This document provides instructions for an exemplification essay assignment. Exemplification essays prove a point using specific examples as evidence. Students will write a five paragraph essay using the metaphor of objects in a brown bag to provide examples that reveal aspects of their personality. The essay must be two pages, typed, double-spaced, with a title and underlined thesis statement. Students must show evidence of prewriting, outlining, drafting and revising and submit their final draft and materials in a folder by the due date.
lhis 215 autumn 2015 final projectdescription the final proj.docxcroysierkathey
lhis 215 autumn 2015 final project
description
the final project has two phases
1. phase one: beginning work 2nd may, submit online by evening 7th may:
in phase one, decide which topic on which you will work and begin work on the following pieces
submit by 7th may
(1) your question and a brief thesis statement
(2) an annotated list of sources, in which you list and briefly describe your primary and secondary sources.* obviously, the sources should include articles or books we have read this semester (list with some text).
in class 8th may, we will work on sources and drafts. come prepared to share your work with other people and to give suggestions to your colleagues. posting a response on the course site to help one of your colleagues out is also useful
3. phase three: submit by 11th may. the final draft of your essay
the final draft of your essay should be 6 to 8 double spaced pages in times 12, cambria 12, or helvetica 11, normal kerning and margins
remember that essays without citations in text and works cited page will be returned summarily with a failing grade
**remember the distinction between primary and secondary sources? if not, look it up!
grading and brief warnings
rubric for evaluation:
argument about theme / question 10
work with primary source example 10
use of secondary sources 5
writing 5
process 5
(for a total of 35 points)
explore, experiment, enjoy. these questions can send you to the mfa, the library, MIT’s visualizing cultures website, kanopy, or youtube. the most important consideration is how you work through a theme (laying it out through secondary sources, working it out with primary source)
remember that your work should include primary source and secondary source material that we read in class. other material should only appear if it is from (1) secondary sources in peer reviewed academic journals (2) primary sources from course links or other reputable primary source collections
to repeat the above. essays without proper citations will be given a failing grade
not meeting the deadlines for the phases of the project will lead to reduction or a zero for process grade
essays without close engagement with primary source material will not receive credit for the work with primary source example grade
question one, in which saturated potentials muddle the science of the possible
zhang hongtu, “soy sauce mao drawing”
soy sauce on rice paper mounted on pages of the red book and sealed with epoxy resin.
31x 23.5 inches, united states 1994 (zhang hongtu 2001)
untitled
Three years ago the music stopped
Freed fingers drew circles on a glass surface
A small patch of sky
Cut out by the window
Talked
But no longer emitted sound
Words dispersed outside the window
Looking at them they turned into apples
Sounds slowly penetrated fruit
(Duo Duo 2002 [1995])
First think about the historical context and meaning of the above primary sources. How might they engage in nostalgia for the past? Political Resist ...
lhis 215 autumn 2015 final projectdescription the final proj.docxcroysierkathey
lhis 215 autumn 2015 final project
description
the final project has two phases
1. phase one: beginning work 2nd may, submit online by evening 7th may:
in phase one, decide which topic on which you will work and begin work on the following pieces
submit by 7th may
(1) your question and a brief thesis statement
(2) an annotated list of sources, in which you list and briefly describe your primary and secondary sources.* obviously, the sources should include articles or books we have read this semester (list with some text).
in class 8th may, we will work on sources and drafts. come prepared to share your work with other people and to give suggestions to your colleagues. posting a response on the course site to help one of your colleagues out is also useful
3. phase three: submit by 11th may. the final draft of your essay
the final draft of your essay should be 6 to 8 double spaced pages in times 12, cambria 12, or helvetica 11, normal kerning and margins
remember that essays without citations in text and works cited page will be returned summarily with a failing grade
**remember the distinction between primary and secondary sources? if not, look it up!
grading and brief warnings
rubric for evaluation:
argument about theme / question 10
work with primary source example 10
use of secondary sources 5
writing 5
process 5
(for a total of 35 points)
explore, experiment, enjoy. these questions can send you to the mfa, the library, MIT’s visualizing cultures website, kanopy, or youtube. the most important consideration is how you work through a theme (laying it out through secondary sources, working it out with primary source)
remember that your work should include primary source and secondary source material that we read in class. other material should only appear if it is from (1) secondary sources in peer reviewed academic journals (2) primary sources from course links or other reputable primary source collections
to repeat the above. essays without proper citations will be given a failing grade
not meeting the deadlines for the phases of the project will lead to reduction or a zero for process grade
essays without close engagement with primary source material will not receive credit for the work with primary source example grade
question one, in which saturated potentials muddle the science of the possible
zhang hongtu, “soy sauce mao drawing”
soy sauce on rice paper mounted on pages of the red book and sealed with epoxy resin.
