assign and art

1. C.J. Hill – ENGL 102 FA 2017
Unit 1 Assignment Instructions
Personal Narrative Essay: Place-Identity
Spaces and places are far more than fours walls or several acres of wild grass. Our
environments perform a larger purpose in our lives than simply being the settings in
which they play out.
Throughout the course of this class, we will be using analytical, research, and
argumentative writing technics to explore the different ways that environments affect
human beings and situations. And for our first assignment, you will begin this journey
with narrative reflection writing.
For this essay you are to reflect on a place or space that holds a lot of importance for you,
ideally from your childhood. This could be your hometown, your elementary school
playground, your grandparents’ kitchen—somewhere that has held on and never let go.
After determining an environment, you are to write a 3-4 page personal narrative in
which you discuss how this place or space has affected your identity and who you have
become.
This assignment requires:
• A clear, creative description of your chosen place or space
• Narrative elements as detailed in The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing and as
gleaned from the example essays assigned throughout the unit
• Thoughtful analysis of how your chosen environment has shaped your identity,
including examples
Audience:
• Write this essay toward an audience of your peers
Format:
• Write in standard edited English and adhere strictly to MLA 8 formatting
Assessment:
• As stated in the syllabus, this first assignment will be graded by the attached,
standard rubric. This rubric will be revised together as a class for consequent
assignments
“Self-identity is not restricted to making distinctions between oneself and significant
others, but extends with no less importance to objects and things, and the very spaces
and places in which they are found.”
–Harold M. Proshansky, Abbe K. Fabian, and
Robert Kaminoff, “Place-Identity: Physical World Socialization of the Self”

2. C.J. Hill – ENGL 102 FA 2017
Grading Rubric for Major Assignment 1:
Narrative
Components
30 Points
Content
30 Points
Organization
30 Points
Formatting
10 Points
A
90-100
Total
Points
Narrative components
are implemented
strongly throughout
the piece. The voice
and perspective is
clear and compelling.
Description of the
environment is
detailed and
creative. The
statement of
relevance to identity
is well-pondered
and explored
thoroughly
throughout the
essay.
The writing moves
quick and clean
through a well
structured form.
Transitions are
artful and tied into
topic sentences.
MLA 8 format is used
in exact detail with
no errors.
B
80-89
Total
Points
Several narrative
components are used
well at various points
in the essay.
Description of
environment is clear
and thoughtful.
Statement of
relevance to identity
is discussed often
throughout the
essay.
Writing follows a
clear organization
with transitions
and topic sentences
that rise slightly
above being only
“good enough.”
MLA 8 format is used
correctly with only a
few errors.
C
70-79
Total
Points
Narrative components
are attempted in
several areas of the
essay.
Description of
environment and
statement of
relevance to identity
is present.
Writing is
organized in a
logical manner.
Transitions and
topic sentences are
simple.
MLA 8 format is used
but with distracting
errors.
NC
No Credit
Narrative components
are completely absent
from the writing.
There is no
description of the
selected
environment or a
clearly stated
connection to the
writer’s identity.
Writing does not
follow any clear
structure.
Transitions and
topic sentences are
absent.
MLA 8 style is not
followed in any way.

3. C.J. Hill – ENGL 102 FA 2017
Unit 2 Assignment Instructions
Place Studies Research Narrative Essay
Currently, there are many instances of social crisis taking place throughout the country.
And many of these instances can be traced to a certain, specific location. In the cases
where we can geographically pinpoint a social crisis, the place or space where it takes
place often plays a specific, crucial role in the crisis itself.
For this essay, you are to select a social problem or crisis that is central to a specific place
or space. Using research, write a 5-6 page essay unearthing and arguing how the place or
space is the “silent character” in the problem or crisis.
Some examples of social crises*:
• Protests
• Hate crimes
• Tainted resources
• Poverty
• Pollution
• Substance abuse
This assignment requires:
• Research on a social issue/crisis, as well as on its central location
o Must include at least one book, three peer-reviewed articles, and one reliable
website article. Ideally these will be taken from the sources found for the
annotated bibliography assignment completed during library week
• A clear thesis statement that highlights a stance on the issue and an argument for
how the crisis and the location are connected
• A proposition to a solution to the problem
Audience:
• While writing this essay, consider an audience that knows very little both about the
social issue/crisis and the history/culture of the place/space in which it is located
Format:
• A research narrative is different than the typical research essay. Instead of
sustaining a dethatched voice and perspective, include yourself in this argument
and process. Take us on a journey, tell us a story, all the while building research on
your chosen topic/issue. However, you must still write in standard edited English
and adhere strictly to MLA 8 formatting, particularly in text citations.
Assessment:
• Student/instructor edited rubric TBD
*Note: You can think either large or small scale for this assignment. You may be drawn to
researching a widely known crisis, or perhaps a crisis you see building in your tiny
hometown or even in Moscow.
“We can assert that the environment has a method of interacting with its
inhabitants…
In this context [space] is the silent character which reinforces certain
features.” –Dana Pop, “Analysing Architectural Determinism—the Physical
Environment as a Mnemonic Device”

