“The man who has forgotten to be thankful has fallen asleep in life.”
–Robert Louis Stevenson
It is week seven. Today you have due the finals of the narrative, and time to work on the final drafts of the short research piece submitted last week, the rough drafts of which I will return today. We have just five weeks to completion of the quarter. Thus far you have been assigned a total of 3 essays, including rough drafts and the final drafts; these include the summary/response (1), the autobiographical narrative (2), and the short research essay with an image focus (#3).
The field report (4) is coming due soon, as will be a short research project (5), and lastly, the in-class final (6). The in-class final is to be done in class week 10 or 11, not at home. The field reports are described below (reposted from last week's page) and due week 9.
In fact, there are several museums in the downtown area, including The Old Ft. Lauderdale
Historical Museum and another devoted to science and discovery.
Essay 5 : Short research report with MLA Works Cited list: in 600 words or more report on a topic or issue with contemporary relevance about which you can find timely, authoritative primary and secondary source material, as in recently published news, scientific reports or articles, reviews, books, films or photos, etcetera. Title the piece and double-space the lines. Include in-text references to source material and a Works Cited list arranged in alphabetical order.
Your thesis should be clear early in the paper and provide you a means of knowing what material to include and what not. Ask yourself : Does this source or material contribute to "proving" or elaborating my point? If so, include it; if not, don't. Know your purpose and the direction you want to take readers by final draft. Initial stages may feel like so much groping in the dark and that's fine, but by the end you should have learned where you want to go and what you want to say in certain terms.
Due week 10.
Research Topics (only suggested)
The field report (4) is coming due soon, as will be a short research project (5), and lastly, the in-class final (6). The in-class final is to be done in class week 10 or 11, not at home. The field reports are described below (reposted from last week's page) and due week 9.
Essay 4 (due week 9, 500 words): An EyeWitness/Field Report: You must attend in person a local event, community function, business enterprise, entertainment venue, museum, restaurant or hotel establishment, nature preserve or park, area of historical interest, etcetera– in order to gather information from direct experience. You cannot rely on the reports of others or the site's own published information alone. The writing of the piece requires you bring to readers the vicarious experience of being there in person. themselves; that is, by engaging readers in your own experience on the ground. Background research may help fill out and provide context for the report of course, and you are encouraged to find out as much as you can in the way of origins or history of the establishment, event or area for possible inclusion in the report.
Reviews and descriptions of cultural fare–of nature parks, historical attractions, art exhibits and fairs, live music shows, restaurants, bars, and clubs old and new, sporting events, lectures, book signings and discussions, community classes and workshops –serve to inform people of what's going on about town and provide them incentive to get out and experience some of what the area has to offer. In this assignment you must report on a local place or local event from an eye-witness perspective–you must go there, experience whatever is on offer, and write about it in such a way that readers feel they have gotten to see and know the place through your first-hand experience of it.
The particular focus and perspective you bring to your subject, your knowledge and ideas and observations of it, and the degree of interest and engagement with the subject you show–these are central to the essay’s success. Whether you are visiting a park, a beach, a museum, theater, restaurant, yoga studio, even a cemetery (we have a delightful one nearby that is a birder's mecca), etcetera–descriptions of the scene or environs, the activity, the individual artworks, performances, ambiance, food, service, etcetera will bring the piece to life and convey a you-are-there sensation to readers. Your readers will be relying on your knowledge, powers of observation and storytelling abilities. Your informed judgment, taste, and opinions will be an important element. approach you create, the thesis idea controlling and unifying the work, will make for certain selections and emphases that reflect you the observer, your history, interests, tastes, etc.
The eye-witness report is a species of primary research. You may find you want background reading on whatever aspects of your subject require context, to fully develop your thesis or main ideas. To repeat, this essay will require you actually go somewhere in person and record material facts and observations before putting the piece together. Your thesis tells you what to include, to emphasize, and what to ignore. The essay should run a minimum of 5oo-6oo words, including introductory, body, and closing paragraphs, and title.
Remember the who, what, where, when, why roster of specifics.
