Major Writing Assignment #1 Literacy and Education Narrative

Assignment Description: In response to readings from the course, as well as texts/themes discussed in class,
you will write a descriptive, well-organized narrative about a personal literacy or educational experience and
connect this experience to an issue of larger societal importance. Your task in this essay is (1) to present your
story in a compelling manner and (2) to use your experience to argue about a larger issue of local, national, or
international interest by integrating outside sources. Ultimately, the essay should argue for the importance of
your issue, your points, and/or solutions and integrate research to support your argument. You will discover that
public arguments usually stem from issues of personal importance.
Research Requirements: To fulfill the research component of this essay, you will need to locate, read, and
reference a minimum of two and maximum of three sources. Both scholarly sources (academic books, journal
articles, reference works, etc.) and popular sources (personal interviews, music lyrics, advertisements, magazine
articles, movies, brochures, etc.) are appropriate as long as they are clearly relevant to the point you are making
in your social significance essay. You should have as your final sources at least one scholarly and one popular
source.
Writing Suggestions:
Notice how the authors we read choose two or three key incidents to raise an issue or illustrate a
problem. Do the same for yourself, building your essay around specific events, anecdotes, stories, etc.
that make your experiences concrete for a reader. In order to gain focus, you should probably center on
one or two factors that have been particularly significant to you and how you have gained knowledge by
connecting that experience to larger issues of social significance.
First, work on describing your personal experience. Try to use narrative techniques such as dialogue,
setting the scene, character description, and dramatic tension to render your point more interesting and
effective.
Analyze your rhetorical choices. Are you relying solely on emotional arguments (pathos), factual
arguments (logos), or arguments based on your reliability as an author (ethos)? Aim for a mix of all
three.
After writing the personal experience portion of your argument, answer the so what question. What is
the significance of what you are writing? Why are you writing? This may help you find ways to
integrate traditional sources into your argument.
During writing and revising, read your paper aloud for breaks in flow. This is also a great way to catch
grammatical errors, shifts in verb tense, and fragment or run-on sentences.
When revising, pick the best point or example from your experience and explode the moment
(describe the experience in a way that evokes all five senses). This will help make the experience more
realistic to readers.
Evaluation Emphases:
When I evaluate your essay, I will be especially concerned about the following elements:
A focused main idea that makes a clear connection between your experience and the larger issues that
you are addressing
Detailed examples (evidence) to support your main idea
Proper use of sources; source use that adds substantially to the argument (not fluff)
A clear line of argument and insightful commentary on the issues
Complex structure (organization) and analysis
Correct grammar and usage
Five FULL to seven pages
MLA documentation style: 12 pt, Times New Roman font, 1 margins, typed, double-spaced, stapled,
numbered pages, name as a header.

Major Writing Assignment #2: Arguing From Sources Advertising and Persuasion Argument

Assignment Description: You will conduct an academic inquiry into the marketing and advertising of a brand
or product aimed at you as a consumer. The unit is made up of multiple writing and research projects that will
lead you from an exploration of your personal interest in a topic, to a discovery of sources that reflect multiple
points of view on your topic, to an assertion of a position in the context of the larger conversation represented
by those multiple points of view. First you will gather primary and secondary information about the brand or
product, then describe, analyze, and evaluate that information in an annotated bibliography. You will then
synthesize your information, grouping it so that it logically leads to an arguable point of question that you will
pursue in your argumentative paper.
Writing Assignments and Descriptions:
Annotated Bibliography: This is a list of your sources in MLA format that includes an annotation for
each source. The annotation consists of both a summary of the source and an analysis of the text for its
usefulness in relationship to your project. (10 -12 sources, at least four primary, at least four secondary;
at least three of the secondary sources must be scholarly.)
Literature Review: The literature review is a synthesis of your sources gathered from your annotated
bibliography which groups these sources in usable ways. The literature review is a place to think about
making your sources converse with each other. That is, just as a conversation follows a certain thread
or line of thought, so too do the ways you put together your sources. Your literature review should
represent the stasis or arguable point that your argumentative paper will demonstrate (6 full - 8 pages
plus works cited page, using at least 9 -10 sources; at least three primary, at least four secondary; of the
four secondary, three must be scholarly)
Argumentative Paper: Based on the research you have done over the course of this unit, write an
argumentative paper, which offers a position on a controversial aspect of the topic. The research over the
course of the unit will provide the context, supporting evidence for your position, and explanation of the
opposing view. (10 full - 12 pages plus works cited page; 8 -10 sources: at least three primary sources, at
least four secondary sources, three of the four should be scholarly)
Presentation of Argumentative Paper: Based on your argumentative paper, you will deliver an 8 -10
minute presentation in which your goal is to convince your audience of your thesis by using supporting
evidence. You are required to use a visual.

Paper Formatting:
MLA documentation style: 12 pt, Times New Roman font, 1 margins, typed, double-spaced, stapled,
numbered pages, name as a header.

Major Writing Assignment #3: Arguing About Writing in and across the Disciplines

Assignment Description: In this unit, you will explore some aspect of your writing over the course of the
semester or the writing conventions in your major academic discipline or a course where you have produced
written work. You will present an argument about the content and style of that writing in visual and textual
form. (3-5 pages)
Research Requirements: To fulfill the research component of this essay, you will quote and cite your essays
that have been written over the course of the semester, textbooks used in a specific discipline, or samples of
writing done in an academic discipline.
Writing Suggestions:
Reread your writing. Do you prefer one type of writing style to another? Do you see any similarities in
the different essays you wrote?
As you read your essays, do you see any growth as a writer between your first essay and later essays you
wrote. Do you see any stylistic choices that are indicative of your writing?
If you are investigating the writing done in another course or discipline, what kinds of assignments have
you written? What are the goals of those assignments?
How does the writing that you have done in one course differ from the writing that you have done in
another? How so? Why?
Paper Formatting:
MLA documentation style: 12 pt, Times New Roman font, 1 margins, typed, double-spaced, stapled,
numbered pages, name as a header.