Essay Assignment PacketD.R. RansdellEnglish 102

Tips for Academic PapersThe Writing Process

WorkshoppingGrammar Highlights

Grading Standards (Rubric)Essay 1Essay 2Essay 3

Portfolio Reflection

TIPS FOR ACADEMIC PAPERS

1) Create a unique, interesting thesis. The thesis is the purpose of your paper—the main thing you want to prove. A strong thesis should be innovative (fresh) and manageable (you don’t need to write a book, just an essay).

2) Organize your essay in standard academic fashion (meaningful title, introduction with thesis/forecast, topic sentences followed by PIE paragraphs, conclusion).

3) Provide a road map of your essay by stating your thesis (main point) and forecasting important sections of your essay.

Common organizations for the intro:

HookBriefly explain the general topicIf applicable, name text & authorThesis (what you want to prove)Forecast (specific points that will help you prove it)

4) The key to writing a successful paper lies in the depth of your analysis. Discuss specifics and wrestle with them. Dig down under the surface and analyze details. Most body paragraphs (pars. aside from the intro and conclusion) should have PIE: point or topic sentence that states the main idea of your paragraph and shows a direct tie to the thesis or previous paragraph), illustration (an example or bit of proof), and explanation

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(your reasoning or analysis). In general, you should use one sentence to state your point, one or two to describe your proof, and several to explain how the proof proves your point. A basic body paragraph might look like this:

10% = point or topic sentence20% = illustration (proof) or example70% = explanation or analysis

Most of each body paragraph should be your analysis, not a quote from the text or research material.

5) Write in sets of paragraphs. Paragraphs don’t cost anything, so instead of stuffing all your ideas inside just one, spread out your points and give attention to each. Offer your information in small bits and connect the points. In high school you may have learned how to write a five-paragraph essay. That’s a good foundation, but now it’s time to let your imagination and creativity broaden your scope.

6) Your conclusion should balance the intro by summarizing your main points. It should also be a similar length. The conclusion is the one place where you have room to break form by adding extra information or sneaking in information that didn’t fit anywhere else. Try to leave your reader with a lasting impression that’s a natural progression from your writing.

7) When writing about a text, use the present tense: “Dewey explains that……”

8) Save drafts of your essay in different files and back them up to avoid losing them. When you submit your essay, include drafts, especially any I commented on.

9) Word process your drafts and final versions. Double-space your essays using one-inch margins and a twelve-point font. You must submit a hard copy of your essay in order to receive a grade for it. You must also upload your essay to d2l.

10) Create a title that makes us curious about your essay, not “Essay 1” or “Family” or the name of the text you’re analyzing. Use MLA format: capitalize words other than articles or prepositions or conjunctions unless they’re the first or last words. For example: Procrastination Is the Best Tool of All.

11) To avoid losing credit, compose your essay in Academic English. (That means: use standard punctuation and grammar.) Editing is quite hard work, but it is very important. All writers need to go through this process, me included. If you turn in work with lots of small mistakes, you risk irritating your readers and losing credibility. If you’re concerned about your editing skills, stop by my office hours with a sample text or essay draft that we can review together. Take the time to edit carefully, paying special attention to the items we reviewed in class.

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12) Write first, edit last. Even though grammar and punctuation are important, save yourself time by focusing on content first rather than editing material you throw out later anyway. After you are satisfied with the content of your essay, edit your essay for grammar and style.

13) Be your own best editor. To edit successfully, first spend ample time trying to find easy mistakes yourself. Use your grammar text to help with punctuation and other rules. Then get some outside help. If English isn’t your first language, try to find a native speaker who can help you. Even if English IS your first language, try to find someone who is “good” at English to help with small details.

14) Make sure your essay corresponds to the assignment and satisfies its requirements. (A research paper must include research, for example.) Otherwise your paper won’t earn a passing grade.

15) Formatting: On your first page, include at the top: your name, my name, course number, type of essay, date. Number the subsequent pages. (You don’t need a title page.)

16) If you get stuck when you’re trying to write the introduction, write a different part of your essay first. Often writers don’t discover what they’re trying to say until they reach the conclusion and start working backwards.

17) A note on style: omit unnecessary information such as “I think” or “I liked this text.” Of course it’s what you think: It’s your essay! Of course you liked this text. Otherwise you would have chosen something else to write about!

18) For papers that include research, include a Works Cited page that follows MLA style. (If your major field of study uses APA, feel free to use that style instead, but use it consistently and correctly throughout your document.) You can get all the information you need from Writer’s Help (as accessed through d2l). You can also find information easily through: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/. (To double check your work, you might want to try Citation Machine.)

19) You must do your own original writing for every assignment in this class. Your peers and I will offer advice, but the ideas and writing must be your own. Often you will need to quote another’s work; be sure to give credit where it is due. Put quotation marks around borrowed words and give the citation in parenthesis: “Parrots don’t usually turn into human beings” (Barnes 45). Note that in most cases, your quotations shouldn’t be more than one sentence long. At other times you will want to paraphrase an author’s work. That’s fine too; simply put the reference in parenthesis: (Barnes 45).

