Here's part of the prompt I assign to my Writing about Lit students. The topic has to be something simple enough to complete in two hours but something with enough wiggle room so that each student can express his/her creativity and competency (and therefore make it possible for me to grade them all in one day. Boring essays = cure for previously nonexistent insomnia!)
If you were one of my students, what poem or story would you want to evaluate (Option #1)? What song would you want to analyze/interpret (Option #2)? Would you take the crooked path of a previous student who analyzed his OWN song for the assignment? (Sadly, it was a poorly written Christian rap and this fellow had no demonstrable rap talent. I cringed my way through his performance and fumbled out some self-esteem boosting compliment through my teeth.) FYI - I am no longer allowing students to write about Garth Brooks' "The Dance." We had to retire that song selection in the manner of a legendary basketball player's jersey.
A ha! I just remembered something about the way I used to teach English III and IV ... before I had children. Get this! - I would complete all the assignments I gave to my students, right along with them. If I assigned a personal narrative, I also wrote a personal narrative. If I assigned a research paper, I wrote one too. I thought that modeling good writing habits and patterns would inspire my students. Not sure if that worked or not. I know those students remember that I taught them how to dance the Charleston when we studied The Great Gatsby and that I played for them Peter Gabriel's "Mercy Street" when we studied Anne Sexton. Whether or not they remember anything else about The Great Gatsby or Anne Sexton I cannot say. What can I say? I was young, fresh, enthusiastic and willing to stay in my classroom til 8 p.m. at night getting things ready and written.
Here is your assignment. You have two hours to complete the work!
English 1302 Final Bluebook Essay Requirements
~Bring a blank bluebook and outline (should include thesis, quotes, topic sentences, key words)
~You will write 750 words/approx. 4 pages handwritten
~This essay is, in fact, a revised draft … but it needs to be a thoughtful, well-planned draft with dynamite diction! Minor grammar/spelling errors will not detract from grade.
~You will still need to attribute and cite quotations from the text but should/can type the Works Cited page ahead of time.
~First person = okay. Second person = still not okay. Analysis verbs in present tense = still required.
~I will be grading your Essay #4: Bluebook on:
strength of assignment-following/demonstration of analysis and interpretation mastery
quality/variety of word choices
level of interest it creates in me (an intriguing title is mandatory)
level of creativity/demonstration of your own writer’s voice
level of diction
Option #1: In Pursuit of Excellence
Step 1: Read Chapter 28: “Recognizing Excellence” selections in class
Step 2: Read closely the “Writing Critically” section on pgs. 1089-1090
Step 3: Reflect on the “Writing Assignment” prompt, select literary work to be evaluated OR follow “Further Suggestions for Writing” #2 on pg. 1091
... oops - forgot that you don't have a copy of the textbook. Well, just go with this next option, blog-students.
Option #2: A Song in Your Heart
Step 1: Complete the same readings, then brainstorm a favorite song, one with powerful lyrics
Step 2: Prepare to write a 5-paragraph analysis/interpretation of your favorite song. Treat the lyrics as a poem. (i.e. find out who the songwriter is, if the songwriter is someone other than the singer, and use his/her name when discussing the inclusion of literary elements.) Identify tone & mood, other significant literary elements, and theme in the body paragraphs. Explain what the song lyrics mean to you. Quote at least 5-6 words/phrases from the song and attribute them appropriately.
*Bring a copy of the song lyrics (with name of songwriter and performer) to staple inside the bluebook
*Bring an audio copy of the song if I do not know it/have not heard it
3 comments:
Warning: long comment
I would analyze "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance" by Vampire Weekend. I do like the song, but I would choose to analyze it because I can never understand what it's about. Perhaps an in-depth explication would help me.
The lines "you criticize the practice/by murdering their plants" makes me think this song might be about marijuana. But I don't want it to be about something so juvenile (no offense, Vampire Weekend). But then there's the reference to cotton, clothing, and soft pillows . . . are they talking about cotton plants? I like picturing "the pin-striped men of morning" . . . I think this song could be about how business men who get up early and work 20 hours a day are making it hard for just-out-of-college kids to compete. ( Which reminds me of one of my favorite Anna Quindlen article, "A Cubicle is Not a Home.")
I like this band--they have a very distinct sound (influenced by African pop, their style was referred to in the NYTimes as "preppie Afro-pop") and their music videos are so fun to watch. Since I didn't grow up on a steady diet of music videos, I am easily impressed by the well-done marriage of visual and audio media. Their song, "A-punk" was on a commercial I saw recently . . . but I can't remember what it was, and neither, it seems, can anyone on the Internet.
I love long comments and I love Vampire Weekend! They are happy music for me ... and I look forward to seeing some of the videos. Haven't caught those yet.
Jason is always talking about how I love sad music, and he records me CDs of peppy music for my drives --- but they don't work. I like to cry and listen to music! I love it, actually --- no idea why. Sad books? No thanks. Grim movies? Nope. Sad songs? YES! We have lately been loving "little boy, won't you lay your body down. Little boy, won't you close your weary eyes. Ain't nothing flashing but the fireflies ..." Oh Paul Simon, I would listen to you singing my grocery list. I don't know if this is a smart enough song to explicate --- I mean, it is a lullaby (and the boy it was written to, Simon's oldest son Harper, now has HIS OWN ALBUM out!!! CRAZY). And I would probably choose some Indigo Girls song, myself --- just cause I've never gotten over my love affair with their voices and lyrics. What would YOU choose? That's what I want to read about --- you are so smart with poems and songs. (the tidbit about you completing your own assignments as a young starting out teacher kills me --- what pride in your work! what insanity!)
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