ENG 103: WRITING ABOUT PLACE
FINAL PROJECT
SPRING, 2015
Instructor:
Catherine Keefe
Email: keefe@chapman.edu
DUE DATE:
Blog must be complete by the end of regularly scheduled Final Exam Time:
ENG 103-11, 11:00 am class
Final Project is due on Thurs. May 21 at 4:00 pm.
ENG 103-13, Noon class
Final Project is due on Fri. May 22 by 1:15 pm.
NO LATE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED. NONE.
If for some reason you change your blog web address, please e-mail me with the new link before
Final Exam Time.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
PURPOSE:
1- To explore the question, "How and why do writers compose a multi-modal presentation to construct a
rhetorical stance when writing about place?"
2- To define your blog's audience and purpose.
3- To show proficiency at aligning voice and form to the intended audience through your blog.
You'll capture the reader with your "Writing About Place" projects including Close Observation, OC in
Unison, Where I Go, and also your poetry, images, personal observations, reaction to and review of the
readings, questions, musings, and engagement with ideas on Writing About Place from literature, history,
philosophy, religion, the law, sociology, psychology, the arts, sports, and personal experience.
PROCESS:
Your Final Blog Project will be comprised of only 15 total posts.
This will be more of an editing process than an adding process, although there are a few new posts you'll
need to write. You are free to incorporate any of the writing already on your blog into the final 15 posts.
In fact, you've already done all the work, so why wouldn't you use it?
You will hide from public view (never delete forever, right?) all your rough drafts and any other writing
that does not fit into one of the 15 required posts listed below.
WAIT!!! READ THE REST OF THIS SENTENCE BEFORE YOU HIDE OR DELETE
ANYTHING!!!!
You are responsible for checking on BlackBoard to make sure I've already graded any post you want to
hide or delete. You obviously don't want to delete something I haven't read yet. You might want to cut
and paste any deletions into a Word document just in case it turns out you already said something
brilliant and decide to include some or all of it in your final.
Your Final Blog Project must include:
* An "About" page that includes one image representative of your rhetorical purpose.
- This is not a post. It's a separate "About" page.
- This "About" page is a bio, yes AND it's your Author's Statement of Purpose for your
blog. (150 - 200 words.)
- You will clearly state the theme, thesis, and intended audience of your entire blog
space on this "About" page.
- You will include one image that represents your rhetorical purpose.
* Your blog title must be followed by an appropriate tagline explaining to a reader what to
expect. If you use a quote, you must attribute the quote. See Summits Guide
homepage for an example of how I do this with my tagline.
* Your Final Blog Project will be made up of only 15 posts.
- You may arrange them in order you like. Creatively compose the structure that best fits
your purpose. You don't have to present the posts in the order I've listed here.
In fact I encourage you not to order them this way. The numbers are strictly for you
to use as a checklist.
* Minimum of 10 photos or original artwork must be present on your blog. That's 10 for the
total project, not 10 per post.
- You will only receive credit for photos with a caption and photo credit listed.
- You will not receive credit for using any copyrighted images you don't own.
THE FIFTEEN POSTS
- ARRANGE IN ANY ORDER YOU LIKE.
- PLEASE GIVE ALL POSTS A NEW, ORIGINAL TITLE.
#1:
Revise your Blog Post #1, "So Here I Am."
Reflect upon your expectations as you began an intense practice of Writing About Place.
Reread your Blog Post #1 and edit as necessary to apply to your target audience.
#2
Revise your Blog Post #10, "So now I'm leaving a writing place."
Reflect upon and evaluate the combination of reading, writing, workshopping, drafting, and
editing that we've done for its effectiveness at giving you time, space, and attention to the
craft of writing. What can you suggest to your target audience that might further
enhance their own writing craft or critical thinking skills as a reader? What is your Theory of
Writing About Place? Quote from other writers about place and writing craft, and/or about being a
student. Put your quotes in context.
#3
Edited and revised Blog Post #7 (April 1)
#4
One music selection. Include an introduction explaining why this music belongs on your blog.
Write out the lyrics if you think that benefits a reader. Or you can have this post near the top of
your blog and suggest the reader listen as an accompaniment, or integrate the music in any other
way you choose.
#5
Edited "Close Observation" project. Review project assessment and make changes to improve
effectiveness of this project.
