of this degree may have studied a number of academic fields other than philosophy.

Doctorate degrees are now available in numerous fields, including:

• Business Administration
• Computer Science
• Environmental Engineering
• Health Administration
• Industrial Engineering
• International Business
• Quality Control

Admission to doctoral programs requires completion of an undergraduate degree program and typically, but not always, of a master’s degree program. Students earning a doctorate must take a specified number of advanced graduate-level courses, requiring at least two or three years of study beyond the master’s degree. Upon passing written or oral examinations, or a combination of both, doctoral students are granted the status of doctoral candidates. Then they must research and write a dissertation on an original topic, and then satisfactorily defend the dissertation before a committee of professors in the field.

About The Author

What Is a Coursework and How to Write a Paper: A Simple Guide

• Icon Calendar 18 May 2024
• Icon Page 2715 words
• Icon Clock 13 min read

Academic writing is an essential activity in higher education and comes in various forms. Basically, one of these forms is coursework writing, where instructors assess students’ level of understanding of a course during a semester. In this case, unlike other papers, coursework assignments evaluate students’ understanding of the course and not just a topic in the class. Moreover, various forms of coursework writing include essays, term papers, theses, dissertations, and report projects. Hence, students need to learn what is a coursework assignment and how to write such a paper.

What Is a Coursework Paper

College and university students undertake different kinds of academic exercises, with writing projects taking a significant portion. Basically, one of these exercises is the writing of coursework, an assignment that they submit at the end of the semester. Ideally, this kind of work assesses students’ understanding of a particular field of study within a single semester. In turn, instructors rarely require students to write a coursework assignment for things they learned during the previous semester.

Definition of a Coursework

By definition, a coursework assignment is an academic project that students undertake in the course of study and which they must submit before the closure of the semester. For example, such types of papers aim to evaluate students’ level of knowledge and skills acquisition, meaning the work contributes to students’ final grades. Ideally, coursework is what students learn during a semester, and such an assignment is meant to measure how well they have understood the subject matter. Moreover, students use reliable and relevant sources to study, examine and evaluate the chosen coursework topic. Therefore, a coursework assignment is very similar to other writing assignments, such as essays, reports, thesis writing, and dissertations.

Differences With Other Papers

In the course of their classes, students write different types of papers, including essays and reports. Basically, the major difference between coursework writing and these papers is that it assesses students’ understanding of what they have discovered throughout the semester. In contrast, essays and other papers assess students’ understanding of a specific topic, concept, result, or theory. Moreover, students may need to address an issue in their coursework that they might have addressed in an essay assignment sometime during the semester. As such, a coursework assignment is broader in scope than other papers.

Expectations

Like essays and other papers, a coursework assignment varies from one area of study to another. For example, there is a coursework for the English subject and another for the sciences. Therefore, students are expected to complete their coursework assignments according to their instructor’s or department’s instructions. In most cases, this expectation includes presenting the assignment in an essay format, where they select a title of their choice. Depending on the subject, some coursework assignments expect students to collect, examine, infer, and report data when answering a specific question.

When it comes to the grading of academic assignments, instructors look at how well a student has attended to all the requirements and expectations. For instance, these requirements include writing about a choice of themes or text excerpts in a given format. In this case, students must use an approach that they believe is likely to give them a higher grade, meaning an approach that helps them to answer the question methodically, logically, and critically by using relevant information. In essence, these are three dimensions for grading a coursework assignment.

Constructing a Paper: A Step-by-Step Guide on How to Write a Coursework Assignment

Like an essay, a coursework assignment takes a particular structure. Basically, students should understand the core components and make sure that they address them in their academic writing. In this case, the most significant issue for students is to ensure a logical flow of ideas. Moreover, developing a thesis statement is essential to provide high-quality essays with a guideline on focal issues. Primarily, these issues are the concepts and theories that the student has learned in a specific course during the semester.

Step 1: Preparation

Planning or preparation is the first step in writing a coursework paper. For instance, the essence of any form of academic writing is to measure a student’s level of understanding about a particular area of study. Since the coursework measures what a student has learned in a given course, it is paramount for each person to prepare well when executing the assignment. Here, learners have to choose a topic that they are comfortable with, one that they are passionate about. Additionally, they should generate ideas about their coursework by deciding what is relevant and what is not. In this case, the reasoning that guides this decision is the expectation outlined in assignment instructions. Lastly, students should understand their audience – consumers of their work or readers. Like any other assignment, the audience is course instructors. Hence, writers should ensure coursework satisfies a curiosity of readers.

Step 2: Setting Up

After preparation, students should set up the stage for coursework writing. Basically, the first preoccupation is to find sources relevant to the assignment prompt – those that are more likely to provide enough evidence and support needed claims. As students review credible sources, they should take notes to provide a strong argumentation in their coursework. Then, another activity involves deciding on the coursework outline, which should help answer the assignment prompt logically and critically. Lastly, learners should create an annotated bibliography, a summary of each source they intend to use as the basis of their arguments in the coursework.

Step 3: Writing the Coursework

After preparing and setting up the stage, students should start writing the coursework assignment. In this case, armed with notes taken during the review of reliable sources and the outline they have created, students should start with the first draft, where they develop a thesis statement. Basing all opinions and arguments on the thesis, writers should answer the assignment prompt methodically, logically, and critically. Moreover, the thesis statement should ‘hook’ the audience and make them interested in reading the substantial part of the paper – the body. In essence, the body is where students use all the evidence they have gathered about the topic, while the thesis informs the audience of what individuals have focused on in the paper.

Step 4: Wrapping It Up

It is normal for a writer to make mistakes when writing an academic document. For example, these mistakes include inconsistent arguments, irrelevant content, punctuation errors, and countless grammatical mistakes. Therefore, after completing the draft, students should read it through, at least twice, to identify these mistakes and correct them. Basically, the processes of correction include revising and editing the paper. Regarding revisions, students should give their work to a friend or mentor to read it through. In their feedback, these individuals are likely to point out areas where authors should make corrections for the paper to be logical and interesting to read. Concerning editing the paper, students should proofread their work to ensure it is free of spelling mistakes, punctuation errors, and other grammatical mishaps.

Step 5: Developing Body Paragraphs

The body paragraph of any academic text, including a coursework assignment, utilizes several features to make the paper logical. Basically, the first feature is the topic sentence that opens up each paragraph. Also, the purpose of this feature is to strengthen the central idea captured in the thesis statement. Then, the rest of the paragraph structure backs up this claim using evidence gathered from different sources. In turn, another feature is a concluding sentence, which closes each paragraph. For instance, the goal of this aspect is to connect the topic sentence with the thesis statement. Finally, another feature is transition words and phrases that help readers sense a logical flow of ideas throughout the paper. In short, writers use transitions within and between paragraphs to create a logical flow of information and ideas.

Step 6: Referencing Format and Peer Reviewing

Besides ensuring the paper is written methodically and logically, students should see that it meets the highest academic writing standards. In this regard, they should ensure it follows after a particular format – APA, MLA, Harvard, or Chicago/Turabian. In most cases, the assignment prompt dictates the format that learners should use. Moreover, the referencing format informs about the structure of the paper and the format of citations. In turn, another essential activity that students should perform is to commit the paper to peer review. Here, authors give coursework papers to distinguished scholars, such as a professor or classmate, to assess the validity and quality of information used, including sources.

Step 7: Writing the Final Draft of a Coursework Paper

After subjecting the first draft to vigorous scrutiny through revisions, editions, and peer review, students should start writing the final draft of a coursework paper. Basically, this draft should be thoroughly polished, meaning it should be free of spelling, punctuation, and grammatical mistakes, as well as inconsistent arguments and irrelevant sentences. Moreover, it should indicate an effective use of transitions in the body paragraphs. In short, the final draft is an improved version of the first draft because writers have revised and edited it and incorporated feedback from a friend, mentor, or professor. However, they still need to read through the final draft, at least once, to ensure it is perfect before submission to the department. In turn, if students note several mistakes, it means another revision is necessary. Hence, the student’s focus should be the content, organization of ideas, style of writing, and format.

Types of Coursework

Given that coursework assignments test students’ level of understanding about a course’s content in a given semester, it means that it takes several forms. For example, these include a term paper, a Master’s thesis, a dissertation, or a report project. Ideally, the coursework is an essential requirement for a student to complete the course successfully. It also means the coursework is essential to be awarded a degree. In turn, the only difference between these types of coursework assignments is that they take a different approach to examining and analyzing course content, with each subject taking a unique approach.

Coursework Writing Techniques

The dream of every student is to pass any assessment and attain a higher grade. In a coursework assignment, students can utilize different techniques to ensure they attain higher grades after assessments. As indicated earlier about the grading of coursework, learners should use an approach that they believe answers the assignment prompt methodically, logically, and critically. As a result, every technique they use must allow them to answer the question in a way that satisfies these three grading dimensions.

1. Compare and Contrast Technique

A compare and contrast essay technique is about analyzing two subjects, ideas, concepts, or theories by comparing them, contrasting them, or doing both. Basically, the purpose of answering a coursework assignment through this approach is that students must not state obvious things. Instead, they need to shed light on the subtle differences or unexpected similarities between subjects, ideas, concepts, or theories.

2. Cause and Effect Technique

A cause and effect essay technique allows writers to develop their paper’s body by analyzing the reasons for and the consequences of a decision, action, or event. When organizing a paragraph, students adopt a structure that allows them to arrange the causes and effects in a chronological or reverse chronological order. Alternatively, authors can present their arguments through emphasis, starting from least important to most important aspects, or vice versa.

3. Investigation Technique

An investigation technique involves undertaking an in-depth examination of a topic, idea, concept, or theory. Basically, this technique’s primary goal is to demonstrate that students have gained a thorough knowledge of the subject, which is indicated in their methodical, logical, and critical analysis and presentation of information. In this case, ensuring that research findings are interpreted and presented in an organized manner throughout the essay is critical. Ultimately, the technique enables writers to demonstrate their articulate understanding of the various viewpoints about the issue under investigation. 

How to Present Strong Arguments

For an academic paper to capture the audience’s attention and interest, students must not only develop a thesis statement but also ensure they use strong arguments to back up the central idea in the statement. Basically, the “they say, I say” technique is the simplest method to present arguments properly. In this regard, the information that the student uses in answering the coursework assignment prompt should be free of plagiarism. For instance, they need to cite sources properly. Then, another way to ensure that the writing is persuasive is to confirm that they have attained the required word count without counting footnotes, endnotes, references, and appendices. Ideally, selecting a topic that one is comfortable with and passionate about enables the writing to be high-quality in terms of argumentation. Also, students should discuss alternatives with their mentor or instructor. Finally, the thesis statement should not be complicated.

Major Mistakes in Courseworks

Students make different kinds of mistakes when writing academic texts. For example, a common mistake in coursework writing involves a scope, where students fail to focus on one area of the topic and instead try to be broad in their argumentation. In this case, the problem with this approach is that they waste space talking about irrelevant material, leaving them with little space to write about the core idea. Also, the solution to this problem is to develop a thesis statement that sets out the paper’s specific agenda. In doing so, students can realize every time they go off-topic.

Another common mistake involves colloquialism, where students use a language that is not standard for academic writing. Basically, this problem is particularly common with students who become excited about the topic and try to express their ideas creatively. Moreover, the problem is that the coursework shifts from being evidence-based to a document about the student’s opinion. In turn, the solution to this problem is to pick a topic that is exciting and critically discussed in the literature. As a result, they can identify several sources that discuss the topic to use as bases for evidence of their claims and arguments about the topic.

Sample of a General Coursework Outline

The coursework paper adopts a typical outline, as indicated below:

• Table of Contents
• Abstract or Executive Summary
• Introduction
• Body Paragraph(s)
• Reference list

Reason for Similarity of a Coursework Assignment With a Research Paper

Ideally, the outline of a coursework assignment is similar to that of a research paper. In this case, an abstract serves as a brief overview of a research paper and informs readers of the writer’s focal points. More importantly, the coursework outline has a body, where writers use different paragraphs to make an argument about the topic. Also, each of the paragraphs begins with a topic sentence and ends with a concluding sentence. Like research papers, body paragraphs of a coursework assignment serve to cement the writer’s claims and arguments, which are linked to the thesis statement.

Summing Up on What Is a Coursework Assignment and How to Write a Paper

A coursework assignment is among the writing assignments that students in colleges and universities undertake in preparation for their degree. Unlike other papers, this assignment assesses students’ understanding of what they have learned in a course in a given semester. As such, students must complete and submit it before the semester closes. Moreover, the different types of coursework include essays, term papers, theses, dissertations, and report projects.

Students should master the following tips when it comes to writing a coursework assignment:

• Choose an exciting topic and stick to it. Basically, students come across tons of exciting information about their topic. However, to avoid going off-script, they should focus on their core subject and avoid the temptation of using data that may prove irrelevant.
• Use evidence (quotes and statistics) selectively. In this case, relevancy is a significant indicator of a high-grade paper. As such, where students are not going to refer to some data directly because it adds no value to their argument, they should avoid dwelling on it in their paper.
• Cite sources correctly. When citing sources, students should note the standards of the format in use – APA, MLA, Harvard, or Chicago/Turabian – as each has a unique approach.
• Revise, edit, and proofread the paper. In turn, high-quality coursework writing should be free of inconsistent arguments, irrelevant sentences, and spelling, punctuation, and grammatical mistakes.

To Learn More, Read Relevant Articles

How to Cite a Court Case in MLA 9: A Simple Guide With Examples

• 7 August 2020

How to Cite a Dissertation or Thesis in Chicago/Turabian With Examples

• 5 August 2020

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College in the Age of AI

• Categories: Academics , Alumni
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By Erin Peterson / Illustrations by Marcos Chin

Generative artificial intelligence has come on strong. What does that mean for teaching and learning?

Spanish and Portuguese instructor Claudia Giannini remembers the moment when a new artificial intelligence tool upended her teaching.

It instantly translated short texts, giving students in language classes a potential shortcut. “Although still imperfect, it was such a huge jump from previous machine translation systems. It was impressive,” she recalls. “But it was also a problem in the classroom.” She knew she’d have to change some of the teaching techniques she’d relied on for years, and fast.

Giannini’s experience may sound like many professors’ reaction to the November 2022 launch of ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot that communicates by text in uncannily human ways. Instead, it was 2016, the year that Google released its neural machine translation service with the support of deep learning, the model on which today’s generative AI technology is based.

While it was true that Google Translate couldn’t artfully translate a poem or literary work (or even a newspaper article), it could quickly translate some of the written assignments students typically tackle as they learn the basic building blocks of a foreign language. And for some of these students, it could seem like an easy way out of assignments.

