Whoops

Posted my extra credit here instead of on my blog, sorry.

Journal Fourteen: SRTE Form

For your final journal entry, please visit your ANGEL account through which you can fill out the SRTE for our class. Once you've completed the form, please send me an email confirmation letting me know you've done so and I'll award you credit. This is an entirely honor-based assignment. These are ANONYMOUS surveys. I don't even gain access to the results until after the semester is over. You will be able to complete the form April 18-April 29. Please do so and send me a confirmation email by our last day of class.

Thanks!

Last Chance for Extra Credit

Here is your last chance for extra credit. Below are three different creative writing exercises. Please pick one and post a 400 word reply onto your blog. You are welcome to do all three, but you will receive credit for only one blog assignment. All submissions must be completed by 9 a.m., Wednesday, April 27 to be considered for extra credit.

Here are your options:

1. Write a description of a place (State College, your hometown, a fictional world -- your pick) using ONLY mathematical similes and metaphors to describe the way the place looks. You might talk about the particular angles of a hill, the grid of the streets, etc etc. Be creative!

2. Pick the name of a font from the font list on your word processor. Imagine that that font is actually the name of a person. Describe what that person is like.

3. Write about an object in your trash can. Use lots of lush, visual language. Also: you can't use the same adjective more than once.

Journal Thirteen: Thesis and Supporting Argument Revision

Please see the notes I left for each of you on your last journal entry, where you submitted a working thesis statement. Also refer to your peer review comments. After that, post the following to your blog:

- A revision of your thesis statement addressing the issues and grammatical concerns I cited on your last blog. This should be close to the final thing.

- Please supply a paragraph from your paper as is and then submit an accompanying revision of it.

Due: By 9 a.m., Wednesday, April 20

Journal Twelve: Thesis Statements

Please post your thesis statement for your final paper to your blog before class tomorrow morning. I'll be sure to respond to each person's entry. Remember: you'll probably be revising these statements as you go along. I just want you to start working on the focal point of your paper now. It's fine if it changes over the course of your writing and research. See you all tomorrow!

Assignment Five: Scholarly Research and Reporting

Purpose

Identify an unresolved question or problem and investigate it, in the course of gathering information that will help you formulate a response to this exigence.

Invention

Keep in mind as you brainstorm/draft:

Ø  Your research for this paper should be guided by a research question to which you do not already know the answer. Your last essay began with your taking a clear position. Now, this essay begins with inquiry that will eventually lead to an informed, well-researched position on the topic.

Ø  As you choose an audience with some investment in your topic, consider what kinds of sources and support they will find credible.

Ø  Aim to include at least one source that challenges your own preconceptions about your topic.

Ø  This assignment is not a plodding research paper for your instructor. Rather, it is for you: this assignment calls for interesting research findings that aid you in furthering an idea or argument that you find particularly engaging.

Expectations

A successful research paper will:

1.     Define the situation or problem that calls for your attention;

2.     Establish you as a credible source on this problem;

3.     Identify an audience who is (or should be) invested in this situation or problem;

4.     Demonstrate your purpose (to express or defend a position, to question or argue against a belief or action, to invite or convince an audience to change an opinion or practice);

5.     Marshal emotional appeals, logical reasoning or steps, researched details and examples to enhance your points;

6.     Acknowledge and respond to opposing viewpoints; and

7.     Supply a clear, identifiable conclusion that you want your audience to reach about the issue.

8.     Your paper must have the correct MLA formatting.

Length: At least 5 pages (double-spaced) of rigorous analysis backed up by at least 3 respectable outside sources, at least one of which challenges your argument

Rough Draft Due: April 18, 2011

Final Assignment Portfolio Due: April 29, 2011

Resources: “Checking Over a Position Argument” on page 237 and Chapters 17 and 18 of The Harbrace Guide to Writing.

Journal Eleven: Close Revision

For your 11th blog entry, I want you to pick one of the weakest paragraphs in your Proposal paper and revise it as best as you can. Your blog entry should include that paragraph in its original/weak form as well as its revision so I can see exactly how you revised your work. Make sure to fix all verb tense agreement issues. Include strong transitions if necessary. Get rid of sentence fragments and/or run-on sentences. Tidy up your word choice. Clarify language where needed. And make sure any citations or quotes are properly formatted.

