Every year, English teachers at BHS give out the career paper assignment to their students. BHS gives it out during students sophomore year. 

“The career paper is five pages and the students get to choose their career. It is about them researching something they are interested in the future, nothing that ties them down, but something that sparks something,” English teacher Erika Pethan said. 

For the students, pressure is on, as this assignment is required for sophomores to graduate.

“The hardest part for me was just getting everything done by the deadline because I get distracted easily,” sophomore Cayli Johnson said. 

Sophomore Ethan Brunke says he agrees that there are obstacles in writing this paper. 

“I would say that my biggest challenge was finding enough sources, as (including an interview with someone in the career) we needed at least three other sources,”  Brunke said. 

When thinking of the challenges students may go through while doing assignments like these, students may not realize that teachers go through similar challenges. 

“When you think of things like examples, or outlines, to have something that will fit for everyone is nearly impossible. I would say the hardest part for me was grading 50, five-page papers and getting them back in a timely fashion,” Pethan said. 

An important aspect of writing this paper for students was the preparation they receive and follow through with. 

“To prepare for the paper, we spend multiple class sessions in the library where we research our chosen career,” Brunke said. 

Before students sit down to type their own career paper they must look deeper into what writing a career paper fully entails.

“We went over the basics like MLA formatting, outline, how to start body paragraphs, we have examples of introductions and what makes a good paper versus a bad paper,” Pethan said. “Those are things I think are always necessary for teaching students how to write. People need to see what a product is going to look like.”

It is also vital for students to see the importance of why they are writing this paper. 

“I think it is important to take some time to find something you’re interested in so you have at least one option to look into. Even if it’s not what you choose in the future,” Johnson said.