4. C.J. Hill – ENGL 102 FA 2017
Unit 3 Assignment Instructions
Multi-Genre/Modal Environment Analysis Project
At this point in your academic careers, you have studied rhetoric in many written and
verbal terms—books, articles, speeches, debates, etc. But some messages aren’t read or
heard as much as they are seen.
In Unit 4, we are focusing on spatial rhetoric. Spatial rhetoric is a part of the visual
rhetoric family; for example, a music video, a poster, a crafted photograph, and a
commercial are all examples of visual rhetoric. This kind of rhetoric still conveys a
carefully designed message, but through the utilization of visual elements paired with
other meaning making devises to convey logos, ethos, and pathos through means other
than the written or spoken word. Spatial rhetoric is a message conveyed in a
particular space through the use of architecture and design choices, sometimes
paired with cultural history of a particular location.
For this assignment, consider the University of Idaho campus. Many college students
notice a change in their personality or priorities when they move away from home to go to
school. Often times we chalk it up to simply getting older, but what if it is something more
than that? What if the university campus conveys a particular message for the human
beings who dwell within? After thinking these questions over, create a multi-genre/modal
project that conveys your thoughts/findings on the spatial rhetoric of UI through means
other than a straightforward written essay.
This assignment requires:
• Focus on the topic of the university spatial rhetoric and research on the topic
through a variety of supplemental sources, including readings you find on your own
• Introduction/Preface/Dear Reader
• Expository piece (at least 400-500 words. Make this vivid, informational, straight-
forward writing. Boil your topic down to essentials)
• Works Cited Page in MLA format
• A Note Page that documents the process and choices for how your research has
informed each genre of your multi-genre project, and how you connected the topic to
your genres
• 5 chosen genres from the list below. In that five, at least one genre will need to be
relevant to your major/field of interest
• At least one visual element in your project
• Unifying elements from the topic (repeated images/ideas, themes and experiences
related to but exclusive to a particular genre, details just mentioned in one piece but
exploded
Audience:
• This project should consider the wide audience of people who participate in the
university experience (students, faculty, staff, parents)
“Genre:
a construction/compilation of rhetorical elements (either in writing or another
modality) that has a clear author, audience, style, and convention that is unique to
it as it incorporates a focus about a topic.”

5. C.J. Hill – ENGL 102 FA 2017
Format:
• Any writing should be in standard edited English and adhere to the specific formats
of each genre
Assessment:
• Student/instructor edited rubric TBD
Some questions you may consider:
• What does it mean to be a college student at UI?
• What is a particular building used for? Does it fulfill its purpose? How?
• What is the intended culture of the on-campus living options? How do their spaces
convey/suggest these cultures?
• What experiences do college students have at UI?
• How do you fit within your peers?
• What sets you apart from other students?
• What does being a UI student mean to people who share, or do not share, your age,
ethnicity, gender, sexuality, et cetera.
• How does your background/personal history influence your experiences as a college
student at UI?
• How has your identity as a student changed over the year(s)?
• What does it mean to be an ideal student at UI?
Some examples of genres you might try:
Directories Cast lists
Encyclopedia entries Fable
Game rules Interviews
Job application Letters/post cards
Web site home page Map
Parodies Headlines
Manifesto Prayer
Quotations Recipes
Time lines Facebook pages
Tweets Texts
Blog postings Pinterest Pinnings
Want ads Menu
Newscasts Play list
First person narrative Third person narrative
Stream of consciousness Interior Monolog
Dialog (written in play format) Poems for two voices
Free verse Photograph poem
Haiku Limerick
List poem Dramatic monolog
Newspaper article Song lyrics
Alternate Style Pieces Fragments
Double voice Lists
Hard news stories Feature stories
Dear Abby Comic strip

