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
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