31x 23.5 inches, united states 1994 (zhang hongtu 2001)
untitled
Three years ago the music stopped
Freed fingers drew circles on a glass surface
A small patch of sky
Cut out by the window
Talked
But no longer emitted sound
Words dispersed outside the window
Looking at them they turned into apples
Sounds slowly penetrated fruit
(Duo Duo 2002 [1995])
First think about the historical context and meaning of the above primary sources. How might they engage in nostalgia for the past? Political Resist ...
lhis 215 autumn 2015 final projectdescription the final proj.docxjeremylockett77
lhis 215 autumn 2015 final project
description
the final project has two phases
1. phase one: beginning work 2nd may, submit online by evening 7th may:
in phase one, decide which topic on which you will work and begin work on the following pieces
submit by 7th may
(1) your question and a brief thesis statement
(2) an annotated list of sources, in which you list and briefly describe your primary and secondary sources.* obviously, the sources should include articles or books we have read this semester (list with some text).
in class 8th may, we will work on sources and drafts. come prepared to share your work with other people and to give suggestions to your colleagues. posting a response on the course site to help one of your colleagues out is also useful
3. phase three: submit by 11th may. the final draft of your essay
the final draft of your essay should be 6 to 8 double spaced pages in times 12, cambria 12, or helvetica 11, normal kerning and margins
remember that essays without citations in text and works cited page will be returned summarily with a failing grade
**remember the distinction between primary and secondary sources? if not, look it up!
grading and brief warnings
rubric for evaluation:
argument about theme / question 10
work with primary source example 10
use of secondary sources 5
writing 5
process 5
(for a total of 35 points)
explore, experiment, enjoy. these questions can send you to the mfa, the library, MIT’s visualizing cultures website, kanopy, or youtube. the most important consideration is how you work through a theme (laying it out through secondary sources, working it out with primary source)
remember that your work should include primary source and secondary source material that we read in class. other material should only appear if it is from (1) secondary sources in peer reviewed academic journals (2) primary sources from course links or other reputable primary source collections
to repeat the above. essays without proper citations will be given a failing grade
not meeting the deadlines for the phases of the project will lead to reduction or a zero for process grade
essays without close engagement with primary source material will not receive credit for the work with primary source example grade
question one, in which saturated potentials muddle the science of the possible
zhang hongtu, “soy sauce mao drawing”
soy sauce on rice paper mounted on pages of the red book and sealed with epoxy resin.
31x 23.5 inches, united states 1994 (zhang hongtu 2001)
untitled
Three years ago the music stopped
Freed fingers drew circles on a glass surface
A small patch of sky
Cut out by the window
Talked
But no longer emitted sound
Words dispersed outside the window
Looking at them they turned into apples
Sounds slowly penetrated fruit
(Duo Duo 2002 [1995])
First think about the historical context and meaning of the above primary sources. How might they engage in nostalgia for the past? Political Resist.
The Five Moves of Analysis(aka The Most Important Thing You Will.docxoreo10
The Five Moves of Analysis
(aka The Most Important Thing You Will Ever Learn)
1. Suspend Judgment: Set aside your likes and dislikes, your agreeing or disagreeing. Say to yourself, “What I find most interesting here is...”.
2. Notice and Focus: Simply put, pay close attention to details. “What do you notice?” What is significant/interesting/revealing/ strange. Slow down and take your time here. Don’t jump to interpretations before you’ve exhausted the details. Uncertainty is good.
3. Look for Patterns: Start sifting through the text looking for Repetitions, Strands, Binaries, and Anomalies.
Repetitions: sheep dog in "How to Talk to a Hunter"
Strands: Animals in "How to Talk to a Hunter," alcohol in "Sonny's Blues"
Binaries: Light/Dark in "Sonny's Blues," young/old in "One of Star Wars, One of Doom"
Anomalies: Mysterious notebook in "One of Star Wars, One of Doom," tin of chocolates with Santa Claus "fondling" children painted on it in "How to Talk to a Hunter"
4. Make the Implicit Explicit: Explain to the reader what the details or the patterns imply. Explain your thought process. Pull out the implications and show them why you think they are “folded in” to the meaning of the text or image. What does this mean and So What? Why is it important?
