Advanced Expository Writing ENGL 249S-02 * Fall 2003

Beginning Thursday, September 4 (see the Schedule page), you will do five weekly response-type papers before midterm. These short assignments allow you to explore a wide range of topics of your choosing, and to practice your writing by putting your thoughts on paper and communicating your ideas to others. Further, they might be useful in generating topics for your first paper. They are due each Thursday, as all assignments are, by 7 pm by e-mail attachment. After midterm these will become your weekly XHTML assignments.

Topics

You write better when the subject interests you. Therefore, I want you to have as much leeway as possible with regard to your weekly topics while keeping to the theme of the class, which, broadly stated, is the effect of technology and the Internet on society.

1. Therefore, one option is any pertient subject that you might come across on the News sites, or in traditional newspapers and magazines (other than The Daily Campus). With this option, a source of some sort is required so you can respond to it. You could explore the changes in copyright laws, the latest Microsoft antitrust case, or the newest cloning controversy, but commentary on new "gadgets" is generally unacceptable. Feel free to be curious, but your subject should have tone of scholarly inquiry. [This is known as the "exploratory" option.]
2. Alternatively, you could do a journal-entry type paper regarding a particularly rewarding or frustrating experience you've recently (within a week) had with technology (no source required). A virus corrupts your hard drive forcing you to rebuild it, resulting in the loss of all of your MP3s (the lesson being...), or your GPS-enhanced wristwatch helps save a troop of lost Boy Scouts, this sort of thing. These don't have to be melodramatic, but should be TRUE and not fictional. No more than two of these type accounts will be accepted before midterm, however (in other words, option one takes precedence). [This is known as the "autobiographical" option.]
3. Thirdly, you could do a science-fiction inspired short story dealing with one (or more?) of the various topics we discuss in class. Pose questions or solve problems. Think Minority Report or Blade Runner. No more than two of these type stories will be accepted before midterm, however (stated again, option one takes precedence). [This is known as the "creative" option.]

Requirements

The main requirements for these assignments are pretty straightforward: your papers should be written in a scholarly way, should be proofread and revised for clarity and coherence, and should be treated seriously--they are formal assignments even though they're short--no more than 2 pages (600 words). *This is not a minimum or maximum word count limit. This is a "two page" assignment, so you should aim for two full pages, or 600 words.* Don't treat them as busy-work or you'll be breaking the "diligence" part of the grading contract. It's possible that these could act as preliminary drafts of your first paper, so the better you work, the further along you'll be when it comes time to do your project.

Format

To a large degree, your topic will determine the structure of your papers. They might take the form of a brief presentation, or a brief argument, a critique (like a book review), or short parable. For the most formal and scholarly option (reporting, no. 1 above), a paper should include the following elements:

• The source of your topic. If you are discussing a news item, provide the appropriate source information so someone else (or you) can find it again.
• A brief introductory paragraph that summarizes the item you're working from (web site, news article, etc.). Although you have provided your source, this paragraph should be written sufficiently for your audience to determine what you're going to be talking about without having to GO to that source. This paragraph should also indicate how you feel about your topic, or in some other way (thesis?) indicate where your paper will go from here.
• Finally, discuss the issue at hand. The rest of your paper can go wherever you need it to go! If you are proving a point, do so; if you are exploring an issue, explore. You can outline pertinent issues related to your topic, or think philosophically about a problem. Go for it!

As always, if you have a question or problem, just e-mail me.