20) Using sources means integrating them into your text, not cutting and pasting long blocks of text. Block quotes (three lines or longer) are generally effective. Avoid them.

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21) Note that doing minimal amount of work usually earns a minimal grade. If you’ve barely made the minimum word count, for example, it’s unlikely that your essay will be strong enough to earn a stellar grade.

22) Make full use of workshopping sessions. Your peers will often have excellent suggestions. If your drafts don’t show changes, you won’t get credit for workshopping them.

23) Be aware of possible additional resources. The Writing Center offers 15-minute sessions. To make the most of your time, be prepared by bringing along the assignment and your laptop or tablet. (It’s too difficult for the tutors to read your essay from a cell phone.) The WSIP, The Writing Skills Improvement Program, offers free, hour-long tutoring sessions with professional tutors. To improve your writing as much as possible, sign up for these helpful weekly sessions.

24) To get full credit, you must submit your entire essay packet on time. You will need to turn in, in this order:

Final Draft (with Works Cited page if applicable)A list of peers’ comments (worth five points)Drafts 1A, 1B (5 points each) clearly labeled with peers’ names OR my conference draftDrafts 2A, 2B (5 points each) clearly labeled with peers’ names(Drafts 3A, 3B if applicable)Any drafts I commented on

You will also need to upload your final essay to d2l by midnight on the day it’s due. (doc, docx, rtf only)

*Your essay is not submitted until I receive both versions.

In very rare cases and as a worse-case scenario, it is possible that your essay may be accepted in only one format; however, you will lose a letter grade.

THE WRITING PROCESS

Drafting: If you’ve read hundreds of books and penned thousands of words, you might be able to produce an A/B paper in a couple of drafts. If you’re not an avid reader and haven’t spent much time writing, you should plan on creating multiple drafts per essay and investing a lot of time to achieve a passing grade in this class.

Most writers do their best revising by concentrating on one area of writing per draft. One plan might be:

Draft 1: Just get it out.Draft 2: Coordinate your thesis with your topic sentences.

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Draft 3: Develop the analysis (add more examples and explanation).Draft 4: Edit for grammar and style.

Note: The reason to do multiple drafts is that you can’t hope to improve any one draft by a thousand percent. Instead you need to improve on it a few steps at a time. Each workshopping session should help you get to the next level.

Don’t forget to edit your final draft. Note the famous words of Peter Elbow: “Not editing is like leaving your dirty socks around for someone else to find.” (Writing with Power, p. 234)

WORKSHOPPING: THE WRITER

For a couple of class periods before each essay is due, we’ll devote our time to workshopping. The point of workshopping is for you to gather enough information to go on to the next draft. Workshopping is an excellent way to find out how your writing is working and to learn about yourself as a writer. It might be frustrating to realize that your draft still needs work, but if you can make use of opportunities for revision, chances are that your writing will be more effective and earn you higher grades.

Your classmates will work hard to offer their best advice, but that’s not to say that they will always be right! Sometimes you need to reject advice rather than embrace it. The point is that by thinking carefully about the decisions you make in your writing, you’ll develop a better sense of what your writing is doing and what it still needs to do. Here’s the beauty of being the writer--you make the final decisions.

For each essay, you’ll have the opportunity to get feedback from your classmates. (When possible, we’ll take time for brainstorming as well.) Make the most of workshopping by preparing your best possible draft. Think about the information you need from your peers and ask them specific questions. Press them for an honest opinion about your work. If they gloss over your material and tell you it’s “really good” or “it really flows,” realize that they might not have spent enough time on your draft to give you a solid reading.

Note that for our first workshopping session, you are responsible for 1) providing your draft, 2) responding to classmates’ drafts with thoughtful, genuine comments, (not “good job, keep working”), 3) submitting a review of what you learned via workshopping.

For our second workshopping session, you are responsible for 1) providing a NEW AND IMPROVED draft, 2) responding to classmates’ drafts with thoughtful, genuine comments, 3) submitting a review of what you learned via workshopping.

Use the information you gather from one class period to bring a stronger draft to the next one. Recycled drafts will not earn credit.

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WORKSHOPPING: THE READER

Giving your classmates feedback will help them think about their essays, help you become a more perceptive reader, and give you strategies for working through your own essays. There are two basic types of comments: suggestions or directives. Use suggestions when you’re not sure what’s wrong but want to offer possibilities: You might…. You could…. Use directives when you feel more confident about what the essay needs: Add a thesis. Find more proof.

You might also think of yourself as wearing different hats: coach, critic, and reader. As a coach, encourage your classmates by pointing out successful aspects of their essays. As a critic, gently point out areas they might want to reconsider and why. As a reader, which is your most important role, comment on their drafts as a piece of communication. Your classmates are sharing something important. Respond in kind.

Write comments about your classmates’ content on the margins of their drafts—at least one comment per paragraph—and a short summary of your advice at the end. Make “facilitative” comments to help the writers consider new lines of thought: What about...? Write “directive” comments when you feel confident that you know what’s wrong: Add more analysis.