Read the following article about a favorite getaway destination of Swedes and as you do notice how the author includes specifics of place, his personal journey, and the cultural context of Gotland. This is the form you want to model, however near and familiar your focus destination. You will be a personal guide to your readers, revealing a place in all its particular appeal:
This assignment provides you opportunity to travel locally and write about the experience. In fact, the road trip form has a particular free and spontaneous quality to it that you may want to try or incorporate in part. Look here at how the author begins his report/profile of Lynda Barry, a well-know cartoonist and storyteller, who teaches workshops targeted to non-writers or those who have almost given up: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/30/magazine/cartoonist-lynda-barry-will-make-you-believe-in-yourself.html
Field reporting often involves character sketches and narrative work. The story element must be made stimulating for readers to feel transported. The story involves you and the featured subject of your work.
Remember: this is not to be a story about a trip or place visited some time in your past. It is to be undertaken as an investigation of sorts with the writing in mind. Take notes! Your writing must be authenticated by particular observations drawn from the field. Local subjects only: Monroe, Collier, Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach county.
If you visit an exhibit, include the museum or site name, location, and featured artist(s), including the exhibit’s run dates in your report. Focus would necessarily be on some theme observed in one or more works or overall. You would identify representative works (by title) and present a verbal description–medium, size, subject, form, and color–so that readers can "see" the work and understand the conclusions you draw from it.
If you visit a natural area, try to tie the visit in to some current news (a news "hook") or ongoing area of interest (natural history/studies, ecology, environmental justice, marine life, art) to create audience appeal, to lend purpose and weight to the piece.
If you like to eat and drink, explore. Food culture is of great interest to many these days and offers many choices for primary research or "eye-witness" reports–green markets, restaurants, bars, etcetera.
If you visit a natural area, try to tie the visit in to some current news (a news "hook") or ongoing area of interest (natural history/studies, ecology, environmental justice, marine life, art) to create audience appeal, to lend purpose and weight to the piece.
If you like to eat and drink, explore. Food culture is of great interest to many these days and offers many choices for primary research or "eye-witness" reports–green markets, restaurants, bars, etcetera.
If you go to a museum the primary focus would be to see the various exhibits and selectively cover what you find most interesting. The URL of the NSU Museum of Art on Las Olas: http://nsuartmuseum.org
In fact, there are several museums in the downtown area, including The Old Ft. Lauderdale
Historical Museum and another devoted to science and discovery.
The field report (#4), 500-700 words, will be due week 9. Those of you still to present an essay reading may do so then.
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Essay 5 : Short research report with MLA Works Cited list: in 600 words or more report on a topic or issue with contemporary relevance about which you can find timely, authoritative primary and secondary source material, as in recently published news, scientific reports or articles, reviews, books, films or photos, etcetera. Title the piece and double-space the lines. Include in-text references to source material and a Works Cited list arranged in alphabetical order.
Your thesis should be clear early in the paper and provide you a means of knowing what material to include and what not. Ask yourself : Does this source or material contribute to "proving" or elaborating my point? If so, include it; if not, don't. Know your purpose and the direction you want to take readers by final draft. Initial stages may feel like so much groping in the dark and that's fine, but by the end you should have learned where you want to go and what you want to say in certain terms.
Due week 10.
Research Topics (only suggested)
1. Environment, nature, conservation issues (think climate change, habitat loss, pollution, species "news", green trends).
2. Technology. New Products. Trends. An individual, corporation, or industry to watch, making a difference, positive or negative, perhaps something like Tesla, started by Elon Musk.
3. The economy/ best ways to stretch a dollar, money management.
4. Diet, nutrition, health.
5.. Great food ideas/new trends in culinary arts and/ or agricultural practice/ legal marijuana, etcetera.
6. New media–new opportunities/new challenges: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.
7. Culture review: fashion, film, art, celebrity life, sports, politics.
8. Gender politics, reproductive rights, marriage and family today– whatever the issue.
Popular News and Editorial Sites: You are certainly not limited to the following sources, but they should provide ample means to do the work assigned.
npr.org
slate.com
huffingtonpost.com
truthdig.com
salon.com
theguardian.com
bloomberg.com
democracynow.org
nasa.gov
nytimes.com
I will look at whatever work you have in progress, time permitting.
npr.org
slate.com
huffingtonpost.com
truthdig.com
salon.com
theguardian.com
bloomberg.com
democracynow.org
nasa.gov
nytimes.com
I will look at whatever work you have in progress, time permitting.
Again, week 10 or 11 a final essay of 450-500 words will assess key composition skills, including grammatical sentences, unified and well-developed paragraphs, support for your thesis, and sound use of references and direct quotation, if called for. You will have a set of topics to choose from and perhaps a required reading. The Internet may thus be a source of content. This final must be done in class.
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