Week 1

 

"Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream?"–Edgar Allan Poe

Welcome to English class here at the Art Institute. English Composition is a required class at every college and university in the U.S. The course is designed to provide instruction and practice in writing the essay, a non-fiction genre that since its "invention" in the Renaissance 1500's by a Frenchman named Michel de Montaigne has been used to explore a given subject in an open-ended manner, showing certain intellectual rigor but embellished and enriched by the personal stories of the author. The essay is built around a central conclusion, an idea to which the author has come after some consideration and that ordinarily is expressed as an opinion or thesis and supported by case examples, stories, facts, logical analysis, expert or authoritative opinion, etcetera. The essayist, finally, relies unapologetically on his or her own judgment. The best essays offer the freshest and most incisive thoughts to stimulate thought and new perspectives, insight and wonder, laughter or tears, and . . . well, you see.  An essay is a thing that shows the play of the writer's mind and attendant feelings.  It is always a vehicle for one's opinion or belief, about matters ranging from the very personal to the very public, around which controversy may swirl.

  

The Purposes of Writing

Why do we write?  To fulfill an assignment is one answer, and certainly meeting the instructor's expectations of a certain assignment is important, but in finding a particular purpose you must determine what you want your writing to do for you and your reader.  Four general writing purposes are listed below:

To Inform  There are worlds of stuff to be learned and a ready audience in the public's curiosity and practical interest in timely topics.  How to invest your money wisely?  The best sea kayaks for navigating Florida's coastal waters?  The projected effects of climate change over the coming decades?  The composers whose work is having the most resounding influence in classical music today?  The innovations in culinary art most talked about today?  Such subjects could readily be explored to inform and teach those who may need or want to stay informed.

To Persuade  Many of us have strong feelings about issues that affect us directly or indirectly.  Should a certain gas drilling practice (hydraulic fracturing) be regulated to prevent environmental damage?  Are our state and local water management officials adequately protecting and wisely allocating our fresh water supplies?  Should marriage be restricted to heterosexuals?  Often we write to clarify what is at stake in an issue and to argue for a certain position or policy course, using ethical, logical, and emotional means to persuade readers of the soundness of our claim.

To Express Yourself  Many of us keep journals, write song lyrics, short stories or poetry, paint or dance, etcetera to express our feelings, to keep track of our lives, explore personal experience, and for the sheer pleasure of writing.  Writing non-fiction offers the chance to express your originality of perception and expression, mastery of words and the story-telling art.

To Entertain  What constitutes entertainment is matter for debate, but romance, humor, surprise, suspense, beautiful imagery, the novelties of language use and choice, the amazing facts of life–all are part of good writing and the entertainment if offers.

You will discover (if you have not already) that writing can help you to develop your creative capacities and understand better your knowledge and experience of the world. Writing is a process that will reveal to you what you know, and what you don't. The simple act of putting words on paper (and screen!) will trigger the spring of remembered people, places, events, and ideas that you carry inside, and lead you to those subjects which you and your audience may want to know more about.  Writing will reinforce your sense of what you can contribute to the lives of others, for all of us are seeking greater knowledge and understanding of the very large and often complicated world we live in, and all of us are in need of the perspective and experience contact with others can give us. Each of us can bring something fresh and unique to the world. In giving expression to our thoughts, memories, dreams, desires, and knowledge–we discover the many ways we have been shaped by life, and the sustaining connections we have with others.

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Invention and Drafting:  Freewriting:  A First Step

Getting started is easy, if you take the pressure off yourself. Forget RULES.  Comma? Semi-colon? Forget them for now. Restrictions can make anyone freeze up, and most of what anyone writes will be forgotten or lost or trashed at some point. Suspend your inner critic. Write for the sheer pleasure of it, the sense of discovery and surprise at how the mind works, and what you've got hidden inside.  Enjoy the flow and the stops along the way, and just keep going.  You'll find your way along the way.

The following prompts and exercises are designed to help you get started. There is no purpose to them beyond getting words to flow from you, and having a little fun. You may well find something in what you write, something for keeps, something to shape and present to the class or others. But that part of the process that involves making decisions, about what to keep, what to toss, and how to order, shape and polish the stones, all that comes later. The start of anything is often messy, but has a secret logic it is best not to doubt. So, into the water!

Exercise 1: Write for two minutes on anything that comes to mind, no matter what it be. Pretend, if you must, you've been let loose in a grocery store and the more items you can pull down into your cart, the fewer you'll have to pay for later.