If it’s handy, remember the acronym SAR: Suggest (make a few suggestions for improvements), Admire (point out successful areas that should not be changed), Respond (as a reader to something interesting about the content).

For all drafts:

* Respond to aspects you find particularly interesting. (I like this because....)* Praise parts that seem especially effective (writers assume that everything is effective!)* Warn writers about serious flaws (if you can’t find the thesis, say so)* Give your overall impression about what the writer should do to create the next draft

Considerations for Day 1:

1) Does the essay start with an interesting title? If not, what would you suggest?1) Does the intro state the text/author and/or topic? If not, what’s missing?2) Is there a clear thesis and forecast? If not, how would you change it?3) Does each body paragraph support the thesis? If not, what needs to change—the thesis, or the paragraph?4) Does each paragraph have PIE? (point, illustration, explanation) If not, what’s missing?5) Does the essay correspond to the assignment?6) What points might be added to the next draft?Note: Although Standard Written English is our goal, today is not the day to address it; editing is a final step.

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Considerations for Day 2:

1) Does the author include an engaging hook? If not, what might you suggest?2) Is the intro complete? (hook, topic, thesis, forecast) If not, what needs to be added?3) Does the forecast give specific hints about important aspects of the essay? If not, what’s missing?4) Does each TS (topic sentence) have a clear tie to the thesis or preceding paragraph? If not, what needs to change?5) Do the paragraphs consist mostly of explanation? (PIE) (The E should be over half of the paragraph.) If not, which paragraphs need more content?6) What extra proof would be helpful? Where might the writer find such proof?7) Consider the essay’s organization. Which points are the strongest? What might be an alternate organization?8) Does the conclusion provide closure for all the main points? If not, what needs to be added?9) What editing suggestions do you have? What should the writer concentrate on the most when proofreading?

Considerations for Day 3 and/or Additional Drafting

1) Is the title clever and engaging? If not, what other titles would you suggest? Note that a play on words is often useful.2) Is the intro complete and balanced? If not, what might change?3) Does the essay cover everything thoroughly? If not, where might the writer add more analysis?4) Do the intro and conclusion balance one another? (They should reflect one another without being worded exactly the same way, and they should be a similar length.) If not, what needs to shift?5) Is the conclusion satisfying or does it present points that needed to be mentioned earlier? How could the writer leave readers with more food for thought?6) What suggestions do you have in terms of style? Which phrases were repetitious or unnecessary?

For your end comment:

* Give your overall impression of the essay’s strengths and weaknesses.* Point out especially noticeable problems. (“Your conclusion doesn’t match your thesis.”)* Encourage your classmates by including positive comments.* Respond as a reader--share some of your own views about the topic.

NOTE: If your responses on your classmates’ drafts are incomplete, you may lose points.

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D.R.’s Grammar Highlights

If you use nonstandard punctuation or grammar, your readers may have to reread your sentence in order to understand it. That confuses them and makes them lose time. If this happens often, they’ll start to disagree with your opinions automatically! Instead, observe some simple rules to make your writing more effective to academic readers.

1) Add a comma after a long introductory phrase: Even though it was long after midnight, I wrote three more drafts of my English essay. This comma helps your readers find the subject of your sentence.

2) Add a comma after a conjunction ONLY when the phrase that follows is an independent clause (a complete sentence). I thought I had enough time to write my essay, but I had to work until dawn to finish my work. (Note the difference: I thought I had enough time to write my essay but had to work until dawn to finish my work. No subject= no comma.)

3) Use commas around non-restrictive (unnecessary) clauses: My roommate, who never turns off her alarm clock, drives me crazy. The sentence could simply read “My roommate drives me crazy.” (If you have two roommates, the information becomes necessary so that you can explain which roommate is the sleepyhead: My roommate who never turns off her alarm clock drives me crazy. My other roommate never bothers to set one.)

4) Divide sentences with a semi-colon; use a comma after words such as “however.” We went to a terrific party last night; however, the food tasted awful.

5) Avoid run-ons. In other words, don’t run two sentences together your readers will be irritated. See what I mean? Run-ons are frustrating for readers because they assume they have misread and have to go back and reread your sentence only to find out that YOU are the one who made the mistake. Instead write: Don’t run two sentences together. Your readers will be irritated. If you want the sentences to work closely together, you might use a semi-colon instead: Don’t run two sentences together; your readers will be irritated.

6) Avoid fragments unless they are clearly used on purpose. A fragment is a word or phrase masquerading as a sentence but that is incomplete in some way. Bad idea? Once in a while it makes sense to use a fragment stylistically, but you have to be careful that it doesn’t seem like a mistake. For example, “Bad idea” isn’t a full sentence, but it demonstrates my example.

7) Use colons precisely. A colon means one of two things: a list is coming, or an example is coming. If you have an example or a direct quote coming, that example/quote might be a full sentence. Johnny told me a lot of things that night: “I’m not sure why I decided to sign up for college, but now that I did, I’m stuck.”

