Death of Freddie Gray.
Today we will review work thus far, I'll return the narrative first drafts, and monitor development
of the short report #3, introduced last week, which is to integrate a visual as a primary focus for
expository writing; that is, writing that presents, explains, and discusses whatever subject is brought
into focus, in this case, by the image you choose to work with. You are to provide a history or
account of the image and its significance. The visual should be carefully integrated, described,
discussed and/or interpreted in the essay body. A few quarters back, the class looked at the essay "In Baltimore, We’re All Freddie Gray," by D. Watkins, published at the nytimes.com, about how six police officers, white and black, mortally injured a black man during his arrest and transportation to jail. You will need a visual and one other information source. We will address any difficulties or questions and try to finish the draft.
Below is an example of a short report from a previous quarter, on the topic of creativity. At the time no visuals were required but one appears, nonetheless, and adds vibrancy to the text:
On Being Creative
A recent article in the New York Times titled "Learning to Think Outside the Box," by Laura Pappano, reports that college degrees are now being awarded in the study of creativity and that those who earn such degrees, by some accounts, have proved themselves to be creative problem solvers, people who can think outside of the box, which might make them strong candidates in the current job market as certain employers prize creativity. It may seem awkward to speak of majoring or minoring in creativity per say, that is, separate from any specific field or endeavor, and in fact in several of the courses mentioned the work required appears rather academic, a traditional process requiring study of the literature on creativity and representative individuals, personal observation and self-reflection, analysis of a problem, discovery, and invention:
In Dr. Burnett’s Introduction to Creative Studies survey course, students explore definitions of creativity, characteristics of creative people and strategies to enhance their own creativity. These include rephrasing problems as questions, learning not to instinctively shoot down a new idea (first find three positives), and categorizing problems as needing a solution that requires either action, planning or invention. A key objective is to get students to look around with fresh eyes and be curious. The inventive process, she says, starts with “How might you…”
If the course were Composition 101, similar strategies might be used to enhance student awareness of how good writing gets done. The centrality of trial and error to all creative endeavour is a key takeaway in creativity studies; one teacher dubbed his course “Failure 101” to emphasize the fact. Indeed, “his favorite assignment” sounds much like a writing assignment: “Construct a résumé based on things that didn’t work out and find the meaning and influence these have had on your choices.” He asks students to connect the dots in their life, and to redefine failure in the context of the larger journey. Indeed, I believe we accomplish little if we are unwilling to risk failure or to grope our way instinctively through the psychological turmoil and darkness of inexperience, ignorance, and, at times, ineptitude. But we must till we find our footing, else we risk accomplishing little and losing touch with that which gives life real zest, meeting the challenges life poses.
Humans are naturally creative, we have had to be in order to survive; our world is increasingly a world of made things and the best of them, utilitarian or artistic, serve to make living easier and richer: a chair provides comfortable rest, a bowl, fork and spoon practical means of conveying food to our mouths, clothing warmth and protection, and story, poetry, music, film and all the arts ancient and modern, above all, sustenance for our souls. The more we develop our creative capacities the more potential we have to enhance our lives and those of others. The old myth is that creative endeavor requires some sort of divine gift or genius, but giftedness may be greatly overrated. Friedrich Nietzsche wrote in Human, All-Too Human (1878) about the process artists must dedicate themselves to in order to achieve greatness:
Artists have a vested interest in our believing in the flash of revelation, the so-called inspiration . . .[shining] down from heaven as a ray of grace. In reality, the imagination of the good artist or thinker produces continuously good, mediocre, and bad things, but his judgment, trained and sharpened to a fine point, rejects selects, connects . . . All great artists and thinkers [are] great workers, indefatigable not only in inventing, but also in rejecting, sifting, transforming, ordering. (qtd. in Shenk)
One has only to read the history of any great artist to discover the artist’s commitment to a process whereby natural endowments or talents were honed by experience and training and a sense of purpose that outweighed the considerable difficulties of achieving work of great merit. Stephen McCranie, a young commercial cartoonist, writes and illustrates a blog called DoodleAlley recounting, among other topics, his creative “issues” in a fresh and clear style, some of which the frame here illustrates.
Shenk, David. The Genius In All Of Us. New York. Random House, 2011. Print.
