English 110
Spring 2010
Longest Essay: Exploration
Essays (and all work) due by 11 am on Monday, 17 May, to JT Olin Box
This essay requires that you evaluate some element of the composition (writing, argumentation, structure,
language, tone, etc.) of your assigned article, and investigate that element’s application and meaning in that
reading and beyond. Ideally, you’ve already thought about the writing of the article, and something stood out.
Now is the time to develop your ideas in other arenas. You may choose to approach this essay as an exploration
into other published writing or your own work or some combination thereof.
If you examine other published writing, you should consider sticking to 2-3 sources total. These additional
sources may be other readings from this class, readings from your Core class, your Literature class, your Econ
class, your eleventh grade history class, your leisure reading when you were twelve – in other words, it’s up to
you. If you examine your own work, you may choose one or two of your own essays, of which only one may be
from this class. Regardless of your direction, you MUST use your assigned article for this class as the starting
point for your topic.
As you begin writing
Do remember that this is a writing class; you will be writing about writing. Your task is to address some
element(s) of the composition of an assigned reading – not to weigh in on the article’s subject – and then
broaden your discussion of that writing “tool” into other arenas. There are too many possible directions to make
adequate suggestions for every student. Instead, you are encouraged to find a topic and direction that make sense
for your writing style and interests. Here, however, are some tasks every essay I can imagine must accomplish:
1. Identify and explain the composition tool your essay will address (POV, bias, mediation, language,
characterization, rhetorical appeal, structure, etc.)
2. Use specific examples from one of your assigned readings and at least one other source to demonstrate
how that tool works within a framework of an argument (a subtask: you’ll need to offer brief summative
information about each source, but only as background and in as much detail as is pertinent to your
essay’s larger idea)
3. Draw conclusions about that writing tool (address the “and so what?” question)
A few critical things to remember:
* You are writing about the writing of your sources, not simply weighing in on their subjects.
* Your essay must offer an argument or pose a debatable theory about some element of the writing of your
sources.
* You may use summary, but use it wisely and sparingly – only when relevant to your idea.
* Use sources (including your own work!) respectfully and correctly per to the conventions of the academic
community you’re in – no excuses.
A working thesis
Typically, the first step of a working thesis for this essay will contain statements about what a writing tool does
for an argument (or theme, or goal). Using Colpinto’s “Bloodsuckers” as an example, an initial working thesis /
triggering idea could look something like: “Colapinto balances deliberately disgusting descriptions of leeches with
authoritative medical information to assure readers that, while admittedly distasteful, leeching is not the archaic
and crude form of medicine we might presume it to be.” That working thesis identifies an argument within the
article, shows, in part, how the writing contributes to that argument, and offers an opinion on the efficacy of the
article’s writing and argument. Continuing, the next step of that working thesis must encompass at least one
other source, such as: “Just as Colapinto emphasizes how disgusting leeches are while encouraging his audience
to accept them as modern medicine, Divakaruni acknowledges the nightmarish image of child labor while raising
doubts about the US’s right to condemn the practice through the story of one child.” Both of these working
theses are writer-oriented – they remind the writer how to use their sources. However, the polished focus of this
essay should be about the writing tool itself, and so those nods to sources might disappear. The prominence of
source specifics in a polished thesis might confuse or misdirect a reader or (unwisely) limit the essay’s scope. At
the same time, claims disguised as fact also limit the scope of an idea; though such moments often appear as
English 110
Spring 2010
generalizations, they tend to mask the complexity and nuance that are necessary to strong academic ideas. So –
by the time the essay’s complete, the working thesis should shift to the writing tool and mitigate its language:
“Playing to an audience’s predispositions and carefully locating an argument away from an entrenched position
gives a writer credibility and a good chance of succeeding with a resistant audience.” A good introduction of a
paragraph or two might unpack that thesis, explain its language, and set a course for developing and illustrating
the ideas and arguments it contains.
Basics
Don’t forget to identify, at least, the author and title of any sources used within the text of your essay. Review
lessons from class and Hacker about formatting titles, names, quotations, and paraphrases within academic
essays. As we’ve seen, smoothly integrating quotations from another text into your essay and editing those
quotations is a task unto itself. Take care when choosing which direct quotations will appear in your essay, ensure
your essay explains how these quotations support or illustrate an observation or point you wish to make, and
integrate the quotations seamlessly into the grammar of your writing.
Generalizations
Avoid sweeping generalizations about the world, a source’s subject, and your topic. Remember that you are
writing about a writing tool, how it functions in at least two sources, and drawing conclusions. This “throatclearing” often happens in drafts, because the writer hasn’t yet found a point. In a final version, you should
already have a point, and have edited the entire essay toward it.
Summary
You may need to summarize some of any source you use, but be sure that there’s a specific reason – relevant to
your argument / thesis / controlling idea – for all summary that appears in your essay. Don’t assume that your
reader has read your sources, but also realize that they shouldn’t need to in order to understand them enough to
see the validity and wisdom of your perspective.
Writing about texts
Typically, events in a written work (fiction, poetry, and nonfiction) are discussed using the present tense and
third-person point-of-view or POV (i.e., “Colapinto balances . . .”). However, your argument and approach may
occasion use of the past tense, first-person POV, or other deviations. You may use any POV or verb tense you
find appropriate for your essay. Do edit for shifts, though, and unless there’s a reason to switch, be consistent
throughout the essay. Regardless of which POV you use, be sure that it is your voice, your argument, and your
ideas guiding the essay.
Writing partners
Again, you will be working closely with an assigned partner (or within a triad) both during class AND on your
own time. Your partner should read your in-class work and at least one draft of your essay OUTSIDE class,
providing feedback as you develop and refine your ideas. Your partner must also write an evaluation of your
essay according to the Five-Area Assessment – this should be included with your reflection, where you should
respond to their evaluation. You will have some class time for these activities, but you will have to work
together outside class, too. This person is your writing buddy. Learn from each other, and work through writing
struggles together. Meet with me together. Ask me questions about each others’ work when it raises questions
about your own writing (it should).
Turning in this essay
Citations & format
Follow the essay format instructions from your course writing guidelines, handed out during the first week and
still posted to the course website. It’s deeply unlikely you can fulfill the basic requirements of this assignment
without using some direct quotation and paraphrase, so decide which form of specific citation (in-text, footnotes,
or endnotes) and which style (MLA, APA, or Chicago – please note whether you’re using the “2009 MLA
update” version of Hacker or not) you’d like to use, and use one form and style consistently throughout your
essay. You will need to cite all sources used, both specifically and generally, because you are writing within a
English 110
Spring 2010
community that demands it. All of your assigned readings can be found through ProQuest; Lexis Nexis, or
online, and fortunately Hacker provides a framework for formatting Works Cited entries for most online and
academic service sources. Use pdf documents when available, because they are replicas of the original article.
Like most online sources, articles from the New Yorker are available only in unformatted text, and their
pagination is not consistent with the original publication; instead of page numbers, use paragraph numbers,
which will be uniform regardless of font size. It’s wise to proofread your citations with Hacker by your side or go
to the Writing Center to review.
Reflection
Your accompanying reflection must address, at length, your writing process, including the class discussion you
led, your writing partnership, anything unusual you tried in your essay, and offer parting thoughts. Consider your
essay under EACH of the five categories of academic writing standards; include your partner’s assessment and
respond to it. It’s the final reflection of the term, and should show deep investigation – reach for an absolute
minimum of one full page, double-spaced.
What you need to turn in (or not)
Put together a package just as you’ve done for your Shorter Essays: the final version of your essay goes on top,
including a Works Cited or Bibliography, followed by your reflection, and then every draft and process work
assignment you’ve completed (even if I’ve seen it before), as assigned or on your own, going backwards
chronologically. The first work you did toward this assignment should be on the bottom. Please do not use bulky
folders or binders to contain your work; just staple securely and put your name and a page number (as necessary)
on each sheet of paper. If you use your own writing as a source within your essay, please include a copy of that
selection. However, please do not turn in either a copy of the assignment description or the published sources you
use; I have the first, and should be directed to the latter by your Works Cited or Bibliography. I will be done with
your essays when grades are due; if you would like your essay returned to you, please include an unsealed (but
sealable) envelope large enough to hold your work. These will be sent to your campus mailbox or (if correct
postage is included) an address of your choice. Please ask if you’re not sure whether or not to include something.
