Purpose
The purposes of essay one are multifold. First, it will engage you in the act of writing. Writing is a process, a series of various activities that lead to a complete product. You will generate, organize, create, compose, revise, edit and title--seven stages in the process of writing. Second, the essay will involve you in the act of writing persuasively, argumentatively. Third, it will situate you in this class. In other words, the essay will help us (you and me) evaluate your abilities to think and to communicate creatively, clearly and concisely. Fourth, it will allow you to define literature in your own terms.
Content
First, I want you to find a nonliterary thing, to describe it, and to delineate the reasons it is not an example of literature. Second, find an example of a literary work, describe it, and delineate the reasons it is such. Third, you must define literature in your own terms. You may include other pertinent information, but the essay must not exceed 100,000 words or 400 pages. You also may organize your information in a different way. Format your essay in accordance with the conventions established by the Modern Language Association (MLA).
Process
I have determined your purpose for writing, which is to persuade; I have defined your audience, which is the class. I also have provided you a topic, which is to define literature. The next stage is to generate information. We have discussed reading, brainstorming, journal writing, listing, and mapping--activities you may want to do rather than freewriting and focused freewriting. However, for this essay you will freely write for ten minutes, generating as much information on the topic as you can. Again:
The idea is simply to write for ten minutes (later on, perhapsThe purposes of essay one are multifold. First, it will engage you in the act of writing. Writing is a process, a series of various activities that lead to a complete product. You will generate, organize, create, compose, revise, edit and title--seven stages in the process of writing. Second, the essay will involve you in the act of writing persuasively, argumentatively. Third, it will situate you in this class. In other words, the essay will help us (you and me) evaluate your abilities to think and to communicate creatively, clearly and concisely. Fourth, it will allow you to define literature in your own terms.
Content
First, I want you to find a nonliterary thing, to describe it, and to delineate the reasons it is not an example of literature. Second, find an example of a literary work, describe it, and delineate the reasons it is such. Third, you must define literature in your own terms. You may include other pertinent information, but the essay must not exceed 100,000 words or 400 pages. You also may organize your information in a different way. Format your essay in accordance with the conventions established by the Modern Language Association (MLA).
Process
I have determined your purpose for writing, which is to persuade; I have defined your audience, which is the class. I also have provided you a topic, which is to define literature. The next stage is to generate information. We have discussed reading, brainstorming, journal writing, listing, and mapping--activities you may want to do rather than freewriting and focused freewriting. However, for this essay you will freely write for ten minutes, generating as much information on the topic as you can. Again:
fifteen or twenty). Don't stop for anything. Go quickly without
rushing. Never stop to look back, to cross something out, to
wonder how to spell something, to wonder what word or thought
to use, or to think about what you are doing. If you can't think of
a word or a spelling, just use a squiggle or else write, "I can't
think of it." Just put down something. The easiest thing is just to
put down whatever is in your mind. If you get stuck [sic] it's fine
to write [sic] "I can't think what to say, [sic] I can't think what to
say [sic]" as many times as you want; or repeat the last word you
wrote over and over again; or anything else. The only
requirement is that you never stop.*
Focused freewriting provides the benefits of freewriting but with regard to specific information. First, read what you wrote and mark any words, phrases or sentences that seem important or useful. Second, freely write for ten more minutes--focusing on the words, phrases or sentences that you marked. To generate more specific information, you will need to repeat the technique.
Particulars
You will be comparing and contrasting two things. The outcome of your analyses will be your definition of literature. You must use all three rhetorical appeals (logos, pathos and ethos), and you must follow Toulmin's scheme for argumentation. You may include photographs, photocopies or excerpts of both things. Bring two copies of your essay to class on the day it is due.
Near the end of the semester, on the day of your final exam, you will submit in a portfolio your freewrite, focused freewrite, outline, first draft, and final draft.
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*Peter Elbow, Writing without Teachers
, 2nd ed. (New York: Oxford UP, 1998) 1.