------------------------Focus on the Visual-------------------------
On November 5, 2015, The New York Times Magazine ran an editorial and feature piece using a new visual technology, a virtual reality experience. See it here: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/08/magazine/virtual-reality-a-new-way-to-tell-stories.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fmagazine&action=click&contentCollection=magazine®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=5&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0
In another recent "find", monumental ancient mounds, lines, and geometric figures: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/science/nasa-adds-to-evidence-of-mysterious-ancient-earthworks.html
Here is an interesting piece on photography, which models a visual presentation followed by discussion of its significance: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/23/magazine/shadows-in-sao-paulo.html?ribbon-ad-idx=17&rref=homepage&module=Ribbon&version=origin®ion=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Home%20Page&pgtype=article
On November 5, 2015, The New York Times Magazine ran an editorial and feature piece using a new visual technology, a virtual reality experience. See it here: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/08/magazine/virtual-reality-a-new-way-to-tell-stories.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fmagazine&action=click&contentCollection=magazine®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=5&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0
In another recent "find", monumental ancient mounds, lines, and geometric figures: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/science/nasa-adds-to-evidence-of-mysterious-ancient-earthworks.html
Here is an interesting piece on photography, which models a visual presentation followed by discussion of its significance: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/23/magazine/shadows-in-sao-paulo.html?ribbon-ad-idx=17&rref=homepage&module=Ribbon&version=origin®ion=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Home%20Page&pgtype=article
Here is another piece that makes use of visuals to explore the author's memories of an important art exhibit: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/20/arts/design/what-i-learned-from-a-disgraced-art-show-on-harlem.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=mini-moth®ion=top-stories-below&WT.nav=top-stories-below&_r=0
Citing Sources in MLA Style
To document your research sources, whether from an article in print or online, an encyclopedia or dictionary item, an interview source, a film, photograph, illustration or other visual material– there is a standard means.
The primary reference is the author of the source, whose last name provides the key or first word to the source item as it is entered on the Works Cited page. This page contains an alphabetical list of all the sources cited in the report. Any directly quoted, paraphrased or summarized information should be referenced or cited in text and then included on the Works Cited page. Thus, on this page one finds the full bibliographic or publication information of each source cited in the report/essay.
The author’s name and the title of the piece should be included in the essay text along with whatever information item you have borrowed or used. This in-text reference may appear as a parenthetical citation (i.e. a set of parentheses like the one I am using now) containing the author's last name and perhaps a page number (for print sources typically) or text title. Sometimes an article or source being used may have no author named; in such instances, use the text title as the key term, the website name, or the most direct means of identifying the source. Do not put URLs in essay text.
At the following URLs you will find discussion of the MLA guidelines and illustrations for integrating sources:
University of Wisconsin Writing Lab: http://www.writing.wisc.edu/
On Comma Use and Common Mistakes: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E06E6D9163EF934A15756C0A9649D8B63
On Comma Use and Common Mistakes: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E06E6D9163EF934A15756C0A9649D8B63
Essay 3/Short Report, draft due today, week 6 (500 words): Use of references, formatting of quotations, and the avoidance of plagiarism is part of the essay practice. Learning how to find and use reference sources correctly and purposefully is an essential aspect of writing about subjects beyond your immediate experience and one that requires good reading skills and some measure of critical thinking and judgment.
Addressing current events and topics in the media allows you to tap the interest of readers who want to stay current and well-informed, and allows you to enter and shape the discussion as one who is well-informed and has something to add to the discussion, be it only your opinion. Use direct quotation in support of your claims, but don't overload the essay with quotations. Your voice should be the dominant voice. Identify the various sources you have used for content by author and/or title of work and tie the source information clearly to the specific content borrowed. There should be no confusion about which item of information came from where, or whose speech we hear in a passage. The in-text reference information provides the key word or words that will head each entry in the Works Cited list that follows the report. In essay 5, however, I am not requiring a Works Cited list.
Checklist:
*Make your thesis claim clear and provide adequate evidence to develop and support it
*Acknowledge all material borrowed from source texts.
* Use quotation marks around all language borrowed word for word
*Provide a clear presentation of the visual artifact(s)
*Provide a clear presentation of the visual artifact(s)
*Identify the author of each source in text or in parentheses following the information item.
*Use the article or website title as a source reference for works without identified authors.
*Review the basic pattern for creating entries on the Works Cited page.
The following URLs explain and demonstrate the ways that quotations of prose and poetry are presented and punctuated, along with whatever citations may be required:
Individual Author of a Book
Hazzard, Shirley. The Great Fire. New York. Farrar, 2003. Print.
Article from a Printed Magazine
Jenkins, Lee. “He’s Gotta Play Hurt.” Sports Illustrated. 26 Oct. 2009: 42-3. Print.
Article from an Online Magazine
Bowden, Mark. “Jihadists in Paradise.” The Atlantic.com. Atlantic Monthly Group, Mar. 2007. Web. 8 Mar. 2007.
Article from an Online Newspaper
Richmond, Riva. “Five Ways to Keep Online Criminals at Bay.” New York Times. New York Times, 19 May 2010. Web. 29 May 2010.
