ENG 104 Assignment #1: Public Writing and Observation As a preliminary writing assignment you will have to use

your senses and observe your surroundings and people around you to collect first hand information. These observations will be your research for this assignment. You will leave some sort of writing in a public place, whether it is a post on Facebook or an online forum, a flyer or poster in a public place, writing on the sidewalk or any other public or prominent place. [Note: NO Vandalism.] You must then observe your writingspecifically how people observe and react to your writing. You will observe the writing and the area around it for a few hours a day for several days. This could be either several hours all at once or spaced out. Take note of the area and environment where you have chosen to leave your writing. Take extensive notes as you observe, then write a response in which you consider your writing and what you observed. Please also provide a copy of your public writing, whether it be a photo, photocopy or screenshot. *You will turn in these writing responses to me, but we will also share them in class. In your response, consider: [Each of these following sections could be a paragraph.] 1. What sort of writing did you choose to display? How long is the message? Is it a positive or negative message? Explain the significance of the message and why you chose it. Where did you leave your message? Describe the setting. Is there a particular reason you chose it? Did the type of writing or message you left need a particular setting? If youre leaving a non-online message, you should also think about things like colors, font, size of letters/overall message itself. 2. How did people react to your message? (Something to think about here: If you choose to leave your message in an online forum, you are limited to comments people leave, as opposed to their physical and verbal reactions.) Were the reactions mostly negative/mostly positive? A little of both? Did they react to any cosmetic aspects of your message (color, font etc)? 3. Think about how writing has affected you throughout your life. How does writing affect you in your present life (school, internet, newspapers, magazines, do you read for fun?)? What have you learned from this assignment and conducting this primary research? How (if at all) has this research/assignment affected how you think about writing?

ENG 104 Assignment #2: Family Culture Narrative We have read and talked about culture and the idea of family culture. I want you to now apply these ideas to your own family. Remember to think outside the box of heritage, nationality or ethnicity. Interview a member of your immediate family who is older than youone of your parents, an older sibling, or maybe even a grandparent if they live with you. Although a parent might be easiest. Ask them questions about your familys history, traditions, beliefs, religion, politics, how your parents met and got married, the story of your birth, other family stories. You do not necessarily have to discuss all of these topics, but you can if you want. Use the worksheet I gave you as a starting point. After interviewing your family member, synthesize the information you have gathered to write a narrative of your family culture and how you think it has developed into what it is now. Your narrative should discuss and tell about at least three key aspects of your family culture. I will be looking for a narrative structure in your essays. There should be a beginning, middle and end in the story of your family culture. I will evaluate your essay based on the above, but also on the clarity of your essay, both in its language and its organization. Please include the transcript of your interview, the worksheet, and any pictures you might also want to include.

ENG 104 Assignment #2: Annotated Bibliography and Research Proposal Annotated Bibliography Consult your Wadsworth Guide to Research to compile your annotated bibliography. Your annotated bibliography must include 15-20 scholarly sources. Each source must be documented correctly in MLA format and annotated to argue for the sources value and pertinence to your overall project. 1. You will want to use some of the library resources introduced in our library visit to collect research material and sources. Youll likely need to start with closer to 30+ sources in order to end up with 15-20 good ones. 2. Read and evaluate your sources according to the guidelines in your Wadsworth Guide (pp. 155-164). 3. Choose your 20 best sources. 4. Compile and annotate the 20 best sources as described in your Wadsworth. 5. Note: You may or may not use all of the sources in your annotated bibliography for your final paper. Research Proposal For this assignment, you will begin thinking about your idea for your final research paper/presentation. Choose a culture that interests you. You can choose a culture in another country or one within the United States. Try to think outside the box of heritage or nationality. But do research a culture that interests you. You will be spending a lot of time with this topic and it should be interesting for you. Once you come up with your topic that you want to research, follow the proposal guidelines in The Wadsworth Guide to Research to develop a full proposal. Pay attention to that cultures history, development, beliefs, values, art (including visual, music, dance, storytelling etc.), social and political relationships. You might also want to look into language, economy, geography, law, daily life, family structure, etc (if applicable). You will first submit your research idea to me, and I will either approve it or ask you to come up with something different, if I think it will be inappropriate or too difficult. You will then write your proposal. Your argument/thesis will not be developed yet, and your topic should evolvethough not change entirelyafter youve submitted the proposal, but your proposal should still be specific and detailed in its description of your plans for the project. On the day that your research proposals are due, I will divide you into pairs and you will read and evaluate each others research proposals based on criteria that I give you.

ENG 104 Assignment #4: Research Paper/Presentation For this project you will use the sources you accumulated for your annotated bibliography, in order to make an academic argument based on what you learned from studying them. You will present your research in a (8-10 page) research essay and in a presentation to the class. Your essay should aim to persuade its reader to share its perspective on your topic. You should use at least 15 sources for the essay. In your presentation, you should explain briefly why you chose your topic, then present your argument to the class. You must also have some type of visual aid for your presentation. It could be a poster, handouts, powerpoint, website or a combination. You will be evaluated on the clarity of your thesis, thoroughness of your research, your integration of the research into a cohesive essay and presentation. You will need to: 1. Revisit your annotated sources. What are your thoughts about them? What did you learn from them? How are they related? What do they add up to? Make notes considering all these questions. 2. Freewrite. What can only you contribute to the argument your sources are helping you form? How can you use what you learned from the research process to make an original argument with your sources as supporting or explaining evidence? 3. Develop a thesis. 4. Compose, revise and edit your essay according to what weve talked about in class and what youve read in your textbook.