Essay 3: Investigating/Explaining (Invention Work)
Research Paper: Commenting on American CultureYour assignment is to write an essay in which you describe the relationship between (a) cultural objects and/or practices in America and the cultural values, beliefs, desires, dreams, ideals, etc. they reflect.
You should find a cultural practice or object that interests you and discuss how the nature of the object or practice reveals the values of those who practice it. Why do smokers smoke? What role does it play in their lives? How does it define their character, values? How can one express themselves through smoking, listening to certain music, dressing in certain clothing, following certain cