Paper Assignment #1: Memoir
The first of your four formal papers for this class will be a Memoir. You should have a rough draft completed by Friday, September 10th. The final draft will be due in class, printed or emailed as an attachment (doc, docx, or rtf), along with your rough draft, on Monday, September 13th.
Formatting: your paper must be at least four full pages in length, NOT three and a half (shoot for 4 and a half to 5 pages), with standard 1 inch margins and a thesis (preferably a creative one) in your first paragraph, along with topic sentences starting every paragraph (or at least most of them). Use a normal, non-gigantic font, like 12-point Times New Roman. Double-space your paper with your name, my last name, your section, and the date in an upper corner. Also, your pages must be numbered!
What is a Memoir?
As adults, we are required to make our own way in the world, which necessitates the establishment of our own personal, independent identities; however, we are inexorably shaped by the experiences that got us here. In other words, like it or not, a big part of who we are remains tied up in who we were, where we came from, etc. In a sense, then, our past can either be our foundation, or something we are rebelling against (perhaps even a little of both).
With that in mind, I would like you to critically examine the story of your own family, your own origins, the roots of your own beliefs and value systems, etc. I am not asking you to tell me your entire life story here; rather, come up with several traits or beliefs that you think serve to illustrate your family story, then tell me about them. If you wish, you can choose the motif of viewing photographs as a “lens” through which to view this assignment. Otherwise, you can choose a different motif such as family videos, reunions, phone conversations, letters, emails, or just your own personal recollections. Feel free to be creative with this one!
If you are having trouble getting started, here are some things to ask yourself: who was “in charge” in your family when you were growing up, or was this power shared? Did you grow up in a “traditional” household with two married parents, or was your household non-traditional in some way? Also, how do you think this shaped your views on family? What economic class do you think best describes your family? What effects (positive and/or negative) do you think this has had on you? Can you think of one viewpoint, opinion, or prejudice that you have only because it’s shared by your family, i.e. it wasn’t something you arrived at on your own?
Remember: as I hope at least one of your previous English teachers was honest enough to tell you, one of the primary goals of good writing is to be entertaining, regardless of whether the overall story is joyful, tragic, melancholic, humorous, etc. However, a word of caution—the way to make your narratives entertaining is not by exaggeration (an easy but transparent mistake to make), but by working to produce smooth, descriptive sentences that develop a relationship with your reader through honest, straight-forward storytelling. When in doubt, remember the five senses!
The Benefit of this Assignment:
As writers, we gain an enormous advantage in both the academic and the “real” world when we strengthen our perspective over what events (positive, negative, or both) got us here in the first place. That also serves to clarify our purpose and inspire us for whatever challenges lay ahead.
In a more immediate sense, though, being able to write descriptively and with conviction about one’s own background is absolutely essential when writing Personal Statements for graduate school applications, and to some degree, even when writing cover letters for job applications or conducting in-person interviews.
If you are having trouble with this assignment or want to go over an idea or draft with me, please feel free to discuss it with me during office hours, before or after class, or via email. You are also encouraged to visit BSU’s Writing Center for further assistance. As a general rule, I provide extra credit if you have the Writing Center notify me that you went there for an appointment.
Paper #2: Visual Rhetoric Analysis
With this second major assignment, we’ll be taking the theme of personal and familial identity tackled in your first paper and expanding it to cultural identity. In essence, your assignment is to choose a piece of visual rhetoric and analyze: 1) what argument is being made (whether explicitly or implicitly), 2) how you know this (i.e. what methods the piece is using to get its point across, such as slogans, facts, use of color and sound, what subconscious effect it’s going for, etc.), and, if possible, 3) what assumptions the piece is making about its audience (i.e. the audience’s cultural background, expectations, etc.). At the very least, the thesis of your paper should address #1 and #2.
The first step, of course, is to choose what you want to analyze. You are required to choose a music video, television commercial, printed ad, newspaper or magazine photograph, or political cartoon of your choice. Then, in 4-5 pages, analyze the piece of your choice.
For example, if a political ad talks about “change” or a company’s advertisement mentions “troubled economic times”, what are they referring to, who is their audience, how are they appealing to said audience, how do you know, etc.? Here’s another example: consider the documentary, “In the Footsteps of Marco Polo”, and ask yourself if the explorers are making any subtle commentary on American culture, what we gain from expanding our knowledge of other cultures, our place in the world, etc.
If you are unfamiliar with the process of analysis, here are just a few questions you can ask to get started: 1) What product or course of action is being advertised or encouraged by this piece? 2) Does this piece of visual rhetoric present a certain view on politics, gender, sexuality, prosperity, race, etc.? 3) Does this view strike you as traditional, nontraditional, idealistic, pessimistic, optimistic, or skewed, based on your own experiences and research? 4) Does this piece reinforce, counter, or parody stereotypes? 5) Does this piece reflect larger trends or viewpoints in society? Also, what are the implications of this piece? 6) What is the cultural context of this piece of visual rhetoric? In other words, what assumptions do you think its author is making about its audience? 7) Is this piece making an argument? If so, how do you know what the argument is since it’s not explicitly stated? 8) Does the piece speak to a situation that has since changed?
Whenever you start asking these types of questions, you are engaging in analysis because you are digging below the surface of an issue. Furthermore, you are closely examining the natural, instinctual response prompted by an image and asking yourself why you are having that response.