Journal 10: A Modest Proposal

After reading Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal, please write a reflection on the piece in 500 words or less. As you reflect on the piece, discuss how this piece is effective as a proposal in terms of the reading you've been doing. How does Swift structure his piece? What supporting evidence does he provide to make his points? What are these supporting points? How is this piece effective? What is the satirical tone meant to mock?

Journal Nine: Finding a Controversial Topic

For this journal entry, I want you to find three different links to newspaper articles, each one focused on a different current issue that truly sparks your interest. For each link: I want you to give me a brief summary of the issue and then tell me what your stance on that issue is. This is meant to get you thinking about a topic for your fourth paper: The Proposal. It will be important that you pick a controversial, relevant, and timely topic for your paper. I do not want you arguing for the merits of using sunscreen -- that is obvious and not controversial at all. Controversy will be the heart of why your paper topic merit's a discussion. So think about this when finding possible topics for your paper.

Assignment #4: Proposal

Purpose

A proposal paper aims to establish a specific plan of action or solution to a problem. Identify an interesting problem or issue that merits your taking a stand; translate your stand (or position) into a thesis statement that proposes a solution; support your proposal with specific details and examples; and marshal your reasoning and appeals to persuade others to accept your proposal by modifying their thinking, behavior, or influence.

Invention

Keep in mind as you brainstorm/draft:

Ø  You might begin by thinking about what your proposal paper might accomplish: Solve a problem. Change a behavior. Introduce new policy or procedure.

Ø  Given these typical aims, your audience could range from one that is completely unsympathetic to your proposal to one that is understanding and ready to be persuaded to action.

Ø  Make sure that your proposed topic is a problem with a debatable but realistic solution.

Ø  Drawing from Chapters 10-13 of the HGW, consider which available means are going to be most effective for making your major claim or for supporting points. A paper could deploy definition, comparison, cause-and-effect analysis, process analysis, or narration (or a combination of these available means) in order to argue for your proposal. (For example: perhaps you want to propose a plan for healthier dining options in the residence hall. A paper might deploy cause and effect related to the so-called “Freshmen 15” and incorporate a short narrative involving an acquaintance of yours who is struggling to find healthy dining choices before proposing a specific course of action).

Expectations

A successful proposal paper will:

1.      Define the situation or problem that calls for your attention (exigence);

2.      Establish an audience who is (or should be) invested in this situation or problem;

3.      Communicate your purpose (to offer a specific solution to the previously identified problem);

4.      Marshal emotional appeals, logical reasoning, details and examples to enhance your points;

5.      Employ a tone that expresses your opinion and advances your proposal without being confrontational;

6.      Acknowledge and respond to opposing viewpoints/proposals; and

7.      Supply a clear, identifiable course of action.

Length: 4-5 pages (double-spaced)

Rough Draft Due: April 1, 2011

Final Assignment Portfolio Due: April 8, 2011

Resources: “Checking Over a Position Argument” on page 237 of The Harbrace Guide to Writing. 

Journal Eight: Compare and Contrast

For this journal assignment, please take a look at the comparison below made between Nabisco's Sugar Wafer and Fig Newton by Paul Goldberger, the architectural critic for the New York Times:

SUGAR WAFER (NABISCO) There is no attempt to imitate the ancient forms of traditional, individually

baked cookies here—this is a modern cookie through and through. Its simple rectangular form, clean and pure, just reeks of mass production and modern technological methods. The two wafers, held together by the sugar-cream filling, appear to float . . . this is a machine-age object.

FIG NEWTON (NABISCO) This, too, is a sandwich but different in every way from the Sugar Wafer. Here the imagery is more traditional, more sensual even; a rounded form of cookie dough arcs over the fig concoction inside, and the whole is soft and pliable. Like all good pieces of design, it has an appropriate form for its use, since the insides of Fig Newtons can ooze and would not be held in place by a more rigid form. The thing could have had a somewhat different shape, but the rounded tip is a comfortable, familiar image, and it’s easy to hold. Not a revolutionary object but an intelligent one.

