Dr. Richard Nordquist
Summer 2008 (Study Abroad in England)
Armstrong Atlantic State University
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English 4700 Advanced Composition
Dr. Richard Nordquist
Summer 2008 (Study Abroad in England)
Armstrong Atlantic State University
________________________________
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Final Revision Due:
All assignments for the summer 2008 independent-study version of this class must be submitted no later than July 28, 2008.In this assignment, we will write an account of a visit to some particular place--most likely some particular place in England. Though the place may be either distant or close to home, the purpose of the visit and the focus of the essay should not be primarily personal (no trips to the old homestead or fondly remembered family outings). Rather, through close observation and factual investigation, you should attempt to convey the social, historical, cultural, and/or natural significance of the place itself. Attend to the guidelines, suggestions, and requirements that follow.
| Due Dates | |
| Send me an e-mail message if you would
like to discuss topic ideas or if you get an early start on your draft
and would like a quick, early response. Drafts (following the
guidelines and format outlined below) are due as early in the term as possible but
certainly no later than July 22. Final version of the essay (following the guidelines and format below)
is due as early in the term as possible but no later than the end of the summer term--July
28. |
|
Required Readings in Zinsser's On
Writing Well:
Composing Strategies
Be guided by the suggestions contained in Chapter 13 of On Writing Well,
"Writing about Places: The Travel Article." Let me highlight a few of Zinsser's
precepts and observations:
- The mere agglomeration of detail is no free pass to the reader=s interest. The detail must be significant.
If a phrase comes to you easily, look at it with deep suspicion; it=s probably one of the countless clichés that have woven their way so tightly into the fabric of travel writing.
Eliminate every . . . fact that is a known attribute: don=t tell us that the sea had waves and the sand was white. Find details . . . [that] do useful work.
Your main task as a travel writer is to find the central idea of the place you=re dealing with.
[W]hatever place you write about, go there often enough to isolate the qualities that make it distinctive. Usually this will be some combination of the place and the people who inhabit it.
By interviewing local men and women . . . I tapped into one of the richest veins waiting for any writer who goes looking for America: the routine eloquence of people who work at a place that fills a need for someone else.
Some additional things to keep in mind:
1. Prepare for this assignment by reading some good professional writings on places and travel. Begin with the numerous brief examples in Chapter 13 of On Writing Well, and then study the various articles, essays, and excerpts posted above (If you'd like additional examples of travel writing, just let me know.) Read (and reread) actively: identify passages that strike your interest, and then consider the strategies that were employed to achieve particular effects.
2. Don't feel at all obliged to visit a traditional tourist spot. The place you choose may be remarkably ordinary (or seemingly so). It may even be downright awful. Just make sure that the place is real and accessible--no trips to heaven or back to the womb. Rely on your journal entries for sharp, fresh impressions.
3. This assignment calls for some basic research: take notes on what you see and hear; obtain facts wherever you can find them. The essay should be built primarily on factual observations and informative details. If you turn to outside sources for information, make note of those sources. When we review drafts, we=ll discuss the best way to integrate citations into our final texts. But do keep track of your sources.
4. As you make your imaginative return visit to the place (and even, perhaps, as you compose your draft), don't be too quick to impose some grand meaning on your subject. Let your detailed observations and investigations lead you (and the reader) to a conclusion: induction rather than deduction.
5. Feel free to use the first-person pronoun in your essay, but don't focus excessively on yourself or your feelings. Don't take this personally, but the reader cares about the place--not about you.
Word processed (Microsoft Word or WordPerfect), standard 12-point font, with one-inch margins: top, bottom, left, and right. Following your essay, provide a brief self-evaluation by responding to these questions:
1. What part of this essay do you like most, and why?
2. What part gave you the most difficulty? Explain.
3. What is your overall evaluation of the essay--its particular strengths and possible
weaknesses?
Please be as specific as you can in your answers.
| Your Name e-mail address Date |
Title of Essay
Begin essay here... |
Name of Assignment Status (e.g., Revision #2) approx. length: (in words) |
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This site was last updated on: 06/14/08
English 4700 is taught by Dr. Richard Nordquist.
Armstrong Atlantic State University
Solms Hall 211C
11935 Abercorn Street
Savannah, Georgia 31419
912/921 5991
e-mail: nordqudi@mail.armstrong.edu
14 June 2008