#6
Edited "OC in Unison" project. Review project assessment and make changes to improve
effectiveness of this project.
#7
Edited "Where I Go" project. Review project assessment and make changes to improve
effectiveness of this project.
#8
Edited "Where I'm From" Blog Post #6 (March 6)
#9
Edited and revised Blog Post #3. 500 words. (Feb. 13)
Return once again to the spot you wrote about.
Edit what you've written. Write new observations.
Tell a reader what's to be lost or gained by returning to a place and writing about it again.
Include outside voices.
#10
Edited and revised Blog Post #4 (Feb. 20) and Blog Post #8. (April 3). You can blend them together,
or if you got a perfect score on Blog Post #8 you can post that as is.
This should be as dense with precise detail, description and new information as Gary Snyder's
poem, "Covers the Ground." (Reading for April 3.)
#11
Edited and revised Blog Post #5. (March 4)
#12
Create a reading list for a writer interested in learning about how to Write About Place.
Your Reading Reaction #1, (Feb. 11); Reaction #2 (Feb. 18); and Reaction #5 (April 10) offer a
starting point, but feel free to list entirely new pieces you may know.
List at least 7 titles of essays or book excerpts with authors and hyperlink the sources.
Organize the titles however you wish.
Detail the elements of writing craft and rhetorical technique that a reader can learn from each one.
Use quoted passages as examples of the points you make.
#13
Revise your Blog Post #2. 600-750 words.
This post originally was one with images and no words. Now write about these photos in a way
that merges your personal perspective with a broader audience. Name the places shown in the
photos. Tell the reader some fact(s) about the place. Can you find a quote about the place from a
book, film, research article, song or any source? Consider how these images act as a rhetorical
commentary on the life and times of you as a representative of your generation. Be sure to credit
your photos.
#14
Revise your Blog Post #9. 500 words.
You created a new word. Now use any form you like - prose, poem, song, video - to delve more
deeply into your new concept. Name the concept. Describe it. How can it belong to everyone? Use
the new word in a sentence. Explain its etymology. Detail how current language doesn't accurately
reflect the thing you're trying to name. Describe how it is unique to the place you discovered it.
Link the concept to other writers or artists or musicians or athletes, or academic disciplines, etc.
Be playful, informative, and consistent with your blog tone.
#15
What did you see today?
Here's one last chance to open your eyes to the world around you. This is a free-write post. Use
any form you like to tell the reader about something you noticed. Remember to use proper nouns.
For inspiration, check out your In-Class Week 2 and remember our classroom opening
conversations.
ASSESSMENT:
Value: 150 points
Grading will be based on:
Focus – Have you specifically described your rhetorical intention and purpose on your About
page? Are your entries consistent with that goal? Are your visual elements selected to deepen the
meaning of your prose? Is your title catchy and relevant to your theme? Is your blog visual theme
well suited to the rhetorical affect you want to present? Do your written entries, photos, art, title,
blog appearance theme, all enhance and highlight your stated rhetorical position?
(30 points)
Rhetorical Stance - Is there a discernable purpose to how you crafted your authorial position in
this blog? Have you addressed specifically how this blog has anything to do with you? Is your
language consistent with that authorial stance? How do the issues you've written about affect you
and your target audience? How does this blog take into account your target audience? Have you
developed an effective blend of ethos, logos, and pathos with your entries? Have you shown the
reader how your experiences and writing are one voice within a larger ongoing conversation of
Writing About Place?
(30 points)
Depth –Have you shown a broad range of voices about your topic? Does it cross disciplines:
science, history, art, politics, and popular culture? Do you write for an audience who has no idea
who you are? Can the reader learn something new by reading your work? How have you tried to
make your presentation original from what already exists? Are your multi-modal components
juxtaposed in a way that heightens their meaning? Do you find something new to say? Do you
empower a reader to take some sort of action in some aspect of life? Do your edits of previously
graded work reveal deeper thought?
(30 points)
Observation – Do your written sections reflect the elements of good technique we've discussed
this semester? Are you able to engage a reader outside of our university community? Do you
explain the significance of your observations in relationship to history, culture, political
importance, or human interest? Does your prose show a balance of story and summary?
(30 points)
Format –Have you included all of the required project elements listed above in red bold type? Is
your grammar correct? Have you double-checked your spelling? Do you attribute all your facts
and quotes to the original source by integrating hyperlinks in the text?
(30 points)