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8) Capitalize proper names: English, French, Spanish, etc.

9) Use commas with direct address and interrupters:

Sara: Hi, John! How are you?John: Well, how much do you want to know?

10) Some readers argue that “everyone” is singular, but “their” is plural. For formal English assignments, consider changing sentences such as Everyone should bring their syllabus to the plural form: Students should bring their syllabi.

GRADING STANDARDS (RUBRICS)

Guidelines for essay types differ, but in general, when I evaluate your essay, I will consider your focus (thesis), analysis (how well you explain and decipher your points), organization (how the pieces fit together), strength of proof (persuasiveness), ingenuity (novelty of approach), rhetorical awareness (the effectiveness of your essay given its context), style (tone/word choice), and mechanics (grammar and spelling).

More specifically:

A C essay needs to have a title, an introduction, a conclusion, a discernible, debatable thesis, and a coherent structure. The body paragraphs need to have at least minimal discussion and examples. The essay needs to adhere to the assignment, meet the minimum length requirement, and demonstrate an adequate use of mechanics. If applicable, it needs to include research and a Works Cited or References page. If applicable, it needs to include basic visuals.

A B essay needs to have a title that reflects the thesis, an organized introduction that has a balanced length, a logical conclusion, a discernible, interesting, and manageable thesis, a forecasting statement, a purposeful structure that is easy for readers to follow, multiple examples and associated analysis (PIE paragraphs), appropriate tone and style, a fairly accurate use of mechanics, and a mix of sentence structures. It needs to show some creative thought and personal voice. The essay also needs to match the assignment and meet the medium length requirement. If applicable, it needs to include adequate, correctly cited research and a Works Cited or References page. If applicable, it needs to include ample and well-chosen visuals and a pleasing arrangement.

An A essay needs to have an unusual but logical title, a balanced and organized introduction that engages readers in your topic, an innovative thesis that is debatable and manageable, a forecasting statement, a purposeful structure that is crystal clear, in-depth analysis in the form of extended PIE paragraphs, a perfect or near-perfect use of mechanics, a mix of sentence structures, and accurate, college-level vocabulary. It needs to show extensive creative thinking and a unique and vibrant personal voice. Your essay

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also needs to match or stretch beyond the assignment and demonstrate a deliberate and appropriate use of tone and style. If applicable, it needs to include abundant, correctly cited research and a Works Cited or References page. If applicable, it needs to include interesting, personally created visuals that enhance the meaning of the project as well as a well-thought out arrangement of aesthetically chosen elements.

A D essay fails to satisfy one or more expectations for a C essay. An E essay misinterprets the assignment or the depth thereof or is riddled with errors.

A note about grammar: College writing requires the use of Standard Written English. If your essay contains multiple errors per page (commas or minor spelling mistakes), your essay may be marked down one-third of a letter grade. If your essay has several errors per paragraph, your essay may be marked down two-thirds of a letter grade. If your essay is riddled with mistakes in every paragraph of every page, especially mistakes such as run-ons and fragments that affect the readers’ comprehension, your essay may be lowered a complete letter grade. You will need to compose your essays in SWE (Standard Written English) to avoid losing credit in this course.

GRADED PAPERS

If I were to comment on all the things that you did well in your essays, your papers would be covered with ink, and I would be exhausted after reading each one! The nature of commenting, for the most part, is to mark things that aren’t working. Thus, most of the comments I make on your essays are designed to help you revise your work or otherwise strengthen your writing skills. If I think I understand what you’re trying to accomplish in your essay, my comments will mostly be directive: Add an example here; extend this line of thought; develop this paragraph. When I’m not sure of your goals for the essay, my comments will be mostly facilitative, designed to help you re-think key points: What’s your overall goal for this paper? How can you make these points add up? How else might you explain the author’s choices? What are some other aspects of the text that you noticed? I expect that you will receive higher grades as you progress through the semester and that your efforts will culminate in a strong portfolio.

Some abbreviations you might find on your paper:

E1= Essay 1Th? = Where is your thesis? or, How does this tie to your thesis?FC?= What’s your forecast?TS?= What is your topic sentence?PIE?= Where is your point, illustration, and explanation?I?= Is this your illustration? Or, do you have an illustration?E?= Is this your explanation? Or, can you elaborate on your explanation?Squiggly line= a phrase that doesn’t work well or doesn’t make senseCheck marks= strong pointsUnderlining= strong points

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ESSAY ASSIGNMENTS FOR ENGLISH 102/108

D.R. Ransdell

Essay 1: Rhetorical Analysis

Purpose: To perform an in-depth, personal rhetorical analysis of an essay, article, ad, photo, poster, commercial, or movie trailer. (Choose one.) Overview:

There are two parts to this essay.

Part 1:

Considering factors such as ethos, logos, and pathos, word choice, and tone (etc.), analyze the choices the creator(s) made for the original audience. Answer these or related questions: Is the writer persuasive? Admirable? Enviable? Is the text effective? Convincing? Thought provoking? Does it use effective pieces of logic?

