Paper #1: Snapshots: Shaping Your Life Story
4-6 pages (plus images):
For our first paper project, we will consider how the stories that make up our lives have been shaped, and then we will shape a small cross section of this story for our peers. These stories will be conveyed in two types of snapshots—written text and visual texts. You will paint a picture with words while also including images that reflect each story. As evidenced in Beyond Words, the framing of narratives and images can drastically alter the meaning of the text; thus, you will need to think about the social and cultural contexts that have affected your opinions of yourself as well as others‘ perceptions of you. In order to discover the many facets of your personality, each snapshot will be based on a different person‘s perspective of you. That is, one snapshot will capture how you see yourself, and the others will emerge from the opinions of those around you. You will gain varying insights about yourself by interviewing 3-4 people from different parts of your life. You will write four or five ―word‖ snapshots. Your snapshots will not be transcripts of your interviews, but rather they will focus on specific traits or experiences important to the way each interviewee sees you. One may tell a story in which you and the other person are characters, and another may describe a certain trait which you can translate into an extended metaphor. You can also jump right into your interviewee‘s head and convey his/her thoughts in a fairly associative manner, or maybe you will use dialogue to show how you and the interviewee interact. These snapshots are just that—individual pictures a reader might find in a photo album. Do not feel the need to make word transitions between the snapshots. You will shape your overall message through the selection, depiction, and organization of the snapshots. Each of your written snapshots will be connected to a specific image chosen by you or the interviewee. The image does not have to be a personal photo but should represent in some way the written snapshot you have created. When completed, you will have both a textual collage as well as a visual collage. The images should be integrated into the written text, which requires that you make choices as far as the visual design of your piece. Remember who the audience will be: those students sitting in your ENC 1102 classroom. Choose those snapshots that they will be interested in and will want to read.
First Draft Due: Tuesday 1/22/13
Final Draft Due: Thursday 1/31/13
Grading Rubric:
Paper 1: Snapshots: Shaping Your Life Story
(out of 20 possible points)
Evaluation Areas
For detailed explanations of specific problems and how to make improvements, read the appropriate sections of your McGraw Hill Handbook and The Curious Researcher.
Opening (out of 2)
(Does the opening convey the main issue and involve the reader in the essay? Does the main issue reflect on the role that the subject has played in the writer’s life?)
Development of the Main Issue(s) (out of 5)
(Does the essay develop the main issue with effective details and examples? Does the narrative “show” through concrete description rather than merely “tell,” allowing the reader to evaluate and fully understand what is going on?)
Conflict and Rising Tension (out of 4)
(Is tension created throughout the essay through vivid characters, significant events, and effective dialogue?)
Resolution, Viewpoint or Message (out of 3)
(Does the conclusion address “reader-relevance,” teach readers something meaningful about the writer’s life– i.e. answer the “So What?” question? Does it employ critical thinking about the socio-cultural context in which the writer exists?)
Evidence of Writing Process (out of 2)
(Did the writer turn in copies of every draft:, peer reviews, conference draft, and final draft?)
Organization & Connectedness (out of 2)
(Is the narrative organized, easy to follow, have effective transitions and paragraphing?
Readability – Grammar & Mechanics: (out of 2)
· Subject-Verb Agreement
· Verb Tenses and Verb Forms
· Sentence Punctuation—Fragments, Run-ons, Fused Sentences
· Spelling
For our first paper project, we will consider how the stories that make up our lives have been shaped, and then we will shape a small cross section of this story for our peers. These stories will be conveyed in two types of snapshots—written text and visual texts. You will paint a picture with words while also including images that reflect each story. As evidenced in Beyond Words, the framing of narratives and images can drastically alter the meaning of the text; thus, you will need to think about the social and cultural contexts that have affected your opinions of yourself as well as others‘ perceptions of you. In order to discover the many facets of your personality, each snapshot will be based on a different person‘s perspective of you. That is, one snapshot will capture how you see yourself, and the others will emerge from the opinions of those around you. You will gain varying insights about yourself by interviewing 3-4 people from different parts of your life. You will write four or five ―word‖ snapshots. Your snapshots will not be transcripts of your interviews, but rather they will focus on specific traits or experiences important to the way each interviewee sees you. One may tell a story in which you and the other person are characters, and another may describe a certain trait which you can translate into an extended metaphor. You can also jump right into your interviewee‘s head and convey his/her thoughts in a fairly associative manner, or maybe you will use dialogue to show how you and the interviewee interact. These snapshots are just that—individual pictures a reader might find in a photo album. Do not feel the need to make word transitions between the snapshots. You will shape your overall message through the selection, depiction, and organization of the snapshots. Each of your written snapshots will be connected to a specific image chosen by you or the interviewee. The image does not have to be a personal photo but should represent in some way the written snapshot you have created. When completed, you will have both a textual collage as well as a visual collage. The images should be integrated into the written text, which requires that you make choices as far as the visual design of your piece. Remember who the audience will be: those students sitting in your ENC 1102 classroom. Choose those snapshots that they will be interested in and will want to read.
First Draft Due: Tuesday 1/22/13
Final Draft Due: Thursday 1/31/13
Grading Rubric:
Paper 1: Snapshots: Shaping Your Life Story
(out of 20 possible points)
Evaluation Areas
For detailed explanations of specific problems and how to make improvements, read the appropriate sections of your McGraw Hill Handbook and The Curious Researcher.
Opening (out of 2)
(Does the opening convey the main issue and involve the reader in the essay? Does the main issue reflect on the role that the subject has played in the writer’s life?)
Development of the Main Issue(s) (out of 5)
(Does the essay develop the main issue with effective details and examples? Does the narrative “show” through concrete description rather than merely “tell,” allowing the reader to evaluate and fully understand what is going on?)
Conflict and Rising Tension (out of 4)
(Is tension created throughout the essay through vivid characters, significant events, and effective dialogue?)
Resolution, Viewpoint or Message (out of 3)
(Does the conclusion address “reader-relevance,” teach readers something meaningful about the writer’s life– i.e. answer the “So What?” question? Does it employ critical thinking about the socio-cultural context in which the writer exists?)
Evidence of Writing Process (out of 2)
(Did the writer turn in copies of every draft:, peer reviews, conference draft, and final draft?)
Organization & Connectedness (out of 2)
(Is the narrative organized, easy to follow, have effective transitions and paragraphing?
Readability – Grammar & Mechanics: (out of 2)
· Subject-Verb Agreement
· Verb Tenses and Verb Forms
· Sentence Punctuation—Fragments, Run-ons, Fused Sentences
· Spelling