English 101 Paper 1

we know what we know...

Remember to review
the information on the Writing Assignments web page

Papers must be at least three full pages (not counting the pictures and the Works Cited page), or they will not earn passing grades, at least four full pages (not counting the pictures and the Works Cited page) if you are trying for a "B" or an "A"). Yes, papers may be longer if you find you need more space to bring your subject to life with enough detail. Note: the sample project on Etudes > Resources > Essay Assignments > Essay 1 > Project 1 Sample is a lot longer.

Papers should be on topic, focused, edited, proofread

Any paper not in standard MLA format will not be graded; please review the Writing Assignments page, the sample MLA file, the Purdue OWL site.

Papers should be saved as .doc, .docx, .pdf or .rtf files then attached to an e-mail and submitted to my e-mail address

Late papers will be accepted up to a week after the due date, but they will be penalized 10%

If you have any questions, please contact me via e-mail

Be sure you have fun with this; don't panic!

Much of this class looks at what we think we know and how we (think) we know it. It also encourages you to try to see the world as a much larger place than your own experience, your own beliefs. It contains many points of view, varied tastes, myriad possibilities we know little (or nothing) about. Heck! That's what college/university is for--expanding skills, yes, but also expanding your world view.

Paper 1 encourages you to look at the world in fresh, different, unusual, maybe unexpected, possibly even delightful ways.

choose one (1) of the three topics listed below

For this first paper, your essay must be at least three (3) full pages (not counting pictures or the Works Cited page) if you are trying for a "C", at least four (4) full pages (not counting pictures or the Works Cited page) if you are trying for a higher score, and it must be in standard MLA format. The paper will be worth up to 100 points. Yes, papers may be longer if you find you need more space to bring your subject to life with enough detail. Note: the sample project on Etudes > Resources > Essay Assignments > Essay 1 > Project 1 Sample is a lot longer.

You are graded on both form and content (that means spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc. do count.

Read the topic information very carefully; there is a lot there. DO NOT SKIP "notes and tips" section" after the topic choices, and look at the sample essays to help you earn higher scores.

The "paper" itself can be done a variety of ways:

You can type it up in MLA format, add the Works Cited page at the end (which is standard), and submit it like any other paper, or
You can submit a Prezi or PowerPoint presentation showing the facets of the house you are designing, describing everything (with text), and having a slide with the Works Cited page on it, or
For those of you who are Web-savvy, you can put this all on a (free) Website, with images and text and maybe audio/video. Two easy sites to work with are WixSite or SimpleSite (there are many others), or a blogsite such as WordPress. Put up a tab for the Works Cited page.

NOTE: If you choose to do this as a Prezi, PowerPoint, blogsite or website, you have to determine the length by word count, rather than pages. You still need to have about 1000 words of text.

ALSO NOTE: If you do this as a Prezi, PowerPoint, blogsite or website, I do understand that the spacing, margins, etc. will not conform to MLA manuscript (paper/essay) format. The Works Cited page and all parenthetical citations, however, should conform to what you see on the Purdue OWL MLA site.

topic 1 - too much stuff

"Viewpoint: The Hazards of Too Much Stuff" is one of many books and articles addressing the issue of "stuff." There are countless books on how to clean out clutter; how to figure out what to keep and what to give away or sell; how to organize a lot of stuff in a small space, even how to live without stuff. In fact, one of the biggest design trends now is "repurposing": rather than throwing old things away, adapting them to use in some new way.

Do some reading on repurposing, and then look around at all your own stuff. Is there anything you don't need or want anymore that you could repurpose?

You don't need to really go dumpster-diving, and you don't need to actually clean out your closets. But choose several items you have in your home that are no longer wanted or needed, and figure out how to repurpose them. Then describe to us what you do and how, and show us the finished product. You need to repurpose at least 3 items, although you may certainly do more if you wish.

Part 1 of your project will give a general overview of how repurposing is being used in people's homes and businesses. This will provide a context to the reader, who may know nothing about this design trend. You may also include a couple of examples you found in the links below or elsewhere; be sure to give credit to the source(s) using correct parenthetical citation and a Works Cited entry.
In Part 2, you will describe the process you followed, from seeking out what to use, figuring out how to repurpose it, and then describing step by step the actions you took to transform the item. Important: these must be your ideas, not just things you found on a repurpose App on your phone, not something you saw on YouTube and are copying. This should show YOUR creativity.. However, it might be inspired by something you saw on Earth911 or the ReuseIT App (for example, there is a nifty power cord organizer that can be easily made with wine corks and small bungee cords, but that has already been done. The design may inspire you to do something similar, but do not copy. Also, a window shutter turned into a message center shown on an DIY Tip might give you an idea of something else that you could use that shutter for. If your idea is inspired, cite the original (yes, there should also be a Works Cited entry) and explain how you are re-working it for your own purposes.

Here are a few links you can look at to get ideas:

Remember to quote and parenthetically cite from any sources you use in the first part of your paper, and you will want to have an MLA-format Works Cited page. Double check the Purdue OWL site and look at the item on Etudes > Resources > Essay Assignments > MLA Works Cited (changes and samples) if you are unsure how to do this correctly. It is not hard, just picky.

topic 2 - intentional communities

Just as some people are looking for alternatives to traditional housing, some are looking for alternative communities. Various groups such as the Mennonites, the Amish, and some Catholic priests and nuns have chosen to live in communities for many years. But lately, other people have begun to question whether traditional city or suburban living is what they want, and they have begun to form their own communities with the values and practices they find important. Some have come together around organic farming; others around self-sustaining ecological principles; others around shared professions. These are called "intentional communities."