6. C.J. Hill – ENGL 102 FA 2017
Obituary Editorials
Classified ad Reviews
Diary/journal entries Allegory
Character sketch Brochure
Bumper sticker Short story
Video Announcement
Blueprints Museum label
*You may have an idea for a genre that isn’t on this list. Ask your instructor about using a
non-listed genre before implementing it into your project.
Outline of Multi-Genre/Modal Environment Analysis
1: Dear Reader/Introduction: Introduce the topic for the reader by previewing what to
expect in your project, and what the reader can look forward to viewing and experiencing
through your project. You should describe the focus of your project while also previewing
how you explored this focus in your project in this Dear Reader/Introduction. (¾-1 page in
length)
2: Expository Mini-Essay: 400-500 words (At least 1½-2 pages double spaced). Form a
thesis about the topic (college campus rhetoric) and use your essay to expose, explain,
inform, or illuminate some issue about the topic. For this essay, you are responding to
your topic/focus in order to give more context and information about the topic/focus of your
project. Have this writing focused and concrete in order to effectively communicate your
topic to your audience.
3: Chosen Genres: For your five chosen genres, you can do them in any format that you
think fits your project and/or focus. These genres are meant to display how you can
incorporate your focus through a variety of mediums/forms of writing in order to enhance
the reader’s thinking about the topic.
4: Note Page: This demonstrates to the reader how your focus/thesis about the topic is
incorporated into your genres. In this part of your project, you will describe how each
genre ties into a part of your focus/topic in order to prove how your genres enhance the
reader’s thinking of the topic. In your Notes Page, you will need to do the following:
• Describe why you chose this particular genre,
• Detail why you did the genre in the way that you did,
• Explain what you think is effective about your genre, and why it is
effective,
• Justify how your genre helps your reader gain a deeper understanding of
your topic/focus.
I’m looking for at least ¾ of a page for each genre in your Notes Page.
5: Works Cited Page: For this project, you may need to incorporate sources that help
give you insight towards your focus/topic, or sources that help you support writing about
your genres. If you do, you should include a Works Cited page in MLA format.

7. C.J. Hill – ENGL 102 FA 2017
Unit 4 Assignment Instructions
Ideal Learning Environment Multi-Modal Pitch
Over the course of this class, you have explored environments personally, observationally,
critically, and analytically in terms of their effect, affect, and overall connection to human
life. Now is the time to take all of this knowledge and move it one step further—creating
an environment that does not yet exist.
For the major assignment last unit, you analyzed the University of Idaho campus in terms
of its spatial rhetoric. You thought about this space in terms of its speaker, message, and
audience. Now, you are tasked to think about what you wanted to change over the course
of this observation and create a pitch for what you would consider your “ideal learning
environment.”
Some ideas you may consider:
• Different majors may have different ideal learning environments
• Campus advertisements
• Indoor versus outdoor
• Classroom sizes
• Student to instructor ratios
• Technology
• Color
• Lighting
• Furniture
This assignment requires:
• A visual representation/model of your proposed learning environment
o This can take the form of any mode you see fit (drafting board, video, collage,
etc.)
• A five minute presentation that accompanies your visual representation where you
will pitch your proposition to an audience of fellow students and a committee of
English instructors
• A 2-3 page written articulation of goals and choices to be handed in with your visual
representation
Audience:
• Angle this pitch toward an audience of a panel of university officials who could
potentially create and develop your proposed environment
Format:
• The format for this assignment will depend on the modes chosen, but written, oral,
and visual elements should all be present and integrated correctly
Assessment:
• Student/instructor edited rubric TBD
“Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time.
Vision with action can change the world.”
--Joel A. Barker

8. C.J. Hill – ENGL 102 FA 2017
English 102 Assessment Articulation
As stated by Carey Jewitt in her article “Multimodality, ‘Reading,’ and ‘Writing’ for the
21st Century,” “What it means to be literate in the digital era of the 21st century is
different than what we needed previously…school literacy needs to be expanded to reflect
the semiotic systems that young people use” (323). The world around us is currently
changing and growing at a rapid pace, and oftentimes the university English course isn’t
doing all it can to keep up with these changes.
In response, the materials I include in this course reflect an effort to explore and
investigate new modes of communication through literacy that is not always linguistic. By
including both a multi-genre rhetorical analysis assignment, and a multimodal pitch
assignment, it is my goal to incorporate the kinds of communication that will be more
present in my students’ lives today than the typical essay.
That being said, the typical assessment strategies that work just fine for the typical
written essay do not fit as neatly into the grading of multimodal work. As a response to
this change, all major assignments in this English 102 course are graded by a negotiable
contract. I create the baseline, standard detailed rubric for the first writing assignment of
the course for students to get a taste of what it means to be assessed in a variety of areas.
As the semester moves on, different modes of communication are introduced, and students
become more focused on what they would like prioritized in their literacy education,
adjustments and continued elaboration will be made to this rubric. At the beginning of
Units 2, 3, and 4, instructor and students will meet and work together to create a grading
rubric that fits the current major assignment. Each major assignment will be worth a total
of 100 points, but how these points are distributed throughout the grading rubric is up for
negotiation. Ideally, this will create a happy medium of expectations between students
and instructor while also adapting to this current 21st century world.