Giannini quickly adjusted her approach. She started weighting class participation more heavily in student grades. She swapped out many written assessments with oral ones. She had students write the first draft of their essays in class. And she strategized with her colleagues, who were facing similar challenges.

In some ways, Giannini has had a head start on understanding the transformative impact of AI in the classroom. She sees both the technology’s challenges and its potential. And as a new crop of generative AI tools—from ChatGPT to GitHub Copilot—affect education in nearly every discipline, it’s a topic that almost no one in the classroom can avoid today.

At Macalester, professors and students are not digging in their heels against the changes these tools will bring, but are instead stepping mindfully into this new world.

The future starts now

Generative AI—artificial intelligence that creates new material based on patterns it identifies in data—was barely on the radar for most faculty and students as late as October 2022. But it wasn’t long before higher education as a whole was on high alert. “I read the Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Ed every morning,” says professor of international relations and political theory Andrew Latham. “And the level of anxiety around AI, on a scale of one to ten, is an eleven.”

Although robust data is still relatively rare and change is happening quickly, early surveys suggest that AI is already influencing higher education. Two surveys conducted in August 2023, for example, found that anywhere between 20 and 38 percent of American college students were using AI tools at least monthly. Meanwhile, a survey of hundreds of Harvard University faculty members in the spring of 2023 found that just 21 percent believed AI would have a positive impact on education; 47 percent believed the impact would be negative.

At Macalester, attitudes continue to evolve. Professor of environmental studies Chris Wells, for example, admits he was dismissive of ChatGPT when he first tested it. “I had it write a bad poem—it was like a parlor trick,” he recalls. When he gave ChatGPT one of his own assignments, it returned nothing more than “slick sounding BS” that wouldn’t pass muster in his classes.

But he kept tabs on the technology, and he began to see examples of more meaningful uses of the tool.

He finally was convinced to take ChatGPT more seriously when he heard a podcaster frame resistance to the new technology as a liability, not a moral high ground. “They said that in academia, they call the use of generative AI cheating, but in business, they call it creativity and innovation,” he says. “I just don’t see a future in which AI doesn’t become a standard part of how people think, write, and communicate. We have to figure out what it means to live in this new world.”

This past spring, in his upper-level research and writing course, “US Urban Environmental History,” he and his students have had in-depth conversations about the ethics and opportunities of using these generative AI tools.

In one class, for example, he asked students to share what made them most uneasy about using ChatGPT and similar technology. They identified a range of issues: its significant energy use, large language model training practices that benefit from copyrighted work in unethical ways, and its facilitation of plagiarism, for starters.

But they also discussed reasons to be excited about these opportunities, as well as the ethics of avoiding a technology so powerful that it could fundamentally disrupt society. “There’s a lot of hype to generative AI, but there’s also a ‘there’ there,” Wells says. “And we’re all just trying to figure that out.”

AI attempts to replicate a human artist

We hired illustrator Marcos Chin of Brooklyn, N.Y. to illustrate artwork for this story. Then we fed AI image generators a prompt to see what they came up with, and compared the two approaches on this page. Chin wrote about the experience: “I saw this as an opportunity to dig into what my strengths are as a human being—an artist. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to compete with AI in regard to speed and the amount of sketches I could make in a short period of time. But what I did have was just that—time. I had time to feel, to remember, to think, to ruminate. I spent some days thinking about concepts while pacing around my apartment, walking my dog, and having conversations with my partner. Moreover, I also knew that I had lived experiences, and opinions about this topic which informed my approach.”

Sketches by Marcos Chin / Images generated by Adobe Firefly

Finding the right balance

After ChatGPT’s public rollout in late 2022, Macalester faculty were immediately interested in grappling with the challenges of generative AI. By January 2023, the Serie Center for Scholarship and Teaching had organized a panel and faculty discussion about AI and teaching. Britt Abel, director of writing and a co-organizer of the event, describes the turnout for the event as “massive.”

The interest encouraged Abel and associate library director Mozhdeh Khodarahmi to form a working group and faculty and staff learning committee on AI. That led to a report on AI literacy and critical thinking. The report includes robust guidance for faculty and students, and has been praised by the Macalester community—as well as national and even international audiences.

The working group has hosted ongoing presentations with energetic discussions about the ways that instructors and students can harness the power of these tools effectively to improve their teaching and learning.

For students, AI tools can make beginning an assignment less intimidating. Ada Bruno ’24 (Cranston, R.I.), who teamed up with two students to write a paper about the use of AI at Macalester for a news reporting and writing course, says she has used AI to help her do early thinking on some projects. “If I need an idea for a project, it can be helpful for brainstorming,” she says.

Still, she admits that its limitations are abundantly clear, even with relatively simple, clearly delineated tasks. “It’ll come up with ten ideas, but it doesn’t have the same kind of energy or collaborative spirit as a face-to-face interaction,” she says.

