For this class-we are using The Composition of Everyday Life custom edition by John Mauk and John Metz. Each chapter features invention questions that are designed to help students expand their initial ideas and to take their thoughts beyond the obvious.
I have decided to analyze my own relationship with music for my topic and will attend to the questions below:
Is this relationship difficult? Why? The relationship used to be the easiest thing. With every year I find it more difficult to maintain. I used to love listening to music and especially seeking out new music and seeing it live and did it obsessively-starting with at age 5 with "We Are the World" and continuing on up to about four or five years ago. I still like music but I am not necessarily compelled to listen to it or to sacrifice anything to seek out or find new music. It used to be my favorite thing to talk about and think about and now it gets on my nerves. I think music used to mean more to me when you had to go and buy the physical object. That financial obligation lead me to giving things more than just a cursory listen. I think in today's day and age-especially if you illegally download music there isn't as much impetuous to listen. You hear a minute or so of a song or an artist or an album and if it isn't good-you go to something else. You can check a band's myspace page or find their video on YouTube. Gone are the days of walking into the record store and hearing something you like and grabbing it or even buying something unheard on some friend or critic's recommendation. Now you'd be fool not to seek out a sample before spending your hard earned money on it.
What keeps it going? It is everywhere and I listen to last.fm or WUAG 103.1 when I need an unexpected fix. I keep Cd's in my car and have an ipod and have i tunes on my computer. I also have a record player and burgeoning collection of mostly used, mostly before 1990s music on vinyl. I like to listen to music when I exercise sometimes or when I'm writing. The problem with when I'm writing is if the music is too catch or familiar, it becomes a distraction. I am also hesitant to walk around with my Ipod on, because I feel it's somewhat anti social. I find that I enjoy reading about music (interviews, record reviews, other criticism) almost as much as I like writing about it-so that keeps my interest in it. Many of my friends are musicians; I am an amateur musician myself-and I feel that has both helped foster my appreciation for music but also perhaps lessened it. when you are able to sit down and figure out how to play a song-it may take away some of the magic.
How does the presence of one entity (person or thing) influence the other? In what hidden or indirect ways do they influence one another? Music has had a profound influence on me-I doubt that I have had any influence on it. I considered being a music major and often regret not continuing with piano lessons when I was a kid. I play the guitar and keyboards regularly when I have 30 minutes to an hour to kill and some of the happier moments of my adult life have been playing songs with my friends-at my brother's wedding, at my friend Jacob's wedding, at my friend Megan's Graduate Thesis (which is incidentally where I met the love of my life). She saw us perform and thought I was cool. Is still visit record stores and download new music-I just don't have a boundless craving for it the way I used to.
What would occur to one if the other were gone? If someone were to take music away-I think that might be a good thing. I think it's all too easy-I have at least 20 albums on my I tunes that I've never listened to. What's the use of that? If music were gone-I bet you I would miss it in a hurry. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that recorded music is relatively a young phenomenon and it's not as instilled in our consciousness. I am sure that aging has something to do with it to. The music I've enjoyed the most recently has been either obscure music that was never popular that has been released through a variety of boutique labels or music that I can't understand the words to at all. I think part of my frustration comes from a difficulty with writing new words to my own songs-I have lost that inkling of what songs should be about and how to make them sound cool and original and not trite.
In what ways do I interact with this medium? That's part of the problem as well. I used to mainly listen to cds in my car-I don't drive as much as I used to. I don't really think I am a headphone person-I did enough damage with my Walkman when I was a teenager-cutting lawns and listening to Ride the Lightning by Metallica and The Chronic by Dr. Dre.
Does the relationship reveal something about people's strengths or weaknesses?
Why is it important that people see the meaning of the relationship?
Is there something unusual or usual about this relationship?
Does this relationship show how rewarding or valuable a particular kind of relationship can be?
What brief story will help the reader to see my point about the relationship?
What vivid details will help demonstrate the precise nature of the relationship?
Can I compare the relationship (or the entities in the relationship) to an animal? A thing? A place? A person? What new dimension would this comparison reveal?
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
How to Write Like a Freshman: Assignment 1
Bellow is a prompt of my first assignment for my ENG 1103 class that I am teaching at High Point University:
High Point University Writing Program
ENG 1103-20 Chris McSween
Project 1: Analyzing/Explaining Relationships
We may occasionally forget that our knowledge is not simply a long list of discrete facts categorized under clear and concise headings: math, health, finances, automotive repair. It is usually when we are faced with a problem that we remember just how intertwined our knowledge is: having our brakes go bad requires us to connect what we know about mechanical calibrations, safety procedures, our bank accounts, and why cars need good brakes.
