Assignments
Audience and Introduction Analysis
Following is a file containing an assignment designed to help you think about two cardinal principles of writing: (1) You, as a writer, are nothing without a willing audience; and (2) You create that willing audience by crafting an attention-grabbing introduction. Please download this file and follow its instructions to complete the assignment--10 points.
Following is a file containing an assignment designed to help you think about two cardinal principles of writing: (1) You, as a writer, are nothing without a willing audience; and (2) You create that willing audience by crafting an attention-grabbing introduction. Please download this file and follow its instructions to complete the assignment--10 points.
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audience_and_intro_analysisfall2012.docx | |
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Descriptive Paragraph
Analyze the following paragraph from Khaled Hosseini's novel, The Kite Runner. Watch for the techniques of naming, detailing, and comparing. Does he use sensory imagery?
Notice that first, he tells us about a childhood game.
When we were children, Hassan and I used to climb the poplar trees in the driveway of my father's house and annoy our neighbors by reflecting sunlight into their homes with a shard of mirror. We would sit across from each other on a pair of high branches, our naked feet dangling, our trouser pockets filled with dried mulberries and walnuts. We took turns with the mirror as we ate mulberries, pelted each other with them, giggling, laughing.
Next, he describes his friend.
I can still see Hassan up on that tree, sunlight flickering through the leaves on his almost perfectly round face, a face like a Chinese doll chiseled from hardwood: his flat, broad nose and slanting, narrow eyes like bamboo leaves, eyes that looked, depending on the light, gold, green, even sapphire. I can still see his tiny low-set ears and that pointed stub of a chin, a meaty appendage that looked like it was added as a mere afterthought. And the cleft lip, just left of midline, where the Chinese doll maker's instrument may have slipped, or perhaps he had simply grown tired and careless(3).
Why is this pattern of action preceding description effective?
Analyze the following paragraph from Khaled Hosseini's novel, The Kite Runner. Watch for the techniques of naming, detailing, and comparing. Does he use sensory imagery?
Notice that first, he tells us about a childhood game.
When we were children, Hassan and I used to climb the poplar trees in the driveway of my father's house and annoy our neighbors by reflecting sunlight into their homes with a shard of mirror. We would sit across from each other on a pair of high branches, our naked feet dangling, our trouser pockets filled with dried mulberries and walnuts. We took turns with the mirror as we ate mulberries, pelted each other with them, giggling, laughing.
Next, he describes his friend.
I can still see Hassan up on that tree, sunlight flickering through the leaves on his almost perfectly round face, a face like a Chinese doll chiseled from hardwood: his flat, broad nose and slanting, narrow eyes like bamboo leaves, eyes that looked, depending on the light, gold, green, even sapphire. I can still see his tiny low-set ears and that pointed stub of a chin, a meaty appendage that looked like it was added as a mere afterthought. And the cleft lip, just left of midline, where the Chinese doll maker's instrument may have slipped, or perhaps he had simply grown tired and careless(3).
Why is this pattern of action preceding description effective?
Process Essay
Write a paragraph or a brief essay explaining a process or giving detailed instructions for accomplishing a particular task. For example, think of something you accomplished and tell me the steps you took to achieve that goal. Or think of a skill you have developed, such as making a piece of coiled pottery, and give me step-by-step instructions for completing my own project.
Other suggestions include describing the process of finding a job in today’s economy, becoming a professional ballet dancer, laying a slab of concrete, making your grandma’s real Italian spaghetti sauce, or climbing your favorite rock on the Chuckawalla Trail. Choose something you know well, something you have researched thoroughly or have done yourself.
You will be graded on structure (attention-getting title and thesis statement naming process), coherence (focusing on transitions between the steps), development (detailed descriptions or instructions), and accuracy (comma splices, run-on sentences, sentence fragments, spelling, and pronoun reference).
Narrative Essay: A Remembered Event
_ Suggestions for narrative essay topics are found on pages 42-43 of your
textbook. You may choose one of these ideas or use one of your own.
Choose a story that you don't mind sharing with your classmates.