Part 2:

Considering your own reaction (based on your experiences, values, knowledge, etc.), analyze the text’s effectiveness on you. Answer these or related questions: How well does the text work on you personally? Why? (Give specifics.) How does the text resonate? Given the chance, how would you rewrite the text to make it even more effective?

Sample Commercials

Doritos Dog Buries Cat Commercial 2012 https://youtu.be/r2EcgNfK3PABest Commercial Ever (Norway) https://youtu.be/x-OqKWXirsUChevy Camaro Miss Evelyn https://youtu.be/yIZbctgp48Y2018 Super Bowl “Tide Ad” Commercial Compilation https://youtu.be/IIW3l-ENHdAOnze helden zijn terug! https://youtu.be/a6W2ZMpsxhgSuper Bowl XLV - Darth Vader in Volkswagen TV Spot https://youtu.be/eGZNocni6zE

Goals and SLOs for this essay:

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Goal 1: Rhetorical Awareness1B. analyze the ways a text’s purposes, audiences, and contexts influence rhetorical options.

Goal 2: Critical Thinking and Composing2B. evaluate the quality, appropriateness, and credibility of sources.

Goal 3: Reflection and Revision3D. identify the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes.3F. reflect on their progress as academic writers.

Goal 4: Conventions 4B. reflect on why genre conventions for structure, paragraphing, tone, and mechanics vary.4C. identify and effectively use variations in genre conventions, including formats and/or design features.4D. demonstrate familiarity with the concepts of intellectual property (such as fair use and copyright) that motivate documentation conventions.

Writer’s Tips:

1. To create your thesis, consider some of the following aspects of your chosen text in depth:

the author’s message and purpose the original audience and contextexpectations—yours and the authorscultural context—this might include nationality, location, time frameemotional appeals—how the author (writer, company, etc.) makes you feel

(the use of pathos)ethical appeals—how you feel about the author (the use of ethos), credibility,

trustworthinesslogical appeals—use of concrete points, organization (the use of logos)the deliberate use of language—syntax, diction, vocabulary, formality, accentthe style and tone—formal, informal, cheerful, sarcastic, humorous, etc.visual aspects—color, balance, angle, framing, contrast, movement, contradictions,

attitude, feeling, time periodsound—music (feeling, volume, tempo), noises, voices (age, attitude), sound effects

(gentle, exciting, surprising, everyday, mysterious)*personal factor—your unique tie to this text (how and why it works/doesn’t work for you)

2. Summarize your text briefly within your intro or as the second paragraph.

3. Your essay needn’t be exhaustive: Instead, choose a few salient factors to analyze in depth. (Don’t try to cover twenty points. Cover five points well.)

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4. Balance your essay between analyzing the text’s effectiveness for its given audience and its effectiveness on you personally. (60-40, 50-50)

5. Show appropriate use of quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing. Cite your source according to MLA or APA.

6. Prepare your essay in the form of an academic essay with an intro, body paragraphs with PIE, and a conclusion.

7. Make use of workshopping sessions to improve your work.

8. Edit your essay carefully in consideration of your reader.

Length: 1250-1750 words (5-7 typed pages). If your essay runs a bit longer, that’s fine. If your essay is way too short, it won’t explain enough to be effective, so it won’t earn a passing grade.

Preparation for Essay 2: Research Presentation

To prepare for this essay, you’ll give a visual/oral presentation on your research (3-5 minutes, create a video or present with a Power Point or similar application) (25 points) and share your most important points on a 1-2 page document that includes citations and perhaps visuals. (15 points)

Essay 2: Researching Motivation, Creativity, and the Learning Self

Purpose: To research an aspect of motivation theory, positive psychology, or closely related issues. Write an essay citing at least five sources to explain your topic; also explain your personal ties to or interest in the topic and explain how the information might pertain or somehow be useful to you and your classmates.

Possible topics (1 classmate per topic):(Note that you can also combine topics or suggest new ones for approval)

Dan Gilbert and The Science of HappinessC.R. Snyder and the Psychology of HopeBruce A. Bracken and the Six Domains of Self-ConceptCarol Dweck and Growth MindsetJames Marcia and Identity Status TheoryRobert Vallerand and the Dualistic Model of PassionMihaly Csikszentmihalyi, flow and creativity

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Christopher Peterson & Martin Seligman, Character Strengths & Virtues, positive psych.Martin Seligman and Well-Being Theory (P.E.R.M.A.)Mitch Albom and inspirational non-fictionBarbara Fredrickson, positivityJohn Neulinger, the theory of leisureBarry Zimmerman and self-regulationRoy F. Baumeister: willpower and self-esteemThe Habits of Mind (curiosity, openness, engagement, creativity, persistence,

responsibility, flexibility, metacognition) http://wpacouncil.org/files/framework-for-success-postsecondary-writing.pdf

