Pawley
English IV
Writing Assignment: A Description of “Your Place”
Since our first day of class you have been thinking about a place that is special to
you, that is important to you in some way. You have brainstormed about why the place is
significant, perhaps because of connections with a person, an event, an activity, or an
accomplishment. This week you shared a visual representation of the place through a
map that attempted to explore how the place connects with who you are.
Time for the next step. I would like for you to transfer these thoughts and images
into language. Please create a description of “your place.” Yes, you will give physical
description, appealing to all five senses as appropriate. You may need to tell a story to
explain your connection with the place. Remember, I want the description to be so vivid
and compelling that you take me there through you writing. And most importantly, I
want to feel what you feel about why the place is important. So while you may tell a
great deal about the physical place, that is not really the key to your paper; you may
actually spend a great deal of time exploring those connections with person, event, or
accomplishment. Try to let your description show how you feel rather that simply
telling. For example, if your particular place gives you a feeling of warmth and peace,
try to recreate that feeling through your choice of words, through your creation of tone,
rather than simply stating the feeling. Let me see the water rushing over the rocks; let me
hear the wind in the trees; let me feel the heat of the sun on bare skin. In other words,
share the place through your writing. Trust me, with this approach, you will show
why the place is important and you will probably share a great deal of yourself.
To get started on the writing, review Louise Erdrich’s essay, “Beneath My
House.” Notice how she uses language; consider the detail and diction that build a
feeling within the description. Pay special attention to her use of verbs. Then brainstorm
in whatever fashion works for you, and construct a draft. Both the draft and the final
paper must be typed, double spaced and 12 point font please. A typed draft will
make revision conferencing much easier.
Draft Due: Thursday, September 18th
Points Possible: 50
(The draft is due when you walk in. We will use this as a conference day, so you will
also need to bring your outside reading book. I will work with different individuals while
you are polishing your writing and reading.)
Final Paper Due: Monday, September 29th
Points Possible: 150
“When words are scarce, they’re seldom spent in vain.”
-Shakespeare
“Words walking without masters; walking altogether like harmony in a song.”
-Zora Neale Hurston
“I guess I remembered clearest of all the early mornings, when the lake was cool and motionless,
remembered how the bedroom smelled of the lumber it was made of and of the wet woods whose scent
entered through the screen.”
-E.B. White