Fluent Essays

Train yourself to READ the entire assignment sheet CLOSELY and more than once as you think and design a topic! As your evaluator, I use the grading criteria listed on the assignment sheet, so those are definitely worth reviewing in advance! :) English 1302 Project 1: Narrative Argument 100 points/2 pp ds, 2 research citations ©2016 Stacia Campbell, Ph.D. Relevant Reading: Chapters 2&9 of Argument Today textbook ASSIGNMENT: Using your chapter readings, class discussion, and instructor’s guidance, WRITE A NARRATIVE ARGUMENT of at least two pages double-spaced MINIMUM (not counting header, blank lines, or title lines, but actual original text written by you!) SPECIFICATIONS: Your story MUST BE PRECISE, based on events EXPERIENCED OR OBSERVED IN 5 minutes to ONE HOUR of time, no more. Yes, you can do this! It’s not an autobiography that you are writing; it’s a short and POWERFUL narrative argument—a story that argues on its own through the powerful way that you tell it! Think of it as a “slice-into-life-up-close-moment-memoir”! Revisit the “Quick View” on Page 174 of your textbook, noting that “narratives are generative because they invite an audience to identify” and “are useful for challenging or reinforcing existing cultural frames.” Also note the sequence: 1) scene setting, 2) complication, 3) evaluation, 4) resolution, 5) (optional “lesson” or call to action). See Pages 176-179 for great tips on these! See Pages 179-180 for style and design tips! Brainstorming Question: WHAT STORY COULD YOU TELL THAT WOULD “ILLUSTRATE HOW REAL PEOPLE EXPERIENCE THE WORLD” (174)—providing a way to be persuasive through detail-rich storytelling when perhaps reasoning would not succeed? What powerful assertion could you make through a single non-fiction story? RESEARCH REQUIREMENTS (THERE ARE TWO): 1) INTERVIEW AT LEAST ONE PERSON WHO CAN SOMEHOW “TESTIFY” TO YOUR EXPERIENCE OR OBSERVATION (it could even be the person who experienced what you saw happen!) Find a way to incorporate a quote from this person SMOOTHLY into your conclusion. 2) INTRODUCE IN YOUR OWN WORDS AND INCORPORATE A WORKING WEB LINK TO A VIDEO THAT RELATES TO YOUR STORY SOMEHOW (you decide that interesting connection as the author!) Don’t forget that you will need to create a CORRECTLY FORMATTED WORKS CITED PAGE with the interview and the video as entries! (Visit Pages 396-397 and 405 in our Argument Today textbook if you are having trouble remembering how to do a Works Cited page from English 1301! You are accountable for this skill being already developed when you begin English 1302; see a tutor if you need a review!) Reminder: Your Works Cited page is a SEPARATE double-spaced LAST PAGE with a centered header “Works Cited” (always!) and DOES NOT COUNT toward length! GRADING CRITERIA: 1) Engaging narrative content that “argues for itself” (without a thesis statement) 2) Minimum length met and minimum research requirements met 3) Incorporation of narrative elements including title, scene setting, characterization, dialogue (in quotes, even if internal thoughts of you as the narrator), conflict, pacing techniques, and resolution. 4) College-level sentence structures that are free of serious grammar errors such as run-ons and comma splices, and reveal attempts at style and sophistication (intentional syntax, parallel structures, evocative word choice, etc.) 5) Correctly formatted Works Cited page with at least two entries per assignment specifications 6) Bonus gauntlet for “outstanding” level = an intriguing title, powerful sensory detail, at least one original metaphor of your own, and evidence of strong temporal, spatial, and logical transitions. PROF NOTES ON WRITER'S VOICE FOR PROJECT 1 NARRATIVE ARGUMENT Hi there! Here are some "prof notes" to help you with Project 1: You will be writing a STORY.  yes, a NARRATIVE.   You will be the NARRATOR!   This is a SHORT PAPER (2 pages double-spaced minimum--yes, you can go over that, but every line you go over had better be worth reading!  If it's still good, I'm still reading. ;) BECAUSE this is a SHORT PAPER, you cannot write an autobiographical essay (and that's NOT the purpose).  You must choose an event, a "happening," that you witnessed and/or experienced and that tells an argument on its own--without hitting the reader over the head with a blatant thesis statement.   So.... that means you will NOT have a thesis such as "this narrative argues that friends should show up in times of need because friendship can be one of life's most fulfilling relationships."  NO -- instead, your STORY ILLUSTRATING that argues for itself. You want your readers to finish READING YOUR STORY AND STOP, LOOK UP, AND SAY, "WOW -- THAT WAS A POWERFUL STORY ABOUT ______ THAT ARGUES THE IMPORTANCE OF ____" As Chapter 9 encourages us, FOCUS ON SIMPLY TELLING A STORY IN A POWERFUL WAY --to illustrate a human experience in ways that speak powerful to others who may see it differently if they witness the HUMAN STORYTELLING perspective in sharing it. DO NOT SKIP YOUR READINGS THIS WEEK! Chapter 2 gives some EXCELLENT foundational information about two key argument theorists (Kenneth Burke, known for theories of identification and consubstantiation, and Carl Rogers, known for Rogerian rhetoric).  YOU NEED TO BE TAKING NOTES ON EVERY CHAPTER, even if brief ones based on keywords and contributors -- because guess what??--YOU CAN USE THESE NOTES WHEN YOU WRITE YOUR FINAL REFLECTION PAPER FOR YOUR EFOLIO IN THIS COURSE! and save yourself lots of time in December! GUIDANCE on what you should be taking notes on in Chapter 2, for example: how generative arguments differ from "regular old arguments"; definition of identification, definition of "frame," how identification can also occur due to collective efforts AGAINST something (see Page 25), and the dangers of identification "gone bad" (pandering, scapegoating, blame game, exaggeration, and fearmongering); list of common frames on Page 27 (these could help you with your own topics throughout the semester! -- spend time thinking about which ones in that purpose table are IMPORTANT to you and why!; the importance of sounding reasonable, fair, and positive (see George Lakoff, Page 28); use of metaphors, stories, anecdotes, hypothetical examples, fables, parables; definition of Rogerian argument and its 4 steps (Page 33); the importance of consensus and dissensus (avoiding silencing or apathy) in our world of communication (see Page 35). YES, TAKE NOTES ON YOUR READING.  CHAPTER 2, FOR EXAMPLE, will help you with more than one paper this semester!  You may need to use the 4 steps of Rogerian argument, for example, in your proposal paper later! I will offer bonus points at the end of the semester for proof of careful, originally written notes.  (If you are actually reading this, then you know about this opportunity! ha) FEEL FREE TO TEXT ME AT 2106218852 if you have a question about your topic for P1 before posting it on Thursday.   Chapter 9 is your "map" for harnessing the power of narrative arguments, including the methods of development that may work best for the particular story that YOU have to tell!  Read it closely, including the examples at the end! There may be a quiz coming up!