Here, Goldberger focuses on the "architectural design" of the cookies for his compare/contrast exercise. I want you to do something similar. Find two objects that are equally interchangeable and write 200-300 words comparing and contrasting them using "design" as the only criteria for your evaluation. You might look at cell phones, the covers of two CDs from the same artist, toothbrushes. Have fun picking your objects. The only rule: KEEP IT SIMPLE!

Please include photos of the objects you are evaluating in your blog. When you are composing your new post, you'll see an image next to "Link" in the toolbar above your post. Click on this image and then you'll receive instructions for how to paste images into your post. It's quite easy.

Assignment #3: Critical Review (Evaluation)

Purpose

Evaluate an object or phenomenon that interests you and merits your attention. Write to a specific audience, one who can act upon or respond to your evaluation, and write with a specific purpose in mind.

Invention

Keep the following in mind as you brainstorm/draft:

Ø  Choose a specific object/phenomenon to evaluate, and explain why it merits evaluation..

Ø  Identify the category in which you are placing your subject, and develop evaluative criteria for that category. For example, if you are going to evaluate The Office, you would determine whether or not you want to categorize it as a mockumentary, an American or British comedy, an Emmy-award winning show, intelligent comedy, etc.

Ø  Once you know the subject and category for this paper, brainstorm a long list of evaluative criteria that could be applied to your subject/category and then determine which criteria are most important for your subject/purpose, keeping your specific audience in mind.

Ø  Develop an argument that either explicitly states whyyour subject meets the evaluative criteria for the category you have chosen or specify why the subject needs to be re-categorized.

Ø  Consider your purpose and intended audience--is your evaluation of your subject  informative, entertaining, and/or persuasive?

Ø  Revisit your exigence for your paper. How does your subject of evaluation correspond to your exigence?

Expectations

A successful critical review will:

1.     Have an introduction that explains why the subject merits evaluation;

2.     Place the topic in a precise category;

3.     Develop evaluative criteria by which you will make your key judgments, negative and/or positive (these criteria should be agreeable to your audience, or you should make the case as to why they are valid criteria);

4.     Use concrete evidence and examples that illustrate the ways in which the subject/phenomenon does or does not meet each evaluative criterion; and

5.     Compare and contrast your subject with others in the same category in order to help the reader understand your claims.

Length: 3-4 pages (double-spaced)

Rough Draft Due: March 14, 2011

Final Assignment Portfolio Due: March 18, 2010

Resources: “What Makes it an Evaluation” on page 302 and “Checking Over an Evaluation” on page 307 of The Harbrace Guide to Writing.

Critical Evaluation Proposal Guidelines

-        At least 1 page, typed, 12-pt font, MLA header

-        What do you want to review?

-        How will you establish merit?

-        What category does it fall into?

-        What might you compare or contrast your object with?

-        Who is your audience?

-        Name at least three pieces of criteria you will use in your evaluation

Due: Monday, February 28, 2011

Questions for Critical Evaluation Presentations

-        What is the purpose of the review (ie: consider timeliness, audience, exigence, etc)?

-        Is the merit for the review established? If so, what is it?

-        Who is the audience for this review? How can you tell?

-        How does the author evaluate this particular subject? That is: how is the piece structured? Does he/she use compare and contrast? Narrative techniques? Descriptive examples? Close reading/critical analysis?)

-        Point out the kinds of descriptive adjectives and phrases the author uses that help to convey his/her opinion, in addition to the more outright value statements. How do these benefit the piece? Do they hurt or help the ethos of the piece?

-        What criteria is this author using to evalute his/her subject? How can you tell?

-        Do you agree with the review? Why or why not? What was convincing/unconvincing about the review?

Evaluation Readings for Presentations

Read one of the following according to the presentation group you were assigned in class. On Friday, I'll be handing out a series of questions related to the readings that you will answer as a group. You'll then present your findings to the class.

