English 150
Assignment #3: Writing to Inquire, Writing to Inform (650 words)
Summer 2010
Include with final draft in folder: rough draft, peer response sheets (2), works cited, list of preliminary questions, and any other prewriting material
For this assignment, you have two options.
1) Investigate a major and/or career path that you would like to know more about.
2) Identify and explore a school or community issue that interests you, or that you feel is not being addressed well enough.
If you choose Option 1: Consider why you are interested in this major/career path, and what your preconceptions about this course of study are. Investigate the requirements at ISU, and what students and graduates in this program have gone on to do. Some questions to consider: What possible careers are open to someone in that program or one similar? Why do people pursue this major/career path? What are its benefits and drawbacks? What additional skills and supplementary areas of study might be beneficial? Your task is not to try to “sell” this major/career path to the reader, but to explore it, find out more about it, and inform readers who might have similar questions.
If you choose Option 2: You may select an issue with national or international aspects, but with the scope of this assignment it is important to keep it specific and tied to the Ames/Iowa community, keeping your audience in mind. Rather than making an argument or proposing a solution, your task is to inquire into the issue, identifying key areas of disagreement and exploring complicating factors. Pose questions—what needs to be considered by those dealing with the issue? By your audience? What groups or individuals in the school or community are involved with this issue? How? If you have a limited knowledge of your subject, your stance will be that of an interested, neutral investigator. If you are writing about a topic that you know well, avoid a strongly biased stance and present all opinions in a balanced way, including those you disagree with. Your point of view will usually be third person.
Unlike Assignment #2, in Assignment #3 you will not be relying solely on your personal experience as the primary material and support for your main points; you will be seeking outside background information to help you answer a question or questions (exploring) and then providing that information to others so that they can gain more insight into a topic (informing). For this reason, a works cited page is required, as well as the use of appropriate in-text citations. You must use at least three sources. We will be discussing MLA citation in class, but for specific questions, refer to the MLA section in BPH, or Chapter 49 in Norton.
This assignment is not asking you to try to persuade your readers; you are not choosing material that supports only your point of view or your preconceptions about the topic. Exploring various perspectives on issues, concepts, places or people is a process that will help you work your way through ideas and problems in college classes and beyond. Norton points out that “good topics arise from important questions, issues, and problems that are already being discussed,” and that you should see your writing as “a way of entering that larger conversation” (Bullock and Goggin 211).
Planning and Drafting
Your first task, then, is to identify how much about your topic you already know, what your purpose is in writing about it, and what your audience might or should find interesting. It will help you make effective decisions about content and organization if you decide on your reason for writing and then allow that focus to guide other decisions you make in your paper. Before you begin, formulate at least 5 questions to help guide your research. You will turn in these questions with your final draft. For ideas, see Norton Chapter 21.
To Explore: “The most important thing is to start with questions—with what you don’t know rather than with what you do know. Your goal is to learn about your subject and then to learn more. If you’re writing about a topic you know well, you want to expand on what you already know” (Bullock and Goggin 211). To understand a difficult situation and gain insights, it is important to explore it in detail from various perspectives before you make any conclusions. Your reader should be able to infer the questions you asked from the text, and follow the progression of your research findings.
To Inform: you must consider what your audience knows already and still needs to know, based on what you have found in your research. Refer to Chapter 8 in Norton and Chapter 8 in Brief Penguin Handbook for assistance. Providing multiple perspectives is central to this paper; this means being sure that you are giving your readers (and yourself) the opportunity to see your topic from several vantage points. This information also needs to meet the criteria of being relevant and current, and explanations must be clear and accurate.
Choosing an appropriate organizational plan will help your readers move through your material and logic easily and efficiently. Some options for organization will be discussed in class, but Chapter 8 in Norton is a good resource. In Assignment #3, visual images could play an important complementary role in the effectiveness of your paper for your readers. Visuals are optional, but if included they must be cited.
Beyond your research questions, you should also take the following into account:
What do I know—and what more do I need to know—about the topic I am exploring or providing information about?
What preconceptions do I have about the topic? (Getting these out into the open in your planning stage is very important.)
Since I am not relying heavily on personal information, where would I get additional information to provide the multiple perspectives I need on this topic?
Why might my audience be interested in reading my paper? How can I engage (interest, motivate) them? What details might help them understand my topic?
Are there any visuals that might help my audience understand my point better?
Evaluation Criteria
Notice that this assignment includes a peer response activity two class periods before the paper’s due date. This activity must be completed and your notes and comments from your partners turned in with your finished draft in order to receive full credit on this assignment.
Context
Thoughtful and perceptive treatment of topic; original approach; scope sufficiently narrow.
Purpose for writing is clear and consistent throughout the paper.
Clear sense of audience and consistent attention to audience’s needs.
Introduction engages audience’s interest in knowing more about the topic or making use of information.
Substance
Content is fully developed, relevant, and substantial; detail carefully chosen and specific.
Research based on reliable sources.
Optional: Includes a visual if appropriate to interest and engage readers.
Organization
Focuses on a precise, interesting and insightful point or thesis which guides development and organization.
Introduction provides overview of organization. Conclusion sums up key points.
Sequence follows a logical arrangement for this material appropriately organized into paragraphs. Relationship among ideas is clear; coherent; transitional devices used to guide reader.
Style
Expression is clear and concise. Good choices in use of dialogue, details, visuals.
Vocabulary is precise, vivid and reflects appropriate word choice.
Writing is free from sentence-level errors and word choice errors.
Delivery
Consistency in typography, headings. Any visuals are integrated within text.
Appearance of document adapted to needs and expectations of audience.
Sources accurately cited (using a works cited page and in-text citations) according to MLA conventions.
Note: Papers and/or citations not in MLA format will be dropped one grade step (e.g. B B-).
