Major Assignments

DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY: Due Monday, February 26, 2018

For this assignment, you will be responsible for describing three of the following:

a personal memory,
an important historical event,
a scene in a piece of visual art,
a scene in a movie,
a piece of music,
a dream sequence,
a geographical setting,
a person,
an object.

Provide detailed sensory observation of the thing which you are describing by exploring all aspects of your subject. In brainstorming for this essay, think about the qualities associated with the subject and how you might paint a vivid picture of your subject for someone who is unfamiliar with it. For a helpful guide on ways to describe, refer to "Pulsing the Tense" and "Splitting the Second" (Hoffman and Hoffman, 2017).

You may list each description, at a page per description, indicating with a centered title what it is you are describing, or you may FUSE each description into ONE essay (at three pages).

Please incorporate at least one of the following style techniques, explained in Adios, Strunk and White, into each of your descriptions, indicating your use of each technique with a footnote:

Freighting
Telescoping
Semicolon
Colon
Dash
Dash Skewer
Melted-together word
Parentheses
Superliteralism
Metaphor (a direct comparison between two, seemingly dissimilar, things; eg.: "The sky was a giant, wide and monstrous.")
Simile (an indirect comparison between two things using "like" or "as"; eg.: "The sky was as wide and monstrous as a giant.")
Personalizing, Humbling Lens, Casting Lens, or Distancing Lens

The essay should following MLA formatting guidelines (see syllabus); it should be double-spaced and typed in Times New Roman font and should be three pages in length (at a page per description).

For the Assessment Rubric, click here.

Point Value: 15

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PERSONAL NARRATIVE ESSAY: Due Wednesday, March 21, 2018

For your second essay, you will be responsible for writing a personal narrative in which you tell a story about an event, or events, in your life that had/have a significant impact on you in three scenes. It could be about an experience that was comedic or tragic, or somewhere in between; something you found (or find) difficult or challenging; the origins of an attitude or belief your hold; or a memory from your childhood that stays with you (see Seagull 59).

For guidance in brainstorming your story, which will include some element of personal reflection, see Seagull: W-10, pp. 58-61 and W-13, pp. 70-73. For a student example, click here.

Your essay should be told in first-person POV (Personalizing Lens) and it can include techniques such as "Pulsing the Tense" and "Splitting the Second," and incorporate at least one of each of the following style techniques, explained in Adios, into your overall narrative, indicating your use of each technique with a footnote:

Freighting
Telescoping
Semicolon
Colon
Dash
Dash Skewer
Melted-together word
Parentheses
Superliteralism
Very Short Sentence
Metaphor
Simile
One additional lens (Humbling, Casting, Distancing)

The essay should be in MLA format, including a header with your last name and page number on each page, and it should be at least four pages in length.

For student sample essays, check this website's Resources page.

For the Assessment Rubric, click here.

Point Value: 20

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EXPOSITORY ESSAY - ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY: Due Monday, April 23, 2018

For your third essay assignment, you are responsible for conducting research on a topic of public debate about which you feel passionate, or about which you'd like to learn more, or which you believe impacts you personally. You will do so by providing an annotated bibliography of THREE (3) SOURCES that must include one book (manuscript), one scholarly article, and one popular article.

For each source, please include:

a summary;
an evaluation;
and a reflection.

Your submissions should be typed and formatted according to MLA guidelines, including those for direct quotations and paraphrases, which we will discuss in class. You should incorporate at least one direct quote and one paraphrase per citation.

For student sample essays, check the this website's Resources page.

For the Assessment Rubric, click here.

Point Value: 15

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PERSUASIVE ESSAY: Due Wednesday, May 23, 2018

For your fourth and final essay, you will be responsible for crafting an argument, based in research, that engages narrative, personal or otherwise, to illustrate a thesis concerning the topic you chose for your Unit Three assignment.

You should incorporate the sources you annotated for the previous assignment into your essay, as well as one additional non-print-based source (such as an interview, documentary film, video clip, etc.), being sure to include at least two paraphrase and two direct quotes from each source. You will reference the sources used through a Works Cited page at the end of your essay.

Your essays should also include the following, which you should indicate by way of footnote:

Style Techniques: Echoing, Freighting, Telescoping, Colon, Semicolon, Dash, Dash Skewer, Parentheses, Melted-Together word, Metaphor, Simile, Superliteralism, Very Short Sentence, and two of the four lenses (Personalizing, Humbling, Distancing, Martianing)

Form Techniques: Quote Sandwiching (i.e. direct quotations and paraphrases)

Please type your essays according to MLA Guidelines, including a creative title and proper formatting for quotations, citations, and Works Cited. The paper should be between five and seven pages.

For student sample essays, check this website's Resources page.

For the Assessment Rubric, click here.

Point Value: 40