Faculty, too, have found ways to use the tools to support their teaching. For example, Giannini has been using ChatGPT in her advanced classes. First, she asks students to analyze an issue or a text related to a class topic the way she did before the advent of generative AI. Then, she has them ask ChatGPT the same questions she posed to the class and critique its output. “They can see how much better they do in their own analyses—and they can also see how much ChatGPT ‘hallucinates’,” she says, referring to the false information that can be created by these large language models.

Abel, who also is a professor of German, says the tools can be very valuable to faculty who are early in their teaching careers. For example, a professor could ask an AI tool to provide them a detailed list of potential classroom activities, such as a movie analysis or a cooking class, to support student learning at a specific language level. They could also ask ChatGPT to create a rubric to help assess student learning for this activity. “It’s pretty powerful at putting together a rubric if you’re using nationally accepted standards and coming up with specific activities related to those standards,” she says.

Wells says he finds ChatGPT most useful when he imagines it as another person. “If you use the analogy of an intern, you can think of ChatGPT as someone who works very hard and very quickly, and who is so eager to please that they will make stuff up in order to try to satisfy you,” he says.

With that mindset, he says, faculty and students can reorient their approach to the technology. For Wells, that means that he spends a significant amount of time defining the task or question in clear and often excruciatingly granular detail. He’s even developed a seven-point template that he uses for prompts that includes identifying the audience, specifying style and tone, and using examples for clarity.

This is work that requires its own unique type of thinking and analysis, and students benefit from learning these skills, says Wells. “There are so many details we don’t think to stipulate, but the AI still has to decide for you,” he explains. “It’s when those default decisions don’t line up with what you want that you often get a bad output.”

Of course, there’s a fine line between getting help from an AI tool and plagiarism. It’s why the Macalester working group developed an updated academic integrity statement that bars the unauthorized use of generative AI tools in coursework.

Still, while AI-facilitated plagiarism has been one of the most significant concerns for many educators and institutions, Abel says that Macalester’s structure, philosophy, and processes give the institution distinct advantages in an AI world. “Our faculty design really good writing assignments. We have small class sizes. We have students free write and brainstorm before they write an essay, and we have them write what writer Anne Lamott calls ‘sh***y first drafts.’ We spend a lot of time on writing, which is an iterative process, and as a result, we know our students’ voices.”

And while professors are quick to acknowledge that they would be hard pressed to detect AI cheating, they also know that the students who come to Macalester are typically hungry to do the kind of rigorous academic work that the college requires.

Latham says he often uses an athletic analogy when he talks to students about their use of AI. “If you decided that you were going to do a triathlon, and you had access to the best gym and the best coaches in the world, and you paid a bunch of money to do it, why on earth would you have someone else do the workouts for you?” he asks. “I tell them: Your education is a big investment, so make the most of it.”

I am not a robot

If AI tools have shaken up teaching and learning, they have also opened up opportunities. In some cases, they’re leading professors to rethink how they teach.

Before ChatGPT, for example, Latham had focused on having students complete traditional writing assignments. He has since replaced many of these projects with reflection papers and invitations for his students to come to his office to discuss their growth as scholars and as people. “I tell them that this is not a moment for me to judge you and to grade you. This is a moment for you to reflect on what you have actually learned,” he says. “And these papers and conversations are fantastic. I get the strong sense, in a way that I never have before, that they’re experiencing real growth as human beings. They’re not just ticking boxes and pretending that they know what I talked to them about three weeks ago.”

He pauses. “Are these reflection papers AI-proof? Probably not. But it’s pretty hard to ask an AI to write about what you’ve learned,” he says. “These are wonderful pedagogical moments, and I wish I would have done this twenty-five years ago.”

It’s this part of the AI transformation—the thoughtful analysis about what teaching and learning can look like, the re-engineering of classes to encourage critical thinking in new ways, and the increasing focus on human connection that is central to a Macalester education—that gives Latham hope about what lies ahead. “It’s not all rosy,” he says. “We’ll have to change things. We’ll have to adapt. But we can be true to our liberal arts heritage and tradition. Even in an AI world.”

Artificial intelligence (AI). Technology that simulates human intelligence, often by mimicking communication and decision-making.

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). Technology that searches for patterns in large amounts of data to generate new material, such as text, code, and images.

Hallucination. Incorrect or nonsensical information generated by an AI system because of limitations in its training data or algorithms.

Large language model (LLM). A type of generative artificial intelligence that is focused on text-based data and algorithms.

Prompt. A specific instruction or question humans give an artificial intelligence system to guide an AI tool to generate a response, create content, or perform a task.

Erin Peterson is a Minneapolis-based writer.

May 17 2024

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Two Graduating Rollins Students Awarded Heart of Emory

By Shelby Crosier

In mid-April, Emory Campus Life hosted the 2024 Student Organization & Achievement Recognition Awards , which recognize outstanding service from student leaders across campus. The highest honor of the night is the Heart of Emory award, an award given to three undergraduate and three graduate students who represent the best of Emory.