In other words, our lives are comprised of multiple relationships among ideas, situations, and people. That some of these relationships are complex or difficult to identify means that they may be affecting us without our fully understanding how or why. For example, consider your relationship to High Point University. Where does your tuition go? What does that tuition entitle you to? How does that tuition connect you to various groups and constituencies on campus? Examining such relationships and taking the time to explain them to ourselves and our peers enables us to gain a stronger awareness of our surroundings and ultimately to make better, more informed decisions about how to act in our world.
Project Description: The act of explaining relationships is central to academic life, and this project is designed to help you improve your skills of perception, description, and analysis. It is also meant to encourage you to think metaphorically about the relationships you explain. So, there are two parts to this project. The first is a 1000-word text that explains something new and interesting about how two things relate to each other. The text is to help the author and reader discover connections and meanings in how these things interact, work with, or rely on each other. The text is to be thesis-driven, meaning it should provide readers with a clear main point that is both sensible and revelatory. This should be written according to MLA format-which includes using double spaced 12 pt Times New Roman Font, with 1” margins on the top and sides and should include a heading in the top left corner which tells us your name, the class and section number, the project number and draft number and the date.
Chris McSween
ENG 1103-20
Project 1/Draft 1
1/18/11
After that, you should double space and come up with a title that grabs your readers attention and let’s them know what to expect from the essay. This should be centered over the first paragraph.
The Right Title Will Make You Want to Keep Reading
The second part is an alternative text that depicts the nature of your chosen relationship. Here, the word “text” is broadly defined to include images, drawings, poems, videos, sound recordings, etc. This part is meant to broaden your analytical skills to include metaphorical and relational thinking. The alternative text will be assessed as part of your homework/participation grade. See “Beyond the Essay” on p. 97 of the textbook.
Invention: Begin your invention work with the “Point of Contact” questions on p. 80 of the textbook. Any of the questions listed there could lead to productive topics for this project. If your first inclination is to write about one of your own personal relationships or something as common as the relationship between a boy and his dog, resist that urge. That first topic might draw you into terrain that is too personal for an academic text. The second topic might lead to clichéd thinking and boring ideas. In general, topics too close to you or too common provide little room for inventive, revelatory thinking.
The “Analysis” section on p. 82-84 can assist you in going beyond surface-level explanations and into the more complex layers of meaning in a relationship. Take the time to write full responses to the analysis questions. Often these responses can be worked directly into your drafts.
Do not dismiss the importance of a clear, inventive thesis. The advice on p. 86-87 is meant to help you revise your language to find a narrow and particular thesis. Take time to rewrite your thesis statement several times, playing with word choice and levels of specificity.
Lastly, use your invention work to develop ideas for your alternative text. You might keep a folder of relevant images and passages that can be reworked.
Revision: As you write and re-read multiple drafts of your text, pay attention to your own reactions to the ideas being presented. In the best moments, your own writing will spark new ways of looking at familiar things. You might also develop ideas that you simply had not considered during the invention and drafting stages. Do not ignore new ideas that come late in the writing process. Instead, talk to your peers and instructor about how best to work those new ideas into your text.
Use the “Rhetorical Tools” and “Organizational Strategies” sections in the textbook to gain some ideas about how to re-present your ideas. Particularly important to this assignment are the ways in which your own ideas connect to one another. When you make effective paragraph changes and transitions, you demonstrate to your reader that you have deeply considered not only the reader’s rhetorical needs but also the relationships among your ideas.
Also, just because this project is not a “personal” essay doesn’t mean you should give up your own voice and style. Experiment with the suggestions given in the “Writer’s Voice” and “Vitality” sections to give your writing energy and focus.
First Draft for Peer Reviews due Monday 1/24/10 at 11:59 on Task Stream
Project 1 and post-write due on Sunday 1/30/1 at 11:59 PM on Task Stream
High Point University Writing Program
ENG 1103-20 Chris McSween
Project 1: Analyzing/Explaining Relationships
We may occasionally forget that our knowledge is not simply a long list of discrete facts categorized under clear and concise headings: math, health, finances, automotive repair. It is usually when we are faced with a problem that we remember just how intertwined our knowledge is: having our brakes go bad requires us to connect what we know about mechanical calibrations, safety procedures, our bank accounts, and why cars need good brakes.
In other words, our lives are comprised of multiple relationships among ideas, situations, and people. That some of these relationships are complex or difficult to identify means that they may be affecting us without our fully understanding how or why. For example, consider your relationship to High Point University. Where does your tuition go? What does that tuition entitle you to? How does that tuition connect you to various groups and constituencies on campus? Examining such relationships and taking the time to explain them to ourselves and our peers enables us to gain a stronger awareness of our surroundings and ultimately to make better, more informed decisions about how to act in our world.
