Response #8
Due: Wednesday, 8/18
Focus: Making a Proposal
For your final writing response, I would like you to make a writing proposal for your 5-page essay. Imagine a proposal as a ‘pitch.’ You are trying to pitch an idea to someone else much like an author would ‘pitch’ a book idea, a director would ‘pitch’ a film, and a even a Cutco salesman would give a ‘pitch’ about how great his knives are and about why you should buy them. Your goal is to earn your reader’s interest by writing a pitch for the following assignment:
Final Essay
Draft 1 Due: Monday, 8/23
Draft 2 Due: Tuesday, 8/24
Final Due: Wednesday, 8/25
Artistic Translation Due: Thursday, 8/26
For your final essay, you have a few options.
1. You can expand and revise one of your responses into a more complete piece of writing.
2. You can take portions of what you’ve written (no more than 2 pages worth) and cut, paste, and revise this writing into a final essay with a clear focus.
3. *This may be the most difficult as it is all new writing*
You may write about a topic or theme that interest you that you have not yet had a chance to discuss during the responses.
Along with the 5-page essay, you will need an artistic translation. This means you will translate your words into a different medium: this is your chance to use your talents creatively in some other form than an essay. For example: If you like to paint you can make a series of paintings inspired by the essay. If you are a poet you can make a chapbook of poems and read some of them in class. If you like to sing or dance you could write a song or performance. After creating your translation, you’ll prepare a 5-minute presentation that will both show the class what you have been working on and also explain why your translation connects with or was inspired by the essay. This part is very important: this assignment is broad, but you must be able to clearly explain your translation and its relation to the essay. Think of the translation as something that will help you think about your project in a different way; something that is utilitarian (like a belt that holds up your pants) rather than just decorative (wearing a belt that looks cool but doesn’t do anything).
Response #7
Due: Tuesday, 8/17
Focus: Reflection
Now that we are nearing the final week of the Bridge program, what are some of your revised goals and expectations for college? Which assumptions have changed and which stayed the same? What are your anxieties about being a reader, writer, and thinker at the college level? What steps are your going to take to make it through this final week and into your future life?
Reading Response #6
Due: Monday, 8/16
Focus: Finding a theme/ focus/ thesis
As you complete your reading, write down 20 words, phrases, or descriptions. This is a broad assignment and you can pick what ever you want (please include the list with your writing assignment when you turn it in—it can be written on scrap paper).
After you have your list, try to find what the words, phrases, or descriptions have in common and how they relate. Do they talk about politics? Race? Class? History? Language? Etc. Once you have a theme, discuss and support why that theme is important to the text. Imagine you have to defend you answer in front of a judge and use supporting evidence: quotes, description, characters, etc.
Here are some questions to get started:
How do the characters relate to the theme?
What scenes or dialogue demonstrate this theme?
How do you relate to the theme and where does it occur in your own world?
Reading Response #5
Due: Wednesday, 8/11
Focus: Creativity and Writing
We have been completing a lot of writing where you think about yourself and the ways you connect with your book. Now I would like you to have a little fun with you response: write a piece of "fan-fiction" based on one of the characters in your book. If you haven't heard this term before, fan fiction is any work that is created by the fans of the book, movie, or even video game, but that wasn't written or controlled by the writer herself/himself. You could write a journal entry, a play, a letter, a series of letters, an e-mail, a messenger chat, a stream of consciousness, a poem, or any other kind of appropriate writing. I will ask that if you write a play, messenger chat, or poem that you consider the extra white space and write more than 1 page to make up for it. No cheats!
Reading Response #4
Due: Tuesday, 8/10
Focus: Connecting with Your Reading 2
I would like you to look for the ways you connect with the character(s) from your book. Which character(s) do you admire and why? How do you make connections between yourself as a reader and them as a character? Do they remind you of anyone, characters or real people, you admire? Do you think you would be interested in reading a book if you couldn’t relate to the main character? Why?
Response #3
Due: Monday, 8/9
Focus: Connecting with Your Reading
Consider what skills or talents the characters in your book have. How did they develop these abilities? Next, consider your natural skills and talents. How did you develop your abilities? Consider these questions to more deeply engage with this topic:
-Compare how you and your character acquired the skills?
-How have your skills impacted your ability to relate or not relate to the character?
-What would life be like for you and the character without these skills?
Response #2
Due: Thursday, 8/5
Focus: Details
The environment you are in or grew up in likely has impacted your opinions, behaviors, and likes/dislikes. For this assignment, I would like you to describe that space in detail. Key: use your five senses (smell, taste, touch, eyes, ears) and try to get at least one of each. As you paint a picture for the reader, take some time to explain how that space has influenced you and in what ways.
Lastly, think about this idea of environment and space as you read your book for bridge. We will discuss this in class on Thursday.
Response #1
Draft Tuesday, Due: 8/2
Due: Wednesday, 8/3
Focus: Voice
In hopes to get to know you all better--as well as a way for you to engage in ideas about identity and writing--I would like you to write a letter to me about your reading and writing experience. Some questions you could answer are:
-When’s the last time you were asked to produce writing?
-What do you think you excel/ struggle with?
-What’s the last book you read / how often do you read?
-Based on your experience, what do you believe college writing will be like?
-What do you want to gain from this course?
-When has reading and writing been a large influence on you as an individual?
You don't have to answer all of these questions, but try to discuss a couple. We will spend some time in class discussing what we've written (so it may be better to keep anything too personal out of it).
