ENGLISH 1A – Jamieson – Fall 2008
Project #2: College and Community
PART 1: A Taste of Drew
Summary/responses due in class on Monday, Sept. 8, 2008
The taste of Drew assignment
For this assignment I want you to begin to explore the things that Drew students do and the things that you might do as a Drew student. To do this, attend the Activities Fair in the BC Courtyard some time between 3:00 and 6:00 on Friday, September 5. Select two clubs, organizations, or programs presented there and write one paragraph about each, describing what it is, what it does, what it has done in the past, and how one might join. Then write a second paragraph for each in which you respond to it. Were you surprised to find this on campus? Pleased? Disappointed? Might you join? Explain your answer in as much detail as possible. Imagine that your audience is high school students intending to come to Drew who have asked you what it is like so far.
Getting started
Walk around and see what is offered. Once you have selected three or four possible clubs, organizations, or programs, explore more fully. Talk to the people at the table. Take a flier if they have one. Write down when they meet and how one might join. Make a note of the contact person’s name. Get as much information as you can!
Then write a paragraph describing one of the clubs, organizations, or programs. You can look at their website if they have one and at a national website if they are a branch of a larger organization. Make sure that you do not use ANY phrases from any handouts they give you. I will ask you to hand in all the information you receive and don’t want to find any accidental plagiarism in the second week of classes! (Remember that a lot of clubs only had elections at the end of the year and may not be able to access websites over the summer, so don’t judge harshly if the websites have not been updated yet). Remember that your audience is high school students intending to come to Drew who have asked you what it is like so far. They want detail!
Now write a paragraph in response to what you found. Were you surprised to find this on campus? Pleased? Disappointed? Might you join? The challenge here is not just to tell me yes, no, or maybe. I want you to explain your answer! (And yes, you’ll need to use “I” again.)
Now write two more paragraphs for the second club, organization, or program.
NOTE: if you are unable to attend the event today, tell me NOW.
PART 2: The Campus Wiki
Summary/responses must be posted to the wiki by the end of Friday, Sept. 12, 2008
The next stage is to post your summary and responses to the class wiki. Here's how:
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Check your email for the message inviting you to join the wiki. Follow the link in that message and make up a password (don't forget it!) Now you can edit pages.
- You'll find a list of clubs and organizations at the Drew Events page (if yours is not there, email me and I will add it).
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Click on the link for the club or organization you selected.
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If you are the first to do so, you will come to a screen inviting you to create the page:
- Scroll down to the bottom of the list of templates, and select "club template,"
- then click create page,
- you will come to a page with the headers "Description," "Response," "Events" (if you don't have those headers, hit the back button on your browser and recreate the page selecting "club template"),
- Now just paste your paragraphs where it tells you to do so.
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If someone has already created the page, the link will take you right there:
- select the "edit" tab and paste your paragraphs below those already on the page,
- Don't edit (or delete) someone else's entry. For now, just leave the two there,
- If you want to work with the other person/people to combine multiple entries, post them separately first and then edit them together.
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You can add links to external websites by clicking on the link button (the globe + link symbol in the menu bar).
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You can add images by clicking on the "add images" option in the side menu
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Don't forget to add your name!
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Hit "save" when you finish.
PART 3: The Campus and the Community
Notes and profound thoughts due in class on Monday, Sept. 15
Working thesis and/or argument due in class on Wednesday, Sept 17
First complete draft due Friday, Sept. 19
Revised introduction (and conclusion if you can) due in the k:drive by the beginning of class Wednesday, Oct 8
Revising outline due in the k:drive by the beginning of class Monday, Oct. 13
Developing your ideas
Look at the list of clubs and organizations you all explored at "Taste of Drew." Check out the pages for any clubs that look interesting. Saturday 13th is “Community Day” at Drew, what is that? Why should Drew reach out to local communities? What else is going on at Drew this week? What about the rest of the semester? Which big speakers are coming to the Forum Series? What about the New Jersey Shakespeare Theatre? And what is with that Farmer's Market in Mondays anyway? Why do we have clubs, speakers, international programs, civic engagement programs, etc? Why did they offer free pizza at the first soccer game? Why does it matter whether we show up to watch Drew teams play? And what role does that person in the bear suit play? And super fan? Think about all of ths in preparation for paper #2: what is college anyway? What is our responsibility to the present and the future? Make some notes, have some profound thoughts. Why is college more than just classes and homework?
Use the brainstorming and free writing session in class to help you make an argument about the role of community on campus, the role of a university campus in the surrounding community, or the role of a university campus in the larger American or world community. The use what you have learned about Drew -- and your thoughts about it -- to support your claim.
Final draft of paper may be one of the two papers in your mid-term portfolio, due Friday, Oct. 17
Writing Skills developed in this assignment
Like the first essay, this one asks you to first gather information (about yourself in assignment #1 and about Drew in assignment #2), then to reflect on that information in a larger context (literacy in assignment #1, and the role of education in #2). We will practice the following skills:
- summary writing (the Drew Wiki)
- explanation (the Drew Wiki)
- writing concise prose (the Drew wiki)
- sentence-level editing (the Drew wiki)
- synthesis of information (tracing connections between clubs and organization)
- seeing things in context
- brainstorming and drafting
- thesis development
- introduction and conclusions
- organization
- revision and revising outlines
- topic sentences
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