The formal stuff: your paper should be 4-5 full pages long with your name, section, and the date in the upper left corner. Your pages should be numbered as well. MLA citations should be provided for any research, including the source of the piece of visual rhetoric you are analyzing. This includes parenthetical citations and a work cited page. The final draft is due in class, printed, on Monday, October 4th.
We will conduct conferences the week before the paper is due. That means you’ll come to my office for a one-on-one tutoring session in which I give you feedback on how to revise your paper. These conferences will replace regular class on Sept. 27th, Sept. 29th, and October 4th. Please note that failure to show up at your scheduled conference WITH a finished draft of your paper could result in three unexcused absences.
The benefits of this assignment:
Analysis is something you have been doing all your life, including any time when you questioned someone’s motives or wondered if someone was telling the truth. Being able to analyze—and express your analysis—is a required skill throughout college (regardless of your major) as well as in problem-solving situations in the business world. Being able to analyze is also just about the best thing someone can do to avoid being, well, ignorant and easily taken advantage of. It also pays to be productively self-critical—to question what you’ve been told and taught—for the same reasons.
Paper #3: Researched Argument
No person, institution, company or country is infallible. However, by refining one’s ability to critically analyze, argue, compare and contrast, we as individuals and as a society are better able to learn from these mistakes. Naturally, this leaves us better equipped to deal with whatever struggles lie ahead. With that in mind, this third paper assignment calls on you to utilize the analysis skills you developed with your second assignment and take them a step further. You will be identifying a problem related to the issues raised in our discussions, further researching this issue, then making a strong argument of your own.
In short, tell me something about your culture, country, college, or community that you think is wrong, why it’s wrong, and if possible, how to fix it. I also want you to play “Devil’s Advocate.” That is, examine the other side of the argument, characterize it as fairly as possible, then respond. Finally, think back on our early discussion over ethos, pathos, and logos as they relate to audience. Assume your audience is somebody who may or may not disagree with you, i.e. you want to sound passionate without insulting somebody with whom you might otherwise be able to reach a compromise.
We will be discussing an essay and a short story by Kurt Vonnegut, plus several poems discussing social issues, and finally, a couple controversial documentaries: Religulous and White Light/Black Rain. Consider the views and arguments put forth in these texts, decide whether you agree or disagree, then form an argument based on solid, legitimate research. Warning: avoid biased sources like Fox News, MSNBC, blogs, the NRA, etc.!
Requirements: like the other major papers, your Researched Argument paper should be 4-5 pages in length, double-spaced, 1 inch margins and standard font (say, Times New Roman 12), with a title and page numbers. However, on this one, I am requiring at least FIVE SOURCES! If you choose to use Wikipedia, bear in mind that anyone can tinker with those pages so make sure the information provided there is accurate! In fact, that goes for ANY source. Just because it says so on the internet doesn’t make it true! Always try to verify any “fact” or statistic you find. Also, Wikipedia counts for only one of your sources. Finally, you must provide MLA-formatted internal citations and a Work Cited page (which does not count towards your 4-5 page length). The final draft of your Researched Argument paper will be due on Wednesday, November 17th. As before, final and rough drafts should be printed or emailed as an attachment (doc, docx, or rtf). We will have conferences instead of classes (like we did for the last paper) on Nov. 10th – Nov. 15th.
For this assignment, I will be paying close attention to: 1) the clarity and specificity of your thesis, 2) the logic of your argument (be sure to avoid fallacies), 3) the organization of your paper (topic sentences are key here), 4) how fairly you examine the counter-argument, and 5) the proper use and citation of sources.
I will not be grading based on whether or not you agree with me; in the past, students have gotten As on this assignment for writing good papers that I completely disagreed with. So definitely choose a topic you feel passionately about! The only “off limits” topics are abortion and the death penalty, only because I’ve already read about a zillion papers over those topics.
As always, I encourage you to come to me with questions and/or visit the Writing Center for help at any stage of the writing process.
Paper/Project #4 Group Presentations
Step 1: Get in groups of 4-5 people. It’s a good idea to organize according to some common interest (like people who have the same major).
Step 2: Identify a local problem (something to do with Ball State or Muncie in general).
Step 3: Come up with at least one person you could interview to get some information/perspective on the problem.
Step 4: Come up with a solution to the problem.
Step 5: Prepare some visuals (like a PowerPoint and, if possible, images and video) to accompany your presentation.
Step 6: When you actually give your presentation, everyone in the group should contribute. You want your presentation to take about 10 minutes. In the presentation, you must do the following:
1) Identify the problem.
2) Tell us why it’s a problem, i.e. back up your case.
3) Propose a solution.
4) Play Devil’s Advocate, i.e. explain any possible difficulties/problems/objections to your solution.
5) Counter those counter-arguments. In other words, explain why your solution is still a good one.
Remember early in the semester when we talked about the different types of audiences? Assume your audience is undecided on this issue. That means you should use different appeals (ethos, pathos, logos) to try and convince us to agree with you.
In the past, students have addressed such topics as problems with the Health Center, problems with meal plans and how they can be fixed, trouble with the current parking situation (and how to fix it), admissions standards for Ball State University (whether they should be raised or lowered and why), etc. This assignment is MUCH easier if you choose a topic that you actually care about.
Also, even though we’re not actually giving the presentations until the end of the semester, it’s a good idea to get started early because it may take a few days to set up interviews or conduct surveys and research. For example, if you’re going to give a presentation on the Health Center, you might want to interview a nurse or two. If you’re presenting on the meal plan, you might want to interview someone in charge of Ball State dining, plus a student from another university that you think has a better plan.
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