5. Keep Reformulating Questions and Explanations: What else might this detail or pattern mean? How else could it be explained? What details don’t fit my theory? Can I adjust my theory to better fit with this?
Prepping the Final Paper
Take a minute to re-read the assignment sheet for Paper 3. Then choose which prompt you would like to focus on for your paper. Once you have chosen your prompt, I would like you to go through the book and identify the scenes that you think link to your topic in an interesting way. Now…
1. List the scenes you have chosen, e.g. “Scene #1: The scene in which Oscar is taken into the cane and beaten.”
2. Carefully gather details from your chosen scenes. These should include both individual details you find interesting or bizarre, AND binaries, strands, repetitions, and anomalies. Use the skills we’ve practiced all quarter long to gather these. Write them down. For example, “Oscar’s hands are ‘seamless’ in the dream.’
3. Now spend some time pulling multiple implications out of as many details as you can. For instance, “Seamless hands = brand new, no history, no fingerprints so no traces, like a blank page.”
4. Choose your six juiciest, most interesting and analytically rich details and type them up in a list that includes implications.
5. Use your detail-analysis to develop a working thesis. This is your own analytical theory about what is going on in the scenes you’ve chosen. What have you uncovered and why is it significant? Write that thesis down.
My answer
1. Scene
#1: The scene in which Oscar’s dead at the beginning.
#2: The scene in which the narrator is not Yunior in chapter 2.
#3: Narrating the identity of Yunior.
#4: Using footn ...
A lecture about cause/effect writing. Includes a prior knowledge activity connecting the documentary Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry and Malcolm Gladwell's essay "Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted."
A lecture about how to use quotation marks and how to integrate quoted material from a source into an essay. This lecture focuses on signal phrases and in-text citation.
1. WR 115: Exemplification Essay
What is Exemplification Writing?
Exemplification essays prove a point by providing specific examples as evidence.
o Example: While I love movies as much as ever, the inconvenience of going out,
the temptations of the theater, and the behavior of some patrons are reasons for
me to wait and rent the DVD.
Exemplification essays use emphatic sequence—the main ideas are communicated in
order of importance, with the most important point appearing last.
Essay Prompt
Zora Neale Hurston, at the end of her essay “How It Feels to Be Colored Me,” describes people
as “brown bag[s] of miscellany propped against a wall…pour out the contents, and there is
discovered a jumble of small things priceless and worthless.” What are the three most
important objects in your personal bag of miscellany? These objects can be literal objects (a
guitar, tent, pine tree, etc.) or they can be special places (like Hurston’s memories of the porch,
the school in Jacksonville, and the jazz club). They will all come attached with memories that
give your readers a view of your personality.
You will write a traditional five paragraph essay in which you, via the metaphor of objects in a
brown bag, provide examples of important parts of your personality.
Example Essay Outline:
I. Thesis: My bag of miscellany contains a set of headphones, a pair of folklórico shoes,
and a stage.
II. Headphones
a. Quiet, need alone time
b. I do my thinking when I listen to music
III. Folklórico shoes
a. Diligent, hard working
b. I love to dance!
c. Practice is important
IV. Stage
a. Extrovert
b. Star of the show
V. Conclusion
2. The Writing Process
You must show evidence of each step of the writing process when you turn in your essay.
The Exemplification Essay is due at the beginning of class on
______________________________________________.
I do not accept late essays.
1. Prewriting
2. Outlining
3. Drafting
4. Revising
Essay Requirements
Your essay must be typed in 12 pt. Times New Roman and double-spaced. See your
syllabus for complete assignment format.
Your five paragraph essay must be 2 pages long.
Your essay must have a title. (Be creative!)
You must underline your thesis statement on your final draft. Do not underline it by
hand.
Submit your essay materials in a folder with pockets. Essays must be submitted in
hardcopy. Essays submitted without a rubric will not be graded.
If you wish to purchase an extension for 10% of your essay grade, you must contact me
at least 24 hours before the due date. No extensions will be given after this cut-off.