The Heart of Emory award recognizes student leaders who contribute to a flourishing community on campus and who create “a legacy through connection, creativity and, a commitment to social justice.” This year, two of the three graduate recipients were Rollins students: Cameron Goetgeluck, of the Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health; and Alanna Aboulafia, of the Department of Behavioral, Social, and Health Education Sciences.

Cameron Goetgeluck

Goetgeluck’s longtime interest in biology and emergency management transformed into a passion for public health during the COVID-19 pandemic. While working in vaccine access and infection control projects, including at Super Bowl LV, he realized that he enjoyed population-based health and decided to pursue an MPH at Rollins.

“I came to Rollins to pursue my master's in environmental health and epidemiology,” he says. “That way I could see how infectious diseases can impact a whole population, but also specifically how the environment could come into play and how the animal and human interface impacts that.”

In addition to completing coursework and conducting research to track antimicrobial resistance using wastewater, Goetgeluck threw himself into a variety of student leadership positions. As one of two Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health representatives in the Rollins Student Government Association (RSGA), he dedicated himself to creating opportunities for students and faculty to connect outside of the classroom. He also served as co-president of the Student Outbreak Response Team for a year and a half, helping to establish partnerships with both local medical reserve corps units and the CDC that engage students in real-world outbreak response efforts.

Goetgeluck centered community engagement and social justice in everything he did at Rollins—both on campus and off. Receiving the Heart of Emory award has only cemented his commitment to these values.

“It’s nice to be recognized for having a voice and standing for what I believe in, but I also think it's good to recognize that the award does not mean everything,” he says. “There are so many students contributing around our campus and around Rollins to so many different activities, from social justice to various research projects. What this award means to me is that I will continue to stand on the values that the award says that it's for, and that includes social justice.”

Alanna Aboulafia

For as long as she can remember, Aboulafia has been involved in community and social justice work. According to her, this is a fundamental piece of her which guides everything she does.

“What community work looked like for me when I was really young was putting together hygiene kits and go bags for people who were experiencing homelessness,” she says. “When I was older, probably 9 or 10, my mom allowed me and my sister to go with her to distribute these bags. That really sparked my particular interest and passion in working with people who are experiencing homelessness.”

She continued to volunteer with people experiencing homelessness in Baltimore (where she is from) throughout her adolescence and young adulthood. It was her passion for working with this population that eventually led her to pursue her MPH at Rollins.

Aboulafia’s commitment to social justice continued to flourish during her time as a student. She served on RSGA as the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) co-chair, where she led efforts to increase DEI conversations, initiatives, and transparency at the school. This included organizing educational and awareness events, hosting tabling days to get student feedback, and creating a framework for RSGA members to be trained on how to have critical conversations about DEI. She also created the first RSGA DEI handbook, which she notes is to “ensure that all members within and outside of the Rollins community have access to information about the DEI committee such as how we operate, our current structure, and the overall purpose of the committee.”

Outside of her official role in RSGA, Aboulafia has consistently gone above and beyond to create a sense of community not just within Rollins, but across schools and colleges at Emory. It is important to her to reach out and form personal connections with people across the university and learn their stories. This also extends outside of Emory to the greater Atlanta community, where Aboulafia is a member of the local chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace.

To Aboulafia, this award is a perfect representation of the work she has dedicated her life to.

“It was an overwhelming honor to receive this award, and I felt an immense sense of gratitude to even be considered,” she says. “For me, it is meaningful and valuable to just do the work and have that work be recognized and appreciated by those around me and those who are impacted by it. It's another thing to be recognized on Emory's stage. It feels like this award is fitting for the person that I am, and not only the actions and the deliverables that I've done, but also who I am to my core.”

Associated Topics:

• Awards and Distinctions
• Rollins Community
• Student Life
• Rollins News
• In the Media
• Rollins Experts

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70 years later, 1 in 3 Black people say integration didn’t help Black students

Landmark Brown. v. Board Supreme Court decision is revered, but Post-Ipsos poll shows mixed feelings about how to address today’s school segregation

Seventy years after the Supreme Court delivered its landmark decision outlawing school segregation, Brown v. Board of Education ranks as perhaps the court’s most venerated decision. A Washington Post-Ipsos survey shows it is overwhelmingly popular.

That’s the simple part. Most everything else related to the decision — and to school segregation itself — is complex.

Nearly 7 in 10 Americans say more should be done to integrate schools across the nation — a figure that has steadily climbed from 30 percent in 1973 and is now at its apex. But a deeper look into the views of both Black and White people shows skepticism about the success of Brown and mixed messages about how to move forward.

In its unanimous decision in Brown , the Supreme Court ruled segregated schools were unconstitutional and “inherently unequal,” combining five cases in which Black students and their schools had far fewer resources than their White peers — longer commutes, lower-quality classes, overcrowding, fewer opportunities and less money. Yet 1 in 3 Black Americans now say integration has failed to improve the education of Black students, a companion Post-Ipsos survey of Black Americans finds.

Today, about half of Black adults favor letting children attend neighborhood schools, even if it means most students would be of the same race — which, given housing patterns, is often the case.