Michael J. Gelb, innovation and creativity in thinking skillsWilliam Moulton Marston and personality psychologyJulia Cameron and The Artist’s WayEdward L. Deci and Richard Ryan, self-determination theoryMalcolm Gladwell, Outliers: The Story of Success (the 10,000-Hour Rule)Eric Maisel and creativityDaniel Goleman and Emotional IntelligenceAbraham Maslow and self-actualization theoryAlbert Bandura and self-efficacy theoryDean Keith Simonton, genius and creativitySteven Covey and the habits of successful peopleClaude Steele and Self-Affirmation TheoryZoltán Dörnyei and Michael Magid, self-concept theoryZoltán Dörnyei and directed motivational currents (second-language theory)Walter Isaacson on the nature of genius, creativity, and innovationCarl Rogers and humanistic psychology, theories of the selfTony Robbins and Personal PowerCarl Rogers and person-centered personality theory and personal powerHoward Gardner, The Good Project and The Theory of Multiple IntelligencesMary K. Rothbart, temperament and social developmentEdward Tory Higgins and self-discrepancy theoryWalter Mischel, self-control and the Marshmallow TestRichard Koch and the 80/20 PrincipleDaniel Kahneman, biases of intuition, Thinking Fast and SlowRobert House and path-goal theoryFritz Heider and Attribution Theory—how we make sense of the worldBenjamin Bloom, Nathanial Gage, and Educational PsychologyDifferential psychology—differences in personality, motivation, aptitude, etc.Personality psychology and the Big Five ModelRobert Sternberg--intelligence theory, aptitude research (Triarchic Theory of Intelligence)

Start your research at library.arizona.edu. Also check for Ted Talks and podcasts on YouTube.

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For more options, peruse the Journal of Creative Behavior or related sources; however, additional topics must be approved by the instructor.

Goals and SLOs for this essay:

Goal 1: Rhetorical Awareness1E. respond to a variety of writing contexts calling for purposeful shifts in structure, medium, design, level of formality, tone, and/or voice.

Goal 2: Critical Thinking and Composing2A. employ a variety of research methods, including primary and/or secondary research, for purposes of inquiry.2B. evaluate the quality, appropriateness, and credibility of sources.2D. synthesize research findings in development of an argument.

Goal 3: Reflection and Revision3D. identify the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes.3F. reflect on their progress as academic writers.

Goal 4: Conventions 4C. identify and effectively use variations in genre conventions, including formats and/or design features. 4D. demonstrate familiarity with the concepts of intellectual property (such as fair use and copyright) that motivate documentation conventions.

Writer’s Tips:

1. For your thesis, include a list of the aspects of the topic that you’ll cover and why it is important to you personally. This should come near the end of your introduction. Your final essay should be about half fact-based and half experience-based. In other words, divide your essay between the research and the personal. Each needs to be at least 35%. For YOUR angle, give specific examples or scenarios and a detailed discussion. Use separate PIE paragraphs to help your reader understand your overall plan.

2. This is a research paper. You have to include research. As a minimum, you must use at least five sources. (For every missing source, you will lose a letter grade.) However, you can also be creative in your approach. For example, depending on your topic, you might want to conduct an interview or write a survey to give to fellow students. Note that dictionary definitions are not sophisticated enough to count as research, although do feel free to use them in addition to your sources.

2. Correctly cite material inside your essay and create a Works Cited page according to MLA (or APA). Otherwise your essay will be marked down a letter grade.

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3. For the most part, opt to paraphrase material rather than using direct quotes. In other words, put the material in your own words and sentences. Long block quotes (longer than three lines) may weaken your essay in several ways: 1) They take away from your own writing voice 2) Readers may get bored and skip them 3) Readers may assume you didn’t care enough about your essay to integrate your points smoothly.

4. When a short direct quote is appropriate, be careful to use quotation marks around borrowed material and to acknowledge the author. Also credit paraphrased material unless it is common knowledge (easily found in multiple sources).

5. Prepare your work in the form of an academic essay with an intro, body paragraphs with PIE, and a conclusion.

6. Make use of workshopping sessions to improve your work.

7. Edit your essay carefully in consideration of your readers.

Length: 1750-2500 words (6-9 typed pages). It’s fine if your paper runs a bit longer.

Essay 3: Arguing Motivation

Purpose: Use some of your and/or your classmates’ research from Unit 2 to analyze and argue about an aspect of positive psychology. Prepare your findings in the form of a persuasive dialogue. Then write an explanation as to why you chose your approach and interlocutor.

Goals and SLOs for this essay:

Goal 2: Critical Thinking and Composing2D. synthesize research findings in development of an argument.2F. compose persuasive researched arguments for various audiences and purposes, and in multiple modalities.

Goal 3: Reflection and Revision3D. identify the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes.3F. reflect on their progress as academic writers.

Possible Approaches

1) Convince a family member (friend, etc.) that your way of viewing the subject is correct, useful, important, etc. For example, convince your brother that “flow” is an important concept he should pay more attention to.

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2) Have an in-depth discussion with a researcher. Let the researcher convince you that his/her way of thinking is correct. Or, convince the researcher that he/she is wrong and should consider your position.

3) Consider character flaws in one (or more) of your favorite fictional characters from literature, film, or TV. Convince your characters that they should incorporate aspects of positive psychology into their lives. (How, why, etc.)