Ex. 2: Write for five minutes a mini sketch of yourself, right here, right now.  Record the five senses–what you see around you (objects, colors, lights, people), what you imagine you look like, what you are feeling (nervous, relaxed, tired, hungry, etc.) thinking, dreaming about.  Create a scene, the classroom environment, you and the rest of us, October 3, 2013.  Capture the drama in these very moments.

Ex. 3: Word Prompts: respond to one or several of the following words for two or three minutes at a stretch.

the government shutdown

your most frequent means of finding peace

the friends whose conversation and laughter mean the most to you

on being young

an unexpected gift

role models

the dark

an interesting work of art–poem, painting, photograph, etcetera

Ex. 4: Peruse the headlines of today's New York Times. What's the big story today?  What do you know about it?  Have you an opinion?

Ex. 5  Read the personal essay by Robert Olmstead posted at the New York Times:  http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/02/war-and-baked-beans/ 

Now write a short response incorporating one or more of the points he makes and your own thoughts on the matter.

Ex. 6: Imagine a situation, a young boy or girl neatly dressed (or shabbily dressed!) and being led by the hand of Father or Mother to the gates of the schoolhouse, on the first day of school. Include whatever conversation or dialogue occurs between the two people–characterized by great joy or fear, concern, suspicion, love or desire. Whatever comes to mind, write it down.

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Classwork (Diagnostic) Essay 1

Writing Assignment 1:  Select one writing prompt from the following options:


Option 1:  Sort through the narrative material you wrote today in class on the topics addressed.  Select the best or most interesting parts, whether an interesting idea or sentence, a dramatic or fresh image.  Develop this material more formally in a short narrative, descriptive, or expository essay that illustrates the topic or theme, the who, what, where, when, why of it all, and something learned, a discovery about yourself perhaps, or whatever thesis idea you may have lighted upon.  Refine the material as needed in the time you have outside of class. 

Option2:    Respond to any one of the essay(s) given as a reading assignment, summarizing its storyline and your thoughts and feelings and experiences in association with it.  Be sure to provide a little context or background, i.e. explain that you read a short essay describing  . . . . and then proceed with your response.  Ideally, you will include a short narrative of your own in response.

 Note:  This essay practice should be about 350-500 words in length, typed in 10 or 11 point font (Times or Courier), and spaced 2.0, and titled.   Compose it in at least three paragraphs (introduction, body, conclusion) and come to a point at the end.  Submit the piece at the end of class, or whatever portion you have finished, and complete the remainder at home and then bring it to class on a flash drive next week. We will discuss the drafts and revision points next week in class.

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As you structure your compositions, think about the following:  The central idea of a paragraph is called the topic idea.  It is an idea stated or implied.  When stated it is often found at the very beginning and thus gives readers a clear sense of what the paragraph is about, its direction of development, and purpose. All the material that is in the paragraph supports the topic idea by way of elaboration in the form of detail, example, and/or story incident.  An essay composed of multiple paragraphs is built around a central idea referred to as the thesis idea;  this idea, too, is directly stated or implied at the outset.   It is emphasized, reiterated in some way,  at the conclusion as well to create the impression of having been brought full circle in the writer's (and reader's) journey.  There is a beginning, middle, and end, all sufficiently connected and fleshed out. The thesis idea is always an opinion the essay writer has come to through experience and reason.  The essay is thus a vehicle for expressing the writer's opinions and beliefs, and the thoughts, feelings, and experiences that inform them.

Remember your audience, however you imagine that group of readers and listeners, and make your work as clear and complete and generous and interesting in content as you can. Readers want to connect with the writer–that is, with you. So give them a good idea of who you are, where you are coming from, and why the topic is of interest and importance. Tailor the content, vocabulary, and tone to the intended audience and their presumed knowledge and experience.  For example, an audience of your peers at Ai– fellow students– might want to know what other students think of issues (work, money, time management) facing college students today. If you are writing about food, to food lovers or chefs-in-the-making or restaurant owners, for example, establish a common ground of interest in advancing your point. Appeal to readers' love of a good meal, particulars of preparation or presentation, or the owner's pride in the quality of experience a restaurant can provide.  

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In Addition: By Next Class:

Review the definitions and illustrations of independent and dependent clauses on the following page at the Online Writing Lab: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/598/01/
Review also the Parts of Speech in English: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/730/01

Looking ahead:  For Week Three: Please bring to class week 3 a photo, object, writing–something that has for you some special import or that serves as a touchstone for a particular time in your life, a particular relationship, dream, desire, or challenge. Choose something that speaks (if it could speak) of an important aspect of your personal history or journey thus far, something with which you have lived, so to speak, for some time. You will be writing autobiographically, and the image/object will provide a descriptive element in the essay, a focal point and means of recalling yourself from the present to the past and back again in recursive fashion.