- Lauren Conrad: 
http://www.salon.com/books/review/2009/06/19/lauren_conrad/
 
- Social Network: 
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2010/10/04/101004crat_atlarge_denby
   
- James Ellroy: 
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/books/review/Jacobs-t.html?_r=1&ref=bookreviews

 
- Ruth Reichl:
http://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/29/arts/restaurants-065093.html

 

Journal Seven: Establishing Merit and Criteria For Evaluations

For this journal assignment, I want you to pick something to evaluate. It can be anything you like: a product, a movie, a book, etc. etc. It does not have to be something you will use in your final evaluation paper, but it could be. After you've decided on the thing that you want to evaluate, I want you to do the follow in 500 words:

1. Tell me what you are evaluating and why it merits evaluation (Is it popular? New? Revolutionary? Controversial?).
2.  Define what category this thing is in. Is it a horror film? A romance novel? Is it indie rock? Or is it pop music? Is it functional or is its aesthetically valuable? What other items could you compare it to?
3.  List THE CRITERIA you will use to evaluate your subject. You need to have at least FIVE pieces of criteria that you will use to establish the value of your subject.

If you have read Chapter 9 in Harbrace, all this should be a cinch!

Even More Extra Credit

Elizabeth Kadetsky, an incredible writer as well as a Creative Writing professor here at Penn State, will be giving a talk on Tuesday, February 22 at 4 pm in 124 Sparks. Her talk is titled "Memoir, Fiction and the Romance of the Real." I highly encourage all of you to attend this talk, which is being given in conjunction with the Family Writing Contest (see below). If you do -- and write a 500 word response -- you'll receive credit worth one journal assignment.

 

More Extra Credit

1. "Family Writing Contest"

The contest is part of the 2011 Centre County Reads/CALS Community Read of Jeannette Walls' "true life" novel Half Broke Horses.

Walls is also the best selling author of The Glass Castle, a memoir about growing up in a nomadic family with an artistic mother and alcoholic father.

Enter your best writing on a "family"-related theme in the categories of:
- Best Short Nonfiction
- Best Short Fiction
- Best Parody
- Best Entry for a Writer Under 18

$200 Grand Prize and additional prizes for winners in each category

Entries due February 15


Send your entry to familywrite@gmail.com -- Be sure to include a cover letter with your name, address, contact information, and a brief biography.

If your memoir meets the criteria of "family-themed" then, by all means, enter your story! If not, feel free to write a new piece. Either way, forward me the email you send to familywrite@gmail.com and you'll receive credit equal to one journal entry.

2. "Democracy and Literature: An Open Question"
When: February 17 & 18, 2011
Where: Foster Auditorium at Pattee and Paterno Library

Schedule:

Thursday, February 17, 3-5 pm
Opening Forum on democracy and literature, followed by a discussion

Friday, February 18, 10 am-12 pm
Panel One: Literature and the State

Friday, February 18, 1-3 pm
Panel Two: Literacy and Popular Culture

If you attend one of these talks, simply write a 500 word reflection, post it on your blog, and you'll receive credit for one journal entry.

3. The Mary E. Rolling Reading Series Presents...


Who: Terrance Hayes
Bio: Terrance Hayes most recent poetry collection is the National Book Award-winning Lighthead (Penguin 2010). His other books are Wind in a Box, Muscular Music, and Hip Logic. His honors include four Best American Poetry selections, a Whiting Writers Award, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He is a professor of creative writing at Carnegie Mellon University and lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 
When: Thursday, February 10, 7:30 pm
Where: Foster Auditorium at Pattee and Paterno Library


Also...


Who: Aimee Bender
Bio: Aimee Bender is the author of four books: The Girl in the Flammable Skirt (1998) which was a NY Times Notable Book, An Invisible Sign of My Own (2000) which was an L.A. Times pick of the year, Willful Creatures (2005) which was nominated by The Believer as one of the best books of the year, and The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake (2010) which recently won the SCIBA award for best fiction. 
Her short fiction has been published in Granta,GQ, Harper's, Tin House, McSweeney's, The Paris Review, and many more places, as well as heard on PRI's This American Life and Selected Shorts. She received two Pushcart prizes, and was nominated for the TipTree award in 2005, and the Shirley Jackson short story award in 2010. Her fiction has been translated into sixteen languages. She lives in Los Angeles, where she teaches creative writing at USC.When: Wednesday, February 23, 7:30 pm
Where: Foster Auditorium at Pattee and Paterno Library


If you attend a reading, write a 500-word reflection and post it to your blog in order to receive credit for one journal entry. 