White Americans also sometimes hold conflicting views. Nine in 10 Whites say they support the Brown decision, and nearly 2 in 3 say more needs to be done to integrate schools throughout the nation. Nonetheless, large segments of the White population oppose strategies that would help make that a reality. Nearly 8 in 10 White adults say it is better for children to go to neighborhood schools over diverse ones.

“The Brown decision speaks to our highest ideals as a nation. It’s who we say we want to be as a country,” said Stefan Lallinger, senior fellow at the Century Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes school integration, whose grandfather was part of the team of civil rights attorneys who appeared before the Supreme Court in the Brown case. “Where the rubber meets the road is where people’s personal decisions about where to send their kids to school clash with those ideals.”

The decision, which was issued 70 years ago Friday, continues to hold a special place in American history. On Thursday, President Biden marked the anniversary by meeting with some of the surviving plaintiffs and their families from the five lawsuits that were consolidated into the Brown decision. On Friday, he addressed an NAACP event at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington marking the milestone.

“The Brown decision proves a simple idea. We learn better when we learn together,” Biden said.

The Brown decision focused on the value of mixing children of different races. But for many integration activists — then and now — the case is about a path to fair and equitable educational resources. Those legal battles continue.

Today’s complex views about schools and integration come amid persistent segregation that has risen in recent decades, changes in the legal landscape and the complicated dynamics of education and race in America today.

Because of Brown , school officials may no longer deliberately separate students by race — but under more recent Supreme Court orders, they aren’t allowed to deliberately mix them by race either. Integration advocates today have stopped looking to the federal courts for help and are pursuing state lawsuits instead. And some Black leaders have concluded that the answer is not integration at all but more money and more opportunity for high-poverty schools serving students of color.

“It never worked the way it was supposed to,” said Candace Northern, 43, of Sacramento, who is Black. She had a mixed experience with integration as a child growing up in the area. Now, as mother to four children who went to or will attend public schools, she sees how the system keeps most poor students of color concentrated in certain schools and wealthy, mostly White students in others.

“The intention behind [ Brown ] was good, but it really didn’t make sense to integrate the schools if you were still going to have separate neighborhoods and then only give the resources to the rich people,” she said. “It was more of an appeasement — ‘Let’s give these Black people something so they’ll shut up.’”

The evolution of a landmark ruling

The Brown decision was deeply polarizing, with massive resistance in the segregated South, where federal troops were at times required to escort Black students into what had been all-White schools, and violence in the North, too, as some White parents angrily protested busing orders that federal courts began issuing in the 1970s. Shortly after the 1954 ruling, a Gallup poll found 55 percent of Americans approved of Brown , while 40 percent disapproved.

But it succeeded in diversifying schools, with segregation rates falling through the 1970s and ’80s . Integration peaked around 1988; then courts began lifting their orders, and segregation began to rise again. A majority of Americans wrongly believe that schools are less racially segregated today than 30 years ago, The Post-Ipsos poll finds; in fact, by multiple measures, they are more segregated.

Jackie Beckley was raised in a small town in Kentucky and saw it all up close. Her father had to walk for miles and then travel by train to reach the nearest Black high school because the closer, White schools would not let Black children attend. Born in 1961, Beckley was among the first Black children to be admitted to White schools.

It wasn’t easy for her.

“You’re very much aware of the fact that you’re not like everybody else. You’re different,” she said. She remembered not being chosen as a cheerleader in elementary school despite her excellent gymnastic skills. She knew the reason and if there was any doubt, a White classmate said it out loud: “They didn’t pick her because she’s colored,” he told the class. Students were usually nice to her, she recalled, but if there was an argument, someone might hurl the n-word.

Over time, the Brown decision took on a revered status, one both liberals and conservatives cite as among the Supreme Court’s finest moments. By 1994, 87 percent of Americans approved of the ruling, and the new Post-Ipsos poll finds it just as popular today. But support is lower among Black people — about 8 in 10 say they approve of the decision. Asked if integration had improved the lives of Black students, 75 percent of White people say yes, but a smaller share — 63 percent — of Black people say the same — down from 70 percent in 1994.

Beckley understands why. Her own son attended an integrated school in suburban Columbus, Ohio, where she now lives, but she thinks more funding for schools serving students of color — “so they are educating the kids to the same standard” — is more important than creating diverse schools.

Isaac Heard, 74, is also skeptical after seeing the entire history of school integration unfold before him in Charlotte.

When Heard was growing up in Charlotte, his segregated neighborhood elementary school was so overcrowded that students attended in shifts — either morning or afternoon. “They had decided basically they weren’t going to build any more schools in the Black neighborhoods,” he recalled. His parents sent him to a private Catholic school instead.

Heard returned to public school in ninth grade and the experience was better, though still segregated. His school was economically if not racially diverse, and he recalls the teaching as excellent; in his senior year, four of his teachers had PhDs. He credited the talented Black women who had few career options other than teaching.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C., school district did not fully desegregate until 1970, three years after Heard graduated and went off to Dartmouth College. But once it did, the district gained a reputation for running a successful busing program. In the 1990s, Heard’s own children attended the same district, and he said they received an excellent education.

