Essay #1: To Reconstruct Experience

ENGL 101-RDTN, Fall '97--University of South Dakota

Read the section entitled "Writing Assignment" on page 101 of The Simon and Schuster Guide to Writing. Select suggestion #1 or #2 for your essay. Avoid being predictable; focus on something out of the ordinary.

Strategies: Once you have made your selection, remember that you need to use three strategies to reconstruct your experience (page 96):

Use specific details.
Use concrete language.
Use analogies.

To practice using these strategies, try out a "mock" test: http://www.usd.edu/exam/engl101/chapter3.html

DEADLINES:

Draft 1 due: Friday, September 19 (peer revision).

Draft 2 due: Friday, September 26 (peer revision). Include grammar exercises #1.

Final draft due: Monday, September 29. Your final draft and your two earlier workshop drafts should be placed in a folder, along with the peer revision sheets. The final draft should be placed in the left-hand pocket; the earlier drafts and the peer revision sheets should be placed in the right-hand pocket.

Format: Your paper should be 750-1000 words. All three drafts should be typed, double-spaced, with 1" margins. All pages but the first should be numbered in the top right-hand corner. The following information should appear on the first page of each draft:

Your name
Essay #, Draft #
Title of paper (centered)

An Example:

Chris Wilson

Essay #1, Draft #1

                         Independence Christmas

     Christmas at our house always began with a bang. Early on Christmas 

morning--much to the chagrin of our neighbors--Dad brought out of hiding the

fireworks he had been saving ever since the Fourth of July and lit them

outside in the front yard. We awoke to the sound of firecrackers and

whistling bottle rockets and knew that it was time to get up and discover what

Santa Claus had left for us underneath the Christmas tree. . . .

For more information about doing this assignment, refer to your text, Chapter 3.

Return to the English 101 page.