Design an intentional community of your own. Your community needs, first and foremost, a unifying principle or purpose. Then you need to find a space for it: where will it be located? Then you need to design its layout and explain how it will work: how many people will be included? Will they all be people you know, or will you include strangers? What will the requirements be for inclusion? Will there be rules for conduct? Division of labor? Show what life will be like in this community.

FINAL REQUIREMENT: regardless of which format you choose, I do want to see the map: show where everything will be in your community. Here are a few links you can look at to get ideas:

topic 3 - alternative housing

"American Space, Chinese Place" is an interesting look at some traditional values expressed through housing. Where we live and how we live defines us in many ways. The essay does not, however, necessarily reflect current housing/lifestyle choices of an increasing number of Americans who are looking for alternatives.

All you need to do is turn on HGTV, DIY and a number of other channels to see dozens of shows on The Tiny House Movement, on container houses, bus and train car conversions, modern yurts, tree house living, off-the-grid living, earthships, and even Hobbit house living.

This is your chance to design an alternate-lifestyle house (and home?) of your own. Think self-sustaining, and think small. Think about what clever, multi-purpose furniture you can work into a tiny space to maximize the livability and even comfort.

You will have to research best (?) building materials, sizes, kinds of furniture available (a Murphy bed that folds up to reveal a bookcase? a table that rotates to become part of a bed or couch?), alternative sorts of plumbing (a composting toilet? a wet room for a shower?), ways to power all of your "stuff" (and just what that most-important "stuff" is considering you have limited space/storage). Will it be mobile (like a converted bus?). Will it involve multiple containers (how much do they cost, and where can you actually get them?). What will it cost? How much will it weigh? Are there regulations (and fees) relating to where you can put them?

You do not need to answer all of these questions, but I'm sure you can add a lot of your own (what kind of tree will hold the weight of a small house? for example).

NOTE: even though you are getting a lot of information from sources, do not just watch an episode of Tree House Living and copy (plagiarize) it; do not just take another person's design from TV or the Web or elsewhere. Your research is to get ideas of what is possible. The design is YOUR design, custom, unique to you. And, yes, it can absolutely be wild and crazy if that's what you envision living in.

FINAL REQUIREMENT: regardless of which format you choose: I do want to see the floorplan. If you can also include images of "things" (maybe a wind generator you will have in the front of your house), please feel free to include those as well. Pictures do not count as text pages, but they sure make the project look better and more fun.

By the way, I've always thought it would be rather nice living in a windmill or a lighthouse.

In addition to the various shows you can watch on alternative-home building, here ere are a couple of links you can look at to get ideas and background:

Remember to quote and parenthetically cite from any sources you use in your paper, and you will want to have an MLA-format Works Cited page. Double check the Purdue OWL site and look at the item on Etudes > Resources > Essay Assignments > MLA Works Cited (changes and samples) if you are unsure how to do this correctly. It is not hard, just picky.

some notes, tips, faqs (for those of you trying for higher scores)

For Topics 1 or 2 open in the middle of an action to grab the reader's attention. Consider the following two openings for a paper on a parkour fanatic:
- Parkour, which has its origins in French combat training, is a sport growing in popularity in the United States.
  
  This is dull. Yes, this information should be in the paper somewhere (probably paragraph 2), but it is just flat information; it does not grab the attention of a reader not already interested in parkour.
- He takes a forty-five-degree bank off a broken stone wall onto the narrow lip of an abandoned bridge and backflips into open air above a dry section of the L.A. River.
  
  This leaves the reader suspended in mid-air; that is exciting. No, the reader does not yet know the subject is parkour, but that information will follow after the reader is compelled to find out what's going on here.
For anything you write, whenever possible, show rather than tell. Bring the scene to life. Build the paper with detailed examples, description, dialogue, action (just like "In New Mexico"). Do not generalize or summarize. Your goal is to make the reader see, feel, hear, taste, smell, to experience this lifestyle from reading your paper. Describe rather than explain. Consider the following two moments observing a freegan:
- She dove into the dumpster and took out all kinds of disposed of food that she would later eat.
  
  This is useless. It shows absolutely nothing; the reader sees nothing from that, feels nothing from that; it is a vague explanation, not a painted, detailed set of examples. It doesn't even show that you are there watching the dumpster dive; it could be completely made up from your computer. It is not REAL.
- She pulled out a crumpled white bag with the red-and-yellow golden arches logo on it. She reached in and found half a dozen uneten french fries, two packets of unopened ketchup, and a half-eaten Quarter Pounder with cheese. She trimmed away the edge of the burger that would have been in someone's mouth, "To be safe," she said, and she set them all aside on a little ledge where her food finds were starting to pile up.
  
  This is authentic, real. Things are named, numbers are given, the condition of items is described, her response to her find is included. The reader is there seeing this.

sample essays

As mentioned above, the readings we have done and the various links here in the assignment should give you lots of ideas. There is also a link to an actual student project which you should look at on Etudes > Resources > Essay Assignments > Project 1 Sample.

Paper (project) 1 this paper is worth 100 points