Graded Exercise 1: Write an essay

Write 256 to 512 words.

Write for a reader who has no knowledge of database technologies but is bright and eager to learn. As you write, keep in your mind a picture of a roommate, a younger sibling who will soon be heading to college, or a grandparent who is sincerely interested in what you are doing and genuinely wants to understand some of what you have learned (even if that grandparent has no plans to enroll in a similar class and no plans to launch a new career!).

• In your first paragraph, advise your reader on what to expect. You might, for example, tell your reader what has been easy and what has been hard in your study of database technologies. You might describe some of the mistakes you have made in your own coding so that your reader can more easily avoid the same errors. You might describe ways in which you found help. You might describe ways of working that have made you more productive.
• In your second paragraph, share with your reader principles of design. What is normalization? Why normalize? When might it make sense to skip normalization?
• In your third paragraph, identify one more alternatives to the relational model. You might introduce some vocabulary here. You might name companies or products here. Have you found in your reading any reasons that some organizations are moving to NoSQL databases?
• In your fourth paragraph, list for your readers some features of SQL that you have learned to use this week. Describe one or more queries that you can now write, but could not write at the end of last week.

Show your essay to one or more classmates. Polish your essay with the help of your classmates. This is part of your graded exercise. Everyone should get a high score on this part of the graded exercise!