Sample essay openings (content / presentation grades)
Outside sources are frequently used in articles to prove a point or strengthen an argument. Expert
sources lend credibility to the claims of the author. When the author does not explicitly state their personal view,
the portrayal of the experts included in the article can help the audience recognize the author’s opinion. If the
experts are portrayed negatively, for instance, as socially awkward or emotional, their image and credibility are
damaged, which might be just what the author intends if he disagrees with them. Conversely, the author can
portray them as confident or a standout in their field of study to positively influence the audience’s perception of
them. Michael Specter, in his New Yorker article “The Last Drop”, uses emphatic statements from experts he
portrays favorably to advocate water usage reform. B/B
Intended audience should have a major impact on the tone and language an author chooses when
writing. The type of writing style that authors choose influences readers’ thoughts and therefore influences their
opinions on the credibility and effectiveness of the specific work. In Michael Pollan’s “Unhappy Meals”, his use
of sarcastic language and writing style for his intended nutritionally-aware audience is ineffective. He never takes
into consideration the opinions of outside sources, and rarely introduces expert opinions on nutrition. He bases
his article around personal opinions and ideas, which restricts the audience from fully relating to his broader
topic of nutrition. This demonstrates a weak style of writing because he does not base his writing style around
the particular audience that would be likely to read this type of article, thus causing him to lose credibility in the
readers’ minds. However, by comparing Pollan’s style of writing to that of Talbot’s writing style in “The Bad
Mother”, it becomes clear that Talbot’s writing style is much more effective because she conveys her information
in a clear and focused way by using specific evidence and expert opinions. By directing her information to a
particular audience, she allows that audience to gain trust in both her and the article, and therefore gain
credibility in her writing. C-/C+
English 110
Spring 2010
The use of detail to portray a character in a particular way is a classic technique of fiction. We might
know Charles Dickens’s Scrooge to be unkind from the fact that the narrator tells us this, but we would also
probably be able to infer the same by reading about Scrooge’s “old features… his eyes red, his thin lips blue” (6).
Similarly, Washington Irving’s description of Ichabod Crane “dilating [like an] . . . anaconda” (12) as he eats
might be all we need to be convinced that Crane is a scoundrel. Details can be used similarly in nonfiction.
However, because a nonfiction writer may not imagine details as a fiction writer may, the portrayal of a subject
through detail must be executed differently. The portrayal will be shaped not by what the writer invents, which
would violate the contract between a nonfiction writer and her reader, but rather by what details she decides to
include and the language she chooses to describe those details. A-/A
The choices an author makes when introducing a character have a tremendous impact on the way the
audience perceives both the character and the issue the author is discussing. Writers pick and choose from a vast
store of researched information and present only what they want the audience to see. By doing so, the author can
introduce characters in either a positive or negative light. Once the author has established this perception in the
eyes of the reader, they can introduce new – and even conflicting – information about those characters without
dramatically altering the reader’s initial impression. Katherine Boo, a writer the New Yorker, uses characterization,
traditionally a literary technique, to sway her audience gently and avoid the confrontational effect of an explicitly
opinionated and potentially divisive article such as Matthew Chapman’s “God or Gorilla”. First widely noticed in
Truman Capote’s nonfiction book In Cold Blood, Boo’s approach bonds her audience with her characters, causing
the audience in invest their emotions in the lives and fortunes of those characters and sympathize with their
cause. Boo’s method succeeds in several key goals of mainstream articles; she communicates bias without
wrecking her credibility, she involves her audience in the topic without confronting or alienating them, and she
educates while entertaining. A/AA reader is only as knowledgeable as the author allows them to be. A reader cannot be expected to know
Bill Buckingham, a supporter of intelligent design instruction in Dover, Pennsylvania, or Cho and Kisuk Shin,
parents of MIT suicide victim Elizabeth Shin. The reader, therefore, must rely upon the author to supply
whatever information is necessary to an understanding of the topic at hand. The reader is at the author’s mercy,
unable (without additional research) to be certain where truth ends and where an author’s personal opinion takes
over. While on occasion a journalist will openly state his opinion, as Matthew Chapman does when noting his