Reading For February 9

For Wednesday's class, I would like you to read the following investigative report: "Penn State's Liquid Cocaine."

This piece was originally written for my class last semester by Kevin Battista. It's an investigative report on 4Loko, which was banned shortly after Kevin wrote his piece. Not only was it a timely issue relevant to PSU student life, but it was also incredibly well reported with a variety of voices and opinions as well as clever observations and illustrative scenes. It's an excellent example of a strong investigative report written by one of your peers. It was so good, in fact, that Kevin got it published by Onward State, where he is now a regular writer.

Enjoy!

Journal Six: Investigating

This assignment is meant to help you get a decent head start on researching your topic for the investigative report. For this week's blog I want you to do all of the following:

1. I want you to give me a 200-300 word description of a place or scene related to your issue/profile. You'll need to do some observation for this part. If you are writing about drinking in your dorm: Describe your dorm. If you are writing about manic street preachers, give me a portrait of a scene of someone preaching -- where are they? In front of the Hub? What are they wearing? What are they saying? If you are, say, writing about ANGEL, describe how the platform works -- what does it look like? How is it used?

2. I want you to give me three quotes from a few interviews you've conducted that are related to your issue. Make sure they are relevant and colorful. They can be from an interview with a student, a friend, a professor, your subject, a police officer. Whomever. Just make sure you tell me who the quote is from -- give me their name, their age, their profession (or their year if they are a student). Things like that. They can be three quotes from the same person -- just make sure that each quote says something unique and points to a particular point of interest within your issue.

3. Write down four relevant facts that you have found in at least two different sources, whether from a website, a newspaper article, a survey, an expert you have talked to. Make sure that you cite each fact -- tell me where you got the fact from.

4. While observing, interviewing, and researching, you likely stumbled across new ideas or avenues you hadn't thought about before -- things you might want to look into further for your paper. Tell me about two areas that you are interested in doing a bit more research, issues that you feel you need to address to make your paper stronger. Maybe you feel you need to interview someone in the IT department or you need to talk to a different fraternity or look for a specific article someone mentioned. Let me know what your next investigative steps will be.

You must include all four of these items in your blog -- there is no option to pick and choose.

DUE: Before class Monday, February 14, 2011

Journal Five: Profiles

Profiles are supposed to offer us revealing glimpses into the lives of people who intrigue us for one reason or another, whether they are Hollywood celebrities, politicians, sports players, rock stars, or just some random, enigmatic character we see on the street.

Profiles are supposed to get down to the nitty gritty of a person's character -- the "real" story behind the man/woman. Often, a journalist will interview not only the subject of their story, but several people in that person's life, too -- family, business partners, enemies and critics. They'll surf the internet looking for old stories and background information, maybe even pull up police reports, legal documents, tax filings -- whatever sources they need to make their story interesting, complete, and three-dimensional.

Sometimes, it's also in what the journalist isn't being told -- the information they aren't able to get -- where the story can be the most illuminating. One of the most famous examples of this sort of story is "Frank Sinatra Has A Cold" by Gay Talese. Talese obviously had a hell of a time getting Frank to sit down and be open with him. But it didn't stop Talese from writing a close study of the singer. He simply relied on other instincts -- other signs and observations -- in order to give us a rather personal and touching glimpse of Sinatra.

Today, "Frank Sinatra Has A Cold," which first ran in Esquire Magazine in 1966, is considered the paragon of profiles. For any young writer, this story is required reading. It's a classic, for sure.

For Monday (February 7), I want you to read the piece (just click on the above link). Then, I want you to answer the five questions on page 155 of Harbrace under "What Makes It a Profile?"

Finally, I want you to watch this interview with Gay Talese about the art of writing a profile (he talks a lot about this story, in particular). Write a reflection on the interview in at least 300 words.