“The biggest thing is they had role models, and resources were available,” he said. “If they were curious about something, they had access to it.”

Later, working in city planning in Charlotte, Heard saw things change again after the federal court order mandating desegregation was lifted in 1999 and the schools began to resegregate. While some wealthier Black families (including his own) now lived in diverse neighborhoods and attended racially diverse schools, lower-income Black and Hispanic families were concentrated in urban areas and their schools became segregated again .

Heard believes one answer is to spread affordable housing to wealthier neighborhoods, so the neediest students are spread out, but he said these proposals “raised the hackles in this community like you wouldn’t believe.”

Heard’s experience — segregation, integration, and partial segregation again — leaves him with mixed feelings about the impact of Brown . “There’s a generation of kids who really benefited from it, but it’s slowly receding in terms of its positive impact, particularly among lower-income populations,” he said.

A tangle of contradictions

The views of White Americans are also wrapped in contradictions. A wide majority says they support the Brown decision, but many oppose leading ideas for integration today.

Those include adding low-income housing in the suburbs and other high-income areas (43 percent opposed), redrawing boundaries to create more racially diverse districts (45 percent opposed) and requiring schools to bus some students to neighboring districts (70 percent opposed). Only one strategy enjoys support from a large majority (71 percent) — more regional magnet schools with specialized courses (24 percent of Whites are opposed).

Among Black Americans, there is majority support for all four strategies — with at least 7 in 10 backing the proposals for mixed-income housing, redrawing boundaries and magnet schools.

At the same time, nearly 8 in 10 White people say they support “letting students go to the local school in their community, even if it means that most of the students would be of the same race,” while 17 percent favor “transferring students to other schools to create more integration, even if it means that some students would have to travel out of their communities to go to school.”

Elaine Burkholder, 44, who is raising five children in a rural community in central Pennsylvania, did not hesitate when asked her views on Brown . “It was a good decision,” she said. “It’s definitely good to have integration, open the children up to different viewpoints and that sort of thing.”

She said she is not concerned about any segregation that persists today because the law is no longer barring children from going to school together.

“As long as you have the ability to move and stuff you can probably get your children into a decent school district,” she said. “It’s pretty well a personal choice at this point, where your children go to school.”

Burkholder, whose children attend a private Christian school, was not particularly concerned that some families cannot afford to move to another school district. “I’m a little more of a pull yourself up by your bootstraps,” Burkholder said. “I like to see people working to get where they want to go.”

The way forward

The contradictions inherent in public opinion have given rise to conflicting strategies about what should come next.

David Banks, the chancellor of the New York City schools, the nation’s largest school system, who is Black, attended integrated schools in Queens as a child but does not see integration as the answer for children in New York City today. Today, 24 percent of the students in the city schools are Black, and 41 percent are Hispanic. Just 15 percent of students are White. He said the path to a better education for a student of color cannot be sitting next to a White student; there aren’t enough White students to go around.

“I do not believe Black kids need to go to school with White kids to get a good education. I fundamentally reject that,” he said in an interview.

Instead of integration, Banks favors directing more money and adding programs to high-poverty schools serving students of color and providing more opportunities for advanced coursework in low-income areas.

But others say students of color will never get what they need if so many are isolated in high-poverty school districts. A new generation of legal advocates is now targeting the boundary lines that separate school districts, which drive most of the racial and economic segregation today.

They’ve also shifted legal strategy. Supreme Court rulings issued in the years since Brown make success in federal courts unlikely, they say, so unlike their counterparts from past decades, they are focused on state courts.

A lawsuit in New Jersey is challenging district boundary lines based on a provision in the state constitution. The parties have been negotiating for months in hopes of reaching a settlement. Another case challenging segregation in the Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn., schools has been working its way through the Minnesota courts for nearly a decade. A lawsuit in New York City relies on the state constitution to challenge admissions policies that place students into gifted and advanced programs, creating a two-tiered education system that hurts Black and Hispanic students.

A new organization called Brown’s Promise is looking for other potential lawsuits, possibly based on state constitutions that guarantee a “thorough and efficient” public education.

“Any meaningful definition of a ‘ thorough education’ has to mean learning to live, work and thrive in a multiracial community,” said Ary Amerikaner, co-founder of Brown’s Promise.

She pointed to research that shows the post- Brown integration years succeeded in raising achievement levels of Black students.

“We cannot keep concentrating poverty in a small number of districts and expecting the adults to work miracles,” she said. She said it’s worth fighting for more money for these schools — adding that a little more money probably won’t help, but a lot more would.

“But even that cannot create the sort of social capital that we know comes from access to communities that are historically more privileged.”

The Washington Post-Ipsos poll of 1,029 U.S. adults was conducted April 9-16 and included a partially overlapping sample of 1,331 non-Hispanic Black adults. The margin of sampling error among Americans overall and Black Americans is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points; among the 703 White Americans the margin of error is 3.9 points.