English 113A Overview of Final Essay Assignment, as taken from the writing program at www.umass.edu/writingprogram: This essay moves the writer even further “into the world” by asking him/her to interact with not only a variety of texts but also to begin assessing and defining his/her own contexts for writing. This unit is meant to help students begin with a topic they care deeply about for whatever reason and imagine a potential audience that might need/want to hear more about it. As a result, the purpose of this essay (argumentative, persuasive, explanatory, etc.) is determined by the students’ definition of their own audience and context. Research enters into the process in this unit as a way of both learning more about potential contexts and audiences for their topic (i.e. an annotated bibliography that casts a wide net) and as one of the sources of information students may draw on in developing their topic. As a result, this essay has a similar progression beginning with topic exploration (i.e. what do I care about?) to pre- research on what others have said on the topic (resulting in an annotated bibliography). The early research and generative writing, then, help students define their context, audience, and purpose for the paper in a short proposal that then leads to drafting an essay geared toward this audience. The only limitations on context here is that the audience is an educated one (and thus will expect a researched paper to support the writer’s statements) and the purpose for writing moves beyond “school writing”—i.e. a context that is more civic and/or public than solely an academic one. The overall goal of the unit is to help students imagine how academic writing skills might serve them in more public contexts to meet their own goals. In this way, the unit seeks to expand the context for writing, includes new options for source material, yet still maintains a focus on the writer’s personal desires for communication located in their own experience and communities. In short, it introduces central academic research practices but asks students to see their relevance to civic, public, or local discourse. Further, it seeks to move students from a reliance on a predetermined context to defining their own in order to highlight how writing emerges not only from a “required” context but more often from the writer and/or an event in “the world” that prompts one to communicate with others. Assignment Part I: Complete a rhetorical prospectus, for Monday 11/17/14. In order to complete a rhetorical prospectus, you must have 3-4 sources. For each source, write your quotes down on an index card. For each index card, follow this format: upper right hand corner of card, a description of quote; center of card, the quotation; bottom of the card, the source. For Monday 11/17/14, you must come to class with your index cards and your rhetorical prospectus completed. Please type up your rhe ...

1. English 113A
Overview of Final Essay Assignment, as taken from the writing
program at
www.umass.edu/writingprogram:
This essay moves the writer even further “into the world” by
asking
him/her to interact with not only a variety of texts but also to
begin
assessing and defining his/her own contexts for writing. This
unit is meant
to help students begin with a topic they care deeply about for
whatever
reason and imagine a potential audience that might need/want to
hear
more about it. As a result, the purpose of this essay
(argumentative,
persuasive, explanatory, etc.) is determined by the students’
definition of
their own audience and context. Research enters into the
process in this
unit as a way of both learning more about potential contexts and
audiences for their topic (i.e. an annotated bibliography that
casts a wide
net) and as one of the sources of information students may draw
on in
developing their topic. As a result, this essay has a similar
progression
beginning with topic exploration (i.e. what do I care about?) to
pre-
research on what others have said on the topic (resulting in an

2. annotated
bibliography). The early research and generative writing, then,
help
students define their context, audience, and purpose for the
paper in a
short proposal that then leads to drafting an essay geared toward
this
audience. The only limitations on context here is that the
audience is an
educated one (and thus will expect a researched paper to
support the
writer’s statements) and the purpose for writing moves beyond
“school
writing”—i.e. a context that is more civic and/or public than
solely an
academic one.
The overall goal of the unit is to help students imagine how
academic
writing skills might serve them in more public contexts to meet
their own
goals. In this way, the unit seeks to expand the context for
writing,
includes new options for source material, yet still maintains a
focus on the
writer’s personal desires for communication located in their
own
experience and communities. In short, it introduces central
academic
research practices but asks students to see their relevance to
civic, public,
or local discourse. Further, it seeks to move students from a
reliance on a
predetermined context to defining their own in order to
highlight how
writing emerges not only from a “required” context but more

3. often from the
writer and/or an event in “the world” that prompts one to
communicate
with others.
Assignment
Part I:
Complete a rhetorical prospectus, for Monday 11/17/14. In
order to
complete a rhetorical prospectus, you must have 3-4 sources.
For each
source, write your quotes down on an index card.
For each index card, follow this format: upper right hand corner
of card, a
description of quote; center of card, the quotation; bottom of
the card, the
source.
For Monday 11/17/14, you must come to class with your index
cards and
your rhetorical prospectus completed. Please type up your
rhetorical
prospectus. If you have questions, feel free to bring in your
sources.
For your sources, they may come from the databases or any
credible

4. source. Please use at least one book. That means, for example,
you may
use one book and three online articles, taken from the
databases, which
Vincent showed you.
Part II:
For Wednesday 11/19/14, the first draft of the essay is due.
The final draft will be due on Dec. 1st, 20141.
Details of Assignment:
Length of essay: 4-5 pages.
Format: Double-space, with header and title
Number of sources: 3-4 sources, minimum
Source restrictions: 1 book minimum
Subject Choices (Pick a broad subject and narrow it down):
Science Technology College Life
Politics Health Education
Example of a subject narrowed down: Technology! cars! hybrid
vehicles versus gas vehicles (if you want to become even more
specific,
you can narrow even more, e.g. Toyota Prius versus Nissan
Altima).
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1!Date!subject!to!change.!!
English 113A

5. Rhetorical Prospectus
Answer the questions below as fully as you can about your
chosen topic
for the “Adding to a Conversation” essay. Be as reflective and
detailed as
possible. Remember you are trying, in a sense, to convince me
as your
potential “editor” both that your topic is worthy of your and
others’ time,
and that you’ve sufficiently researched what others have said to
be
prepared to contribute to the conversation.
1. Why am I invested in this topic? Why do I care? How does it
matter to
me?
2. Summarize the nature of the conversation about your topic in
2-3
paragraphs. Be sure to include the variety of positions people
hold
about your topic—i.e. don’t reduce it to a pro/con or argument
or
either/or topic—the groups which hold these different positions,
and
the reasons these different groups might take the positions they
do.
3. What is your purpose in “adding to this conversation”? What
do you
want to communicate with your paper? (e.g., inform, persuade,
argue,
shoot down another position, propose a solution, etc.)
4. Who do you want to address your paper to? Why this group

6. given your
purpose and your reading of the conversation?
5. What do you think this audience needs to know or consider
that they
don’t already know?
6. What kind of reaction do you want to get from your readers?
What do
you hope they’ll do as a result of reading? (e.g. take a specific
action,
change their opinions, get angry, etc.)
7. What kinds of written sources will you need to help you
accomplish
your purpose?
8. What kinds of written sources will be most convincing or
needed by
your audience? Why?
9. What other kinds of information can you draw off of in this
paper
(personal experience, surveys, etc.)?
10. If you could imagine publishing this paper in a public
venue, where
would you like it to appear?
11. What questions do you have about writing this paper? What
do you
think will be most difficult about what you plan to do?