You will be graded on how much thought you put into this essay, and how well you incorporate the lessons from our class: structure (engaging title, captivating first line, and narrative pyramid--exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution); descriptive techniques of naming, detailing, sensory imagery, and comparing (simile or metaphor, underlined); specific narrative action and prepositional phrases (two underlined); coherence; unity; development; and accuracy (sentence structure, spelling, pronoun reference and agreement, and relative pronouns). You will also receive credit for including each step of your writing process: in-class invention activities, rough drafts, and final copy.
850-900 words 50 points possible
Narrative Rough Draft:
Your narrative rough draft will be graded on the quality of its structure, its descriptive detail, and its narrative action. The detail and action don’t need to be in final form. For example, you will not be graded on your ability to demonstrate each descriptive technique, and I will not be looking for prepositional phrases. But it should be fairly complete, at least 800 words. Please write the word count on the rough draft.
20 points possible
You will be graded on how much thought you put into this essay, and how well you incorporate the lessons from our class: structure (engaging title, captivating first line, and narrative pyramid--exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution); descriptive techniques of naming, detailing, sensory imagery, and comparing (simile or metaphor, underlined); specific narrative action and prepositional phrases (two underlined); coherence; unity; development; and accuracy (sentence structure, spelling, pronoun reference and agreement, and relative pronouns). You will also receive credit for including each step of your writing process: in-class invention activities, rough drafts, and final copy.
850-900 words 50 points possible
Narrative Rough Draft:
Your narrative rough draft will be graded on the quality of its structure, its descriptive detail, and its narrative action. The detail and action don’t need to be in final form. For example, you will not be graded on your ability to demonstrate each descriptive technique, and I will not be looking for prepositional phrases. But it should be fairly complete, at least 800 words. Please write the word count on the rough draft.
20 points possible
Evaluation Essay 1 (Rough Draft--20 points)
"Following the lives of people that push, pull, or pedal some kind of vehicle to earn their living on Brazil’s city streets, On Wheels Brasil establishes a relationship between the wheel’s movement and the inconstancy of life itself, primarily for those without stable jobs who have to create and improvise daily just to survive"(ITVS).
Evaluate this video in a 2 1/2-page essay (12 point type, double spaced). You will use the following criteria in this evaluation: Is it informative? Is it entertaining? Is it persuasive? Is it credible? First, define of each of these terms, then evaluate the film on how well it meets your expectations.
You, in turn, will be evaluated on the following criteria:
Structure. Use the essay model described in class. You may review notes and the example shown on the "Structure" page of the website.
Definitions. Define what each criterion means to you and explain how important each is to the documentary film genre.
Evaluations. Decide how well the film meets your expectations, and explain the reasoning behind your evaluations.
Research. To better inform yourself about Brazil's economy, social services, or the filmmaker and his background, read at least two articles, preferably from one of the library's databases. This research should help you evaluate both the film's credibility and the information it presents.
Academic Integrity. Acknowledge your sources, using in-text citations (St. Martin’s 766-769) and listing your sources at the end of your essay. The MLA format for in-text citations will be discussed on March 6, so you will be expected to use it when citing your sources. For this assignment, however, you are not required to use the MLA format for the Works Cited page. Just provide enough information that the reader can check your sources.
"On Wheels Brasil." ITVS. Independent Television Services, Inc. 2012. Web. 29 Feb. 2012.
Evaluation Essay 2 (Rough Draft--20 points)
Evaluate the video, Farm of the Future, in a 2 1/2-page essay (12 point type, double spaced). You will use the following criteria in this evaluation: Is it informative? Is it entertaining? Is it persuasive? Is it credible? First, define of each of these terms, then evaluate the film on how well it meets your expectations.
You, in turn, will be evaluated on the following criteria:
Structure. Use the essay model described in class. You may review notes and the example shown on the "Structure" page of the website.
Definitions. Define what each criterion means to you and explain how important each is to the documentary film genre.
Evaluations. Decide how well the film meets your expectations, and explain the reasoning behind your evaluations.
Research. To better inform yourself about farming or the filmmaker, read at least two articles, preferably from one of the library's databases. This research should help you evaluate both the film's credibility and the information it presents.