incredulity about intelligent design in “God or Gorilla”. But more often, the reader must be on guard, because an
author will be making a subtle argument using characterization, generalization, and implication. B/BBias in writing can be used in many different ways when an author is covering a subject. Reporters are
usually supposed to present even-handed reports of an event. This is often a good technique; it keeps the writing
fair and uncontroversial. Bias, when used in an essay, can sometimes seem condescending and unreasonable. The
reader can easily mistake the writer’s tone as all-knowing, but when an author’s opinion is presented honestly and
directly like when Matthew Chapman in his article “God or Gorilla” openly claims his bias against intelligent
design, then the audience accepts that only one side will be presented. In Katherine Boo’s article, “Swamp
Nurse”, her opinion is presented indirectly through assumptions and descriptions of her characters, making her
seem unfair and judgmental. C+/BIn dealing with a controversial topic, a writer is bound to cause offense or disagreement to some readers
if they make an explicit personal statement in the article. But by carefully selecting and incorporating quotations
from various sources related to the subject, a writer may be able to avoid directly stating their own opinion. By
using quotations, a writer can avoid stating a direct personal opinion, and at the same time, sway the audience to
side with the writer’s own conclusion of the issue. Writers can put quotations to cause a reader to question or
disagree with one source, or cause favor and support of another. In the New York Times Magazine article “Who
Was Responsible for Elizabeth Shin?”, Deborah Sontag uses quotations from the parents and friends of
Elizabeth Shin to put the parents of Elizabeth in an unfavorable light, and argue that they were the ones
responsible for the suicide of their daughter. Additionally, Matthew Chapman, writer of Harper’s article “God or
Gorilla” uses quotations to portray the supporters of intelligent design as ridiculous and ignorant to argue that
evolution is the most credible theory to how humans were created. B/C-
English 110
Spring 2010
Scheduling Reminders
Due Thursday, 29 April
The 7th Shorter Essay (Revision) is due at the start of class; please turn in all process work (original graded
packet, plus any new drafts, notes, outlines, false starts, reflection) with your final essay.
Bring to class a proposal for your Longest Essay (Exploration). Please include a statement about the topic
you will explore (something about the writing), information about the two (minimum) sources you intend to use,
and specific expectations of each source (what you’ll say about the writing and how it will fit into your essay’s
larger argument). Remember that one source must be your assigned class article, and you may choose the other
source(s).
Due Monday, 3 May
Bring to class notes detailing your working topic (something about writing as inspired by your assigned
article), at least one example from each source, and notes / an explanation explaining what each source
contributes to your essay.
Due Tuesday, 4 May
Bring to class printed copies of two things:
1) a polished-for-now body paragraph from your essay that uses a specific example from your assigned
source to discuss the writing issue central to your essay.
2) EITHER a printed super-rough draft of your essay’s body paragraphs (no intro or conclusion), OR, at
least, information-rich construction plans for your Longest Essay that include transitions between
ideas/paragraphs and notes about what each paragraph will do for your essay idea. This should take the form of
a hierarchical list or outline of explanations, in order, that narrate your intended essay. If you have particular
sentences, paragraphs, or portions thereof, be sure to include them where they might eventually be used.
Due Thursday, 6 May
Bring to class as full an essay draft as you can manage (obviously, the better the draft the further ahead you’ll
be by the end of class). Be sure to include a conclusion.
Due Monday, 10 May
Bring to class a read-aloud copy of your essay.
Due Tuesday, 11 May
Bring to class a read-aloud copy of your essay.
Turn in a near-complete copy of your grade tally (see your first day packet or the “about English 110 link on
the course webpage).
* Extra office hours TBA, 11-15 May
Saturday, 15 May, 10-noon
Scheduled help-session in lieu of exam if three students commit (this contains our scheduled exam time; if you
would like to attend but an obligation for another class is preventing you, please put me in touch with your
professor). Bring a printed copy of your essay to the Library’s CTL room, your Hacker handbook, and scissors if
you have them. We will be doing several proofreading & polish exercises.
Due Monday, 17 May
Final essays are due, with all process work and work of the term, by 11 am to JT Olin Box. If you would like
your work returned to you, please include an unsealed (but sealable) envelope large enough to hold everything.
These will be sent after grades are posted, to your campus mailbox or (if postage and information provided) an
address of your choice.