Selection from an Online Book
Webster, Augusta. “Not Love.” A Book of Rhyme. London, 1881. Victorian Women Wrtiers Project. Web. 8 Mar. 2007.
Organization Web Page
“Library Statistics.” American Library Association. Amer. Lib. Assn. 2010 Web. 26 Feb. 2010.
Film
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Dir. Peter Jackson. New Line Cinema, 2003. Film.
Program on Television or Radio
“The Wounded Platoon.” Frontline. PBS. WGBH, Boston, 18 May 2010. Television.
Online Video Clip
Murphy, Beth. "Tips for a Good Profile Piece." Project: Report. YouTube, 7 Sept. 2008. Web. 19 Sept. 2008.
Advertisement
Feeding America. Advertisement. Time. 21 Dec. 2009: 59. Print.
Comic or Cartoon
Adams, Scott. “Dilbert.” Comic Strip. Denver Post 1 Mar. 2010: 8C. Print.
Personal, Telephone, or E-mail Interview
Boyd, Dierdra. Personal Interview. 5 Feb. 2012.
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The final draft of your narrative essay (2) is due week 7, at the beginning of class.
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Essay 4 (due week 9, 500 words): An EyeWitness/Field Report: You must attend in person a local event, community function, business enterprise, entertainment venue, museum, restaurant or hotel establishment, nature preserve or park, area of historical interest, etcetera– in order to gather information from direct experience. You cannot rely on the reports of others or the site's own published information alone. The writing of the piece requires you bring to readers the vicarious experience of being there in person. themselves; that is, by engaging readers in your own experience on the ground. Background research may help fill out and provide context for the report of course, and you are encouraged to find out as much as you can in the way of origins or history of the establishment, event or area for possible inclusion in the report.
Reviews and descriptions of cultural fare–of nature parks, historical attractions, art exhibits and fairs, live music shows, restaurants, bars, and clubs old and new, sporting events, lectures, book signings and discussions, community classes and workshops –serve to inform people of what's going on about town and provide them incentive to get out and experience some of what the area has to offer. In this assignment you must report on a local place or local event from an eye-witness perspective–you must go there, experience whatever is on offer, and write about it in such a way that readers feel they have gotten to see and know the place through your first-hand experience of it.
The particular focus and perspective you bring to your subject, your knowledge and ideas and observations of it, and the degree of interest and engagement with the subject you show–these are central to the essay’s success. Whether you are visiting a park, a beach, a museum, theater, restaraunt, etcetera–descriptions of the scene or environs, the activity, the individual artworks, performances, ambiance, food, service, etcetera will bring the piece to life and convey a you-are-there sensation to readers. Your readers will be relying on your knowledge, powers of observation and storytelling abilities. Your informed judgment, taste, and opinions will be an important element. approach you create, the thesis idea controlling and unifying the work, will make for certain selections and emphases that reflect you the observer, your history, interests, tastes, etc.
The eye-witness report is a species of primary research. You may find you want background reading on whatever aspects of your subject require context, to fully develop your thesis or main ideas. To repeat, this essay will require you actually go somewhere in person and record material facts and observations before putting the piece together. Your thesis tells you what to include, to emphasize, and what to ignore. The essay should run a minimum of 5oo-6oo words, including introductory, body, and closing paragraphs, and title.
Remember the who, what, where, when, why roster of specifics.
If you were to visit an exhibit, you would include the museum name, location, and featured artist(s), including the exhibit’s run dates.
Focus would necessarily be on some theme observed in one or more works or overall. You would identify representative works (by title) and present a verbal description–medium, size, subject, form, and color–so that readers can "see" the work and understand the conclusions you draw from it. If you were to visit a natural area, you might tie the visit in to some current news (a news "hook") or ongoing area of interest (natural history/studies, ecology, environmental justice, marine life, art) to create audience appeal, to lend purpose and weight to the piece. Food culture is of great interest to many these days and offers many choices for primary research or "eye-witness" reports–green markets, restaraunts, bars, etcetera.
If you go to a museum the primary focus would be to see the various exhibits and selectively cover what you find most interesting. The URL of the NSU Museum of Art on Las Olas: http://nsuartmuseum.org
In fact, there are several museums in the downtown area, including The Old Ft. Lauderdale Historical Museum and another devoted to science and discovery.
The field report (#6), 500- 700 words, will be due week 9. Those of you still to present an essay reading may do so then.
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Reminder for Essay 7: You must identify and explore a subject or idea for a short research report. The topic is yours to choose. Locate reading material relevant to whatever line of inquiry you intend and begin developing the work. In this essay of 500-600 words you put across a claim made persuasive and credible by virtue of supporting facts, expert opinion, testimonials, logical inquiry, visuals, and, perhaps, emotional appeals to the reader's values. The film field trip and subsequent review could be used for this report.