Academic Integrity. Acknowledge your sources, using in-text citations (St. Martin’s 766-769) and listing your sources at the end of your essay. The MLA format for in-text citations will be discussed on March 6, so you will be expected to use it when citing your sources. For this assignment, however, you are not required to use the MLA format for the Works Cited page. Just provide enough information that the reader can check your sources.
Comparison/Contrast Essay (100 Points)
Write a five-page (12-point type, double spaced) comparison/contrast essay, evaluating the two documentaries shown in class. Use the same criteria that you used to write the evaluation essays. Your thesis should state which film is better, based on your evaluation of the four criteria (informative, persuasive, entertaining and credible). Your essay should also include definitions of each criterion. It will be graded as follows:
Structure. Does it demonstrate standard essay structure (website), plus one of the two comparison/contrast formats shown on the Comparison/Contrast page on the website’s drop-down Essay menu.
Unity, development, coherence and accuracy will also be evaluated, as will your thoughtful and vigorous writing style (sensory detail, precise word choice, active verbs).
Writing Process. Attach all brainstorming activities, outlines, and drafts to your final copy, including the rough drafts of Evaluation Essays 1 and 2.
Academic Integrity. Use MLA in-text citations to acknowledge your sources, and include a list of Works Cited at the end of the paper. This page doesn’t need to be in MLA format, but it needs to give me enough information that I can find the articles.
Annotated Bibliography
As you research your topic for the argumentative essay, keep a careful record of potential sources. This will prevent headaches later. This record, an annotated bibliography, will be completed before the essay is actually written. The following information should be included in this record:
1. Well-Documented Sources. Use the MLA format to record the author, title, publication source, year of publication, and medium of publication (769-778).
2. An Indication of Content. First, identify interesting, helpful passages in your sources. Next, in your annotated bibliography, record quotations or your own paraphrases and summaries of those passages. These will be copied and pasted directly into your essay as you write.
3. In-text Citations. Following each quotation, paraphrase or summary, write an in-text citation (MLA format, 766-769).
4. A Discussion of Context and Significance. Explain why each passage is important to your research.
Your annotated bibliography should include a minimum of seven entries and should be typed. It is worth 15 points.
Argument Essay Based on Counterarguments (Research Paper)
You may choose the topic of your five-page argumentative research paper. The topic (5 points) is due Thursday, along with a list of at least three counterarguments (3 points) and a plan for using a minimum of one type of field research--observation, interview, questionnaire (2 points).
The argument essay should make a disputable claim, offer thoughtful, detailed support for that claim, respond to opposing arguments, and be “dressed” with convincing, memorable language (Ruszkiewicz and Dolmage 69-70). At least one form of field research is required.
Also, include in-text citations (page 766-769) and a Works Cited page showing a minimum of five sources (page 769-778).
In addition, you will be graded on structure, unity, coherence, accuracy and proof of the writing process (brainstorming, outlines, rough drafts, and final copy). Showing your writing process is particularly important for this assignment, so keep track of each step, and turn it in with the essay.
Ten points extra credit will be given to students who demonstrate understanding of one of the parallel stylistic devices taught in class on April 12. These devices are particularly useful in conclusions because they tend to create emotional responses in audiences, and they make strong, memorable closing statements. If you want credit for using one of these devices, mark it in your essay, as I will not search for it.
Due Dates:
4/5 Topic & plan for field research
4/10 Outline
4/12 Annotated Bibliography
4/17 Two copies of rough draft
4/24 & 4/26 Oral reports of argument essay
4/26 Cover letter and final copy of research essay, along with all parts of the writing process. If you give your oral report on the 24th, you may turn in your cover letter and final copy then.
5/1 Final Examination: 8:00-10:00 a.m.
Cover Letter
Write a cover letter to accompany your research paper. This one-page letter should be in the block style discussed in your text (704-705) and should explain why you chose your research topic. You may use this opportunity to emphasize certain aspects of your argument. You will be graded on using the correct format; stating your purpose in the first few sentences; supporting that statement in the following paragraph/s; using an economical vigorous, smooth style; and being accurate. This letter is worth ten points.