Writer’s Tips:

1. Write your dialogue in a form that makes it easy to read and include the setting to get us started:

Setting: John and Sally, who are cousins, discuss Richard V at a coffee shop after the performance.

John: Sally, what do you think went wrong with Richard?

Sally: He demonstrates a classic case of a complete lack of Emotional Intelligence.

John: What do you mean by that?

Sally: Don’t you remember about the book by David Goleman? We read about it in English class.

John: Remind me of some of the important points.

Sally: Well, to start off with, it’s important to remember that emotional intelligence is more important than a high I.Q.

John: Are you crazy? You have no idea what you’re talking about.

ETC.!Note the comma with direct address: Sally COMMANote that English is capitalized.Note the comma after Well.

2. Fold the most important aspects of your and/or your classmates’ research into the dialogue (or even the reflection). Not all pieces of information are equally effective, but to be considered for an A, you’ll probably need to use at least nine different pieces of research (not necessarily nine different sources), for a B, at least seven, for a C, at least five.

3. Credit your sources by working the reference into the dialogue: “When I read about motivation in Dell Smith’s article in Psychology Today, I learned that…..”

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4. For the reflection, explain something about your choices of research or special knowledge that recalls your experiences. Explain why you chose the interlocutors and what you gained by choosing those specific ones. Discuss the choices you made in tone—that might include language, pacing, syntax, etc. In short, draw on the rhetorical strategies you’ve been studying all semester.

5. Make use of workshopping sessions to improve your work.

6. Edit your essay carefully in consideration of your readers.

7. Include a correctly formatted Works Cited (MLA) or References (APA) page that lists the sources you used in the paper.

Length: 1500-2250 words (6-8 typed pages). It’s fine if your paper runs a little longer.Divide your information this way: 4-5 pages of dialogue, 2-4 pages of explanation.

Essay 4: Portfolio Reflection

Purpose: Detail your most important gains from this class this semester and show off some of your writing skills, your writing voice, and your creativity. The portfolio is a collection, a reflection, and the story of your learning.

Because it’s a long project, we’ll be creating pieces as we go along. For multi-modal practice, you’ll submit your reflection via a website. Where appropriate, use vivid but appropriate language, humor, and visuals.

Note: Although some of the texts are not essays per se, you still need to organize your information using paragraphs and other cues such as standard punctuation to help your readers.

You will also want to edit your essay carefully in consideration of your readers.

You need to complete the following steps:

Step 1: Create a visually pleasing website through Adobe Sparks or a similar tool with workable links. (Feel free to build on your website from 101/107, but make sure your new work is easy to find.)Step 2: On the website, include the title and 5-10 visuals that help reflect your work.Step 3: Include your Intro, Unit Reflections (all 3), Writing Pro, and Conclusion.Step 4: In the comments for the d2l assignments tab, share a link to your website that is open to email.arizona.edu.Step 5: As an emergency backup, upload your writing in a single Word file or pdf to d2l.

*Note that you must complete all steps to receive a grade.

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*Note too that in addition to the grading standards for Essays 1, 2, and 3, the portfolio will also be graded according to its presentation (aesthetics), effectiveness (how easy it is to find your materials), and deliberate visuals (colors and accompanying images). (If your links don’t work, you will lose credit.)

Portfolios received after noon on the due date will lose credit; submit your work on time.

Sample reflection: https://spark.adobe.com/page/g44RjOzRDAdYe/

Title [something unique to your experience, with a touch of humor if applicable]

Introduction [to be written the next-to-last week of class, 1000-1500 words]

Choose one of the following prompts to introduce us to your portfolio reflection:

What did you learn about writing this year?

OR: Now that you have completed the composition sequence, what are some of your reflections on college writing?

OR: What did you learn about yourself through your and your classmates’ writing this semester?

OR: An appropriate variation or combination.

Note: You might want to make specific references your work: As I wrote about in “Valor at the Drive-In,” . . .

Note that just as with any other piece of writing, your material needs to be organized. Hence, make sure to write in paragraphs so that readers can follow you more easily.

Unit 1 Reflection

For each category, address at least two questions. Concentrate on the items that are the most pertinent or illuminating. (500-1000 words) (Note that in general, more writing = more thinking = higher grades.)

a/ Goals

What did you learn about the rhetorical situation through this unit? (the way authors deliberately use strategies to affect readers)In what ways did this unit help you practice critical thinking?What did you learn about voice or style? (Use specific examples.)In what ways did our readings help you prepare for writing your essay?

