We will have several writing assignments, from in-class brainstorming and freewriting, to short response papers, to lengthier more formal assignments. Below you will see these assignments.
Response Papers
We will write several papers in response to some of our readings. I will post the writing prompts on Blackboard, as well as distribute hard copies in class. Typically, these response papers will be about 1-2 pages in length. Response Papers will not receive a grade as such–they count towards your Participation grade.
Formal Essays
We shall also write academic essays, some of which will ask you to take a position on a particular reading, and some of which will ask you to compare two or more texts.
Each Writing Assignment will be distributed to you in hard copy form and posted on Blackboard. The Assignment Sheet will be very detailed, in terms of what type of paper you will be writing, the due date for the rough draft, and the due date for the final version of that particular paper. We will review these Assignment Sheets in class, and you will have ample opportunity to ask questions. The Grading Criteria sheet is available to you via hard copy and on Blackboard.
ESSAY #1 (two parts):
Opinion Essay (2-3 pages) and Argument-driven Essay (about 3 pages) on Cyborgs and/or Artificial Intelligence
Thesis Paragraph (rough draft): due Monday, September 21, 2015
Rough Draft (Paper #1): due Monday, September 28, 2015
Final Draft (Paper #1): due Wednesday, October 7, 2015
ESSAY ASSIGNMENT #1:
This is a two-part, two-essay assignment. In the first short essay, please write an opinion piece on one or all of the Cyborg and AI readings on our syllabus. In the second short essay, please write an argument-driven analysis on one or all of the Cyborg and AI readings on our syllabus (readings for 9/16). The purpose of this assignment to help you sharpen your abilities to differentiate between these two genres of writing (“opinion” and “argument”). Each paper must begin with a thesis paragraph—the opening paragraph that clearly and succinctly states for your readers what the focus shall be of your essay. While “opinion” and “argument” have some overlaps, they are, indeed, distinct from one another. Please refer to the handout on Opinion/Analysis as you work on this project. Additionally, in our in-class workshop, we shall puzzle through some of these distinctions. If you arrive on 9/21 with a near-finished draft, beautiful. If you arrive on 9/21 with a royal jumble, beautiful. You have arrived with something to share and receive peer feedback on.
In the first essay (“opinion”), please take a position on cyborgs and/or AIs that is based on a particular political, social, economic, or religious (or any other) platform. The Opinion Piece should stay focused on a particular platform. The Argument-Driven Piece must begin with an opening paragraph that states a debatable claim (the “heart” of an argument-driven piece—a debatable claim is something that can be challenged by opposing argument and which you—ultimatlely—should be ), clearly and succinctly. Both pieces should include quotations from the works you are focusing on, though the argument-driven piece—by its very nature—must include quotations.
In both essays, each paragraph must begin with a topic sentence and each paragraph ought to stay focused on that particular topic. In other words, a topic sentence will help you refrain from taking several detours in any given paragraph. Think of your paragraph as a logical unit that segues logically out of the previous paragraph’s topic and into the next paragraph’s topic. Thus, the last sentence of your paragraph should unfold logically to the next paragraph. We shall work on this project in stages, with a minimum of a rough opening paragraph (for each paper) due on 9/21. If you want to dance onward beyond the first paragraph in your paper(s) for 9/21, I shall not stop you! J We will be working on this first assignment in stages, so please do not worry about how “rough” any of your rough drafts may be. We shall take this project, stage by stage Questions?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
FORMAT:
Please avoid contractions, colloquial phrases, and other examples of casual, conversational language. Aim for correct grammar and syntax (visit the Writing Center, SACC, SEEK, OWL Purdue, Grammar Girl, and me). You may use the first-person, but please do not overdo the “I.” Use it, but avoid peppering your essays with it. Your final versions of these essays must meet the respective required page minimums, be doubled-spaced, typewritten, with 1” margins on all four sides (MLA Style). Please use 12-point Times New Roman font. Please single-space your name, the course name and section (see above), my name, and the due date in the upper left side of page one; double-space and type your title, double-space and begin your essay. This means that your essay should begin approximately, but no more than ¼ of the way down the page. The header of each page must include the page number of the essay, preceded by your surname. Please place this information on the upper-right side of the page. Do not number page one. The title of your essays must include the title of the text you are writing about. We shall play with title ideas in our workshop. Refer to the OWL Purdue site and search under MLA style for additional guidance on proper formatting. Please visit me during office hours if you have questions about your draft-in-progress. If you cannot make it to my office hours, please contact me and we can try to arrange an appointment. Or, we can correspond via email. Ideally, I am a face-to-face person; so if you would like to FaceTime or Skype, please let me know and we can exchange contact information.
ESSAY ASSIGNMENT #2
Comparative Analysis (5-6 pp.)
Offer a comparative analysis of two works that we have read in class thus far this semester
(assignment sheet with specifics to follow)
ESSAY ASSIGNMENT #3
RESEARCH PAPER (6-8 pp.)
On a topic of your choice that is related to our course theme on bodies, and includes at least one of our readings
(assignment sheet with specifics to follow)
We will work in stages on your project i.e., increments / scaffolds):
- Pose a preliminary research question that your paper will be designed to answer
Conduct some early research on the topic and your angle on that topic & see if there is enough (original) information to pursue. Are you opening with an appeal to logos, pathos, or ethos?
- Draft a preliminary thesis
What other texts (primary source) and (secondary source) will you need?
*Produce an Annotated Bibliography on two to three of these texts
*Practice incorporation and explication of quotations
3. Create an annotated bibliography (details and samples to follow; please feel free to consult OWL Purdue in the meantime)
4. Compose a rough draft that includes a works cited page (a page still in-progress, of course)
5. Produce a final draft of your final research paper