Project Description: The act of explaining relationships is central to academic life, and this project is designed to help you improve your skills of perception, description, and analysis. It is also meant to encourage you to think metaphorically about the relationships you explain. So, there are two parts to this project. The first is a 1000-word text that explains something new and interesting about how two things relate to each other. The text is to help the author and reader discover connections and meanings in how these things interact, work with, or rely on each other. The text is to be thesis-driven, meaning it should provide readers with a clear main point that is both sensible and revelatory. This should be written according to MLA format-which includes using double spaced 12 pt Times New Roman Font, with 1” margins on the top and sides and should include a heading in the top left corner which tells us your name, the class and section number, the project number and draft number and the date.
Chris McSween
ENG 1103-20
Project 1/Draft 1
1/18/11
After that, you should double space and come up with a title that grabs your readers attention and let’s them know what to expect from the essay. This should be centered over the first paragraph.
The Right Title Will Make You Want to Keep Reading
The second part is an alternative text that depicts the nature of your chosen relationship. Here, the word “text” is broadly defined to include images, drawings, poems, videos, sound recordings, etc. This part is meant to broaden your analytical skills to include metaphorical and relational thinking. The alternative text will be assessed as part of your homework/participation grade. See “Beyond the Essay” on p. 97 of the textbook.
Invention: Begin your invention work with the “Point of Contact” questions on p. 80 of the textbook. Any of the questions listed there could lead to productive topics for this project. If your first inclination is to write about one of your own personal relationships or something as common as the relationship between a boy and his dog, resist that urge. That first topic might draw you into terrain that is too personal for an academic text. The second topic might lead to clichéd thinking and boring ideas. In general, topics too close to you or too common provide little room for inventive, revelatory thinking.
The “Analysis” section on p. 82-84 can assist you in going beyond surface-level explanations and into the more complex layers of meaning in a relationship. Take the time to write full responses to the analysis questions. Often these responses can be worked directly into your drafts.
Do not dismiss the importance of a clear, inventive thesis. The advice on p. 86-87 is meant to help you revise your language to find a narrow and particular thesis. Take time to rewrite your thesis statement several times, playing with word choice and levels of specificity.
Lastly, use your invention work to develop ideas for your alternative text. You might keep a folder of relevant images and passages that can be reworked.
Revision: As you write and re-read multiple drafts of your text, pay attention to your own reactions to the ideas being presented. In the best moments, your own writing will spark new ways of looking at familiar things. You might also develop ideas that you simply had not considered during the invention and drafting stages. Do not ignore new ideas that come late in the writing process. Instead, talk to your peers and instructor about how best to work those new ideas into your text.
Use the “Rhetorical Tools” and “Organizational Strategies” sections in the textbook to gain some ideas about how to re-present your ideas. Particularly important to this assignment are the ways in which your own ideas connect to one another. When you make effective paragraph changes and transitions, you demonstrate to your reader that you have deeply considered not only the reader’s rhetorical needs but also the relationships among your ideas.
Also, just because this project is not a “personal” essay doesn’t mean you should give up your own voice and style. Experiment with the suggestions given in the “Writer’s Voice” and “Vitality” sections to give your writing energy and focus.
First Draft for Peer Reviews due Monday 1/24/10 at 11:59 on Task Stream
Project 1 and post-write due on Sunday 1/30/1 at 11:59 PM on Task Stream
Thursday, June 24, 2010
How to Write Like a Freshman
Even though I read a few blogs and I write frequently, I have had a hard time coming up with a gimmick-something to write about that people might ostensibly want to read.
Then it hit me. I have been teaching first year writing various institutes of higher learning for the past five years. In those five years, I have written poems, and short stories and pop songs and letters of interest and teaching philosophies and countless essay assignments-yet I never find myself in a position where I write an essay myself. Starting today-I am going to put my money where my mouth is. As a writing exercise and as something that hopefully may be useful as a learning tool, I am going to also write the essays I assign to my students this semester.
This blog will also be a place where I may comment on music, sports and writing if I am so moved.
Best
Pookahontas
Then it hit me. I have been teaching first year writing various institutes of higher learning for the past five years. In those five years, I have written poems, and short stories and pop songs and letters of interest and teaching philosophies and countless essay assignments-yet I never find myself in a position where I write an essay myself. Starting today-I am going to put my money where my mouth is. As a writing exercise and as something that hopefully may be useful as a learning tool, I am going to also write the essays I assign to my students this semester.
This blog will also be a place where I may comment on music, sports and writing if I am so moved.
Best
Pookahontas
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