This document provides instructions for a "Sense of Place" essay assignment. Students are asked to write a 2.5-3 page descriptive essay exploring a place that holds significant personal meaning for them. They must adopt the persona of a professional blogger and include a photograph that visually represents the place and feelings conveyed in the essay. The essay should use descriptive language and sensory details to both describe the physical space and reflect on why it is special, while maintaining a consistent style and voice. A rough draft is due for peer review before the final draft is due. The final draft will be evaluated on its use of senses, style and voice, clear theme, and mechanics.

1. Unit 1: Your Rhetorical Environment
Sense of Place Essay
Being aware of your sense of place and having the ability to analyze the physical features of your
environment allows you to envision yourself as an active presence within your community and
begin to interact with it on a more rhetorical level. For this assignment, you will adopt the
persona of a professional blogger reflecting on your photo submission to the National
Geographic “Sense of Place” contest. This assignment is the least formal and most creative of the
semester; you should write it as you would a professional blog entry. This means that although
this is not a purely academic, closed-form essay and you will be writing within a less formal genre,
you will still be expected to use professional language and follow the conventions of Standard
English grammar.
Task:
This assignment asks you to write a 2½ to 3 page (double spaced) descriptive essay which
explores your sense of a specific place that holds significant meaning for you. This place could be a
room in your childhood home that triggers a nostalgic remembrance of your past or your favorite
place on campus that serves to represent your current and possibly future path, to name a few
ideas. Accompanying your essay will be a photograph, which visually represents the thematic
content of your essay. Your chosen photograph should show your audience the physical place, as
well as the feeling it gives you that you convey in your essay.
Within your essay, you should be able to balance a dynamic reflection with a rhetorical
description of this environment, showing your reader specifically how and why this specific place
evokes these emotions and reflections. Using descriptive language, your writing should be able to
show your reader the sensory details of this place while also providing reflection on why this
place is special to you.
Formatting:
As you will be adopting the ethos of a professional blogger, I ask that your essay does not follow
MLA formatting guidelines. However, your essay should include a creative title and your name
at the end of your piece, and it must be written in a legible, 12-pt. font. Other than that, I
encourage you to be creative with the design and format of this assignment. Your photo should be
included in the same document at the beginning or end of the essay or within the text itself
(“Wrap text”  “Through”). The photo should be no larger than 3”x4” or 4”x3”. Your essay will
be submitted to the Blackboard site as a Word Document
Due Dates:
Rough Draft is due before class on Thursday, September 7th. You must submit a copy to the
course BbLearn page and bring four (4) hard copies to class for peer review.
Final Draft is due as a PDF or Word Document by 11:59pm on Friday, September 15th
.

2. Evaluation Rubric (Final Draft only)
Use of Senses
Use of imagery and detail so that the reader feels like he/she
is experiencing the physical space. The description included is
used rhetorically to communicate the overall theme of the
essay.
30
Consistent Style and Voice
Language communicates a consistent feeling and personal
meaning connected to this place. Essay is written in the semi-
formal language of a professional blog post.
30
Clear Theme
The details of the place, as well as the style and organization
of the essay communicates a consistent theme and/or memory
attached to this place. This theme is also visually represented
in the thoughtful inclusion of a picture.
30
Mechanics and Formatting
Adheres to the standards of Standard Edited English:
punctuation, syntax, complete sentences, etc. Assignment is a
full 2½ - 3 pages.
10
Total. 100