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What are some useful terms you learned during this unit? (Define them in your own words.)b/ Preparation

What interesting discoveries did you make during this unit?What did you learn through homework assignments?What insights did you gain through in-class writing exercises?What are you still curious about?(If applicable) Who helped you with this unit outside of class and how? (i.e., discussing with a roommate, visiting the Writing Center, etc.)(If applicable) What research did you perform for this unit? What did you find especially interesting?(If applicable) What activities did you do outside of class to prepare for this unit? How did they help you?

c/ Drafting

How did you first gather ideas for your essay?Which brainstorming or outlining techniques were useful?How did you begin drafting?What was your drafting process like?What were some key changes you made from one draft to another? (give specific details)Overall, what was easy and/or difficult about writing this essay?What do you like the best about your essay and why?What might still need work and why?

d/ Workshopping

What did you learn about your own draft through workshopping?Which comments on your first draft were particularly useful and why?Which comments on subsequent drafts were particularly useful and why?What useful ideas came to you through reading your classmates’ drafts?What are some aspects of your peers’ work that you emulated or admired?What are some problems that you avoided thanks to your classmates’ struggles?What are some editing issues you needed to work on or helped a peer work on? (be specific)

Unit 2 Reflection

For a more creative way to reflect on this unit, write this reflection in the form of a dialogue between you and a friend, relative, mentor, etc. For each category (goals, preparation, drafting, workshopping), address at least two questions. Concentrate on the items that are the most pertinent or illuminating.

Mike: Hi, Uncle Jerry! I finally finished my essay for English class.

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Uncle Jerry: What did you write about?

At the end, briefly explain why you chose to talk to that person. (500-1000 words altogether).

Unit 3 Reflection

For a more creative way to reflect on this unit, write this reflection in the form of a letter between you and a friend, relative, mentor, etc. or as a diary entry for yourself. For each category (goals, preparation, drafting, workshopping), address at least two questions. Concentrate on the items that are the most pertinent or illuminating.

At the end, briefly explain why you chose to address that person. (500-1000 words altogether)

The Writing Pro

As you have noticed, the way to improve your writing is through slow, careful steps. Sometimes this includes recognizing ways how writing doesn’t meet expectations. At other times it includes recognizing how your writing does even more than you realized! I spend a good deal of time analyzing your writing. So do your classmates. Reflect on specific comments you received on your drafts or final essays, positive and/or negative, and offer your own feedback. (1000-1500 words)

Conclusion [to be written the last week of class, 1000-1500 words or longer]

Now that you have finished the composition sequence, it’s time to show off. Finish your semester by responding to one of the following scenarios:

1. Wowing your Employer

You’ve made it through the first two interviews for your dream job, but you have one more hurdle. You have been invited to a final interview with the president of the company. Your mission: Convince the president to hire you. The caveat? Half of your responsibilities have to do with writing. In a dialog, explain why your superior writing skills should land you the job. In a few separate paragraphs, examine some of your rhetorical choices. (1000-1500 words or longer)

2. Breaking the Bad News

Imagine you’re the CEO of the dream company that you own. Your best friend’s relative desperately wants a job, but the person has terrible writing skills. Unfortunately, writing is the most important skill for this particular position. Write an organized letter in which

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you explain why you cannot offer a job—at least for now—and offer specific advice. In a few separate paragraphs, examine some of your rhetorical choices. (1000-1500 words or longer)

3. Interviewing for Zoology Today

Good news! You’re so famous for being the best writer in your chosen profession (zoology, for example) that the national publication (on your topic) wants to interview you about how you learned to write so well. Write the interview; in a few separate paragraphs, examine some of your rhetorical choices. (1000-1500 words or longer)

For example:Reporter Sam Smith: Your writing is so effective that it looks effortless. Did you practice along the way?You: Well, I’m glad you asked that question. I might be an effective writer now, but . . .

4. Speaking at the Banquet

Time to celebrate! You won the yearly Writing Award for your profession. You will be honored at a banquet for 500 people. However, since many students will be in the audience, you are expected to give an inspiring acceptance speech that explains how you’ve come to be such an effective writer. Write your speech using organized paragraphs; in a few separate paragraphs, examine some of your rhetorical choices. (1000-1500 words or longer)

Goals and SLOs for this essay:

Goal 2: Critical Thinking and Composing 2C. incorporate evidence, such as through summaries, paraphrases, quotations,

and visuals.

Goal 3: Conventions  3A. follow appropriate conventions for grammar, punctuation, and spelling,

through practice in composing and revising.

Goal 4: Reflection and Revision 4B. produce multiple revisions on global and local levels. 4C. suggest useful global and local revisions to other writers. 4E. evaluate and act on peer and instructor feedback to revise their texts. 4F. reflect on their progress as academic writers.

Important Notes

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1. This is our last project together—make it memorable (and, preferably, fun).

2. For flair, add personal visuals such as artwork, drawings, or photos. Play with fonts and color.

3. Where appropriate, add humor. For example, “The Painful Ups and Downs of a Writing Apprentice” is a better title than “My Writing This Semester.”

4. Organize your intro and points in a deliberate fashion.

5. Use specifics to make your points.

6. Make use of each workshopping session.

7. Remember to edit your essay in consideration of your readers.

8. Make all your hard work this semester pay off!

9. Make sure that your links work for all email.arizona.edu accounts. Note that if your link doesn’t work and you fail to provide a Word or pdf, I won’t be able to assign you a grade.

10. Remember that, in general, more writing = more thinking = higher grades! 😊

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