DUE: Before class Monday, February 7, 2011

Assignment Two: Investigative Reporting

Purpose

Identify a local person, problem, or issue that interests you and merits your investigation. Write to a specific audience, one who can appreciate, act upon, or respond to your investigation. In addition to a specific audience, write with a specific purpose in mind (what it is you want your audience to do or think).

In this assignment, an exercise in community engagement, you’ll learn about your surroundings by exploring, listening to, absorbing, and questioning what others say and do; conducting limited research; and, most importantly, interviewing. You may choose one of two options to fulfill this assignment (see chapters 5-8 in the HGW, concise edition):

1.     Profile – Interview a local professional and spend some time with her or him (a significant portion of a work day) in the workplace. If you choose this option, you should be tactful, generous, and humble as you approach someone to request their time and energy—and as you observe them closely and pick their brain.

2.     Report – Select a nearby location, institution, or campus issue to investigate. You may be attracted by some glaring or not-so-obvious problem (exigence). Or you may be simply curious about it. Learn what you can about both the “historical” background of your topic and its “contemporary” life today.

Invention

Keep in mind as you brainstorm/draft:

Ø  Choose a specific person, problem, or issue to investigate. Be specific.

Ø  Bring together a variety of observations, research findings, and judgments in order to stimulate your investigation.

Ø  Synthesize the most appropriate of them in order to reach your reasoned/logical conclusion or solution.

Ø  Think about how your investigation might be informative, entertaining, or persuasive for a specific audience.

Expectations

A successful investigative report will:

1.     Introduce why the subject merits investigation;

2.     Approach the subject from various perspectives, with the use of concrete examples, evidence (including anecdotes), and direct quotations to develop your purpose;

3.     Tell a compelling story about your subject by expertly incorporating source materials into your narrative

Length: 4-5 pages (double-spaced)

Rough Draft Due: February 16, 2011

Final Assignment Portfolio Due: February 21, 2011

Resources: “Checking Over a Profile” on page 161; “Checking Over an Investigative Report” on page 198 of the Harbrace Guide to Writing.

Journal Four: #1 Party School

In 2009, the Princeton Review named Penn State the #1 Party School in America. In honor of this new title -- and out of a certain curiosity -- journalists from This American Life came to investigate the scene. Their findings culminated in an hour long broadcast entitled "#1 Party School."

Click on the link above and listen to the report. Then, in at least 500 words, I want you to analyze the piece using the five questions listed on page 193 of Harbrace, under "What Makes It An Investigative Report." Aside from these five questions, I'd also like to get your take on the piece. Did you like it? Why? Why not? What worked for you? What didn't? What would have liked to hear more of/less of in the story? Post your response on your blog.


DUE: Before class Wednesday, February 2, 2011

EXTRA CREDIT

For extra credit this semester, you can attend specific events noted on this blog. You must then write a 500-word reflection or critical review of the event on your blog. Here are some events to consider:

HOWL @ The State Theater
Click the link for show times and information, including a trailer of the film. For this event, you must furnish your ticket stub as proof of your attendance.


MFA READING SERIES
Friday, January 28th at 7:30 PM
At the University Club

February 18th at 7
At the University Club

March 18 at 9
At the University Club

April 22 at 7
At the University Club

This reading series is free. For those interested in taking creative writing classes, it's a great way to see what sort of work we do in the MFA writing program. It's also a great chance to meet folks who teach a lot of the undergraduate writing classes. The work being read is a mix of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction writen by MFA students who are in their final semester.

I'll list more events as they come up. If you find something you'd like to write about that doesn't appear here, just email me and I'll happily consider your request.

Assignment One: Personal Narrative

Purpose

Recall, retell, and analyze a significant experience in your life. Carefully choose a sequence of events that 1) supports a specific thesis and 2) helps you fulfill your rhetorical purpose regarding a specific audience.

Invention

Keep in mind as you brainstorm/draft:

Ø  Scope: You cannot explain your entire high school experience or history as a baseball player in one brief essay. Choose one particular memory as a starting point.

Ø  You will want to be especially strategic in deciding which features of the experience (which details, characters, settings, and dialogue) you want to emphasize and which ones you should ignore if you are to achieve your desired purpose. 

Ø  You may want to conduct some naturalistic research (e.g., interviewing a friend or family member about a specific memory, observing a particular environment, etc.). This research will allow you to understand a moment from someone else’s perspective or look more closely at a space or behavior.

Ø  You should have a purpose in mind as you write your own memoir: to argue a point, to create a mood (maybe entertain), to instruct, inform, explain, or to provide cultural or philosophical commentary, blame, praise, and so forth.

Ø  Your memoir should be tailored for a specific audience—think about who could learn something from your experience.

Expectations

A successful personal narrative will:

1.     Focus on a significant experience;

2.     Use ample sensory details;

3.     Include dialogue that reveals information about your characters;

4.     Employ transitions that will help your reader follow your narrative and/or logic;

5.     Showcase a personal narrative voice (e.g., use a variety of sentence patterns and lengths, don’t sound like you come from the bureau of statistics, and so on); and

6.     Provide reflection and analysis in order to help your audience understand the significance of the experience.

Length: 3-4 pages (double-spaced)

Rough Draft Due: January 26, 2011

Final Assignment Portfolio Due: January 31, 2011

Resources: “Checking over a Memoir” on page 124 of The Harbrace Guide to Writing.

Journal Three: Drafting

For your third journal assignment, I want you to read a chapter from Anne Lamott's book, Bird By Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, entitled, ehem, "Shitty First Drafts."

After the reading, you'll notice that there are three questions. You can use any of these questions to guide your reflection on Lamott's piece. But, most importantly, I want you to think about what Lamott says regarding the importance of the "shitty first draft" as it relates to your personal writing process. What could you relate to in the reading? What did the reading illuminate for you? What part of Lamott's observation may hep you in approaching the rough draft for your memoir? How might you approach this process differently from how you have dealt with drafts before?

Please write your reflection on the reading as it relates to your own writing in at least 500 words and post your response on your blog before class on Monday.

"The Almighty Essay"

Again, here is the link to Trip Gabriel's NYTimes article, "The Almighty Essay." Print it out, read it, and bring it to class with you on Wednesday. We'll not only discuss what Gabriel has to say about the difficulty of constructing personal narratives, but how he constructs his own personal narrative, too.

See you all then.

Journal Two: Memoir

Read one of the following personal essays and then, in 400-500 words, break down for us those elements of memoir that are being employed by the writer and which you learned about in your Harbrace reading. Tell us what the subject of the story is, why this particular story is timely or relevant, who is the intended audience, what is the point of the story, and what rhetorical devices are used that you found particularly strong and are ones you might like to incorporate into your own writing? Also, consider how the use of pathos is at play in the piece. Here are your choices:

- Giffels, David. "Shirt-Worthy," The New York Times Magazine. October 28, 2007.

- Lamott, Anne. "What She Gave," Salon.com. May 8, 2005.

- Sheff, David. "My Addicted Son," The New York Times Magazine. February 6, 2005. Note: this one is a bit longer, but it is so worth the read. Very emotional. Very riveting. Probably my personal favorite of the bunch. Keep a box of kleenex nearby.

- Grollmus, Denise. "Tour of Duty," Scene Magazine, February 23, 2005. Ok, so, I figured, you all have to pour your guts out to me, so it's only fair that I suffer a bit of personal narrative humiliation, too, right? I also want this to be a lesson to you all to take risks when picking a topic for your memoirs. Don't hold back. Be honest. And pick something that is truly close to you. 

Journal One

Think about your past experiences as a writer and rhetor. What are two of your strengths as a writer and rhetor? What are two of your writing weaknesses? Specifically, how would you like to improve as a writer? What could you do or learn to make such improvements? How do you anticipate that this particular course will help you improve as a writer and rhetor?

Answer these questions in 500 words or more. Also, include examples, via at least two hyperlinks, of writing or rhetorical situations that inspire you to be a better writer. It could be song lyrics, a scene from a television show, your favorite book, or a recent article you read. For example, I love readingThe Onion. For me, satire is one of my favorite things to read -- but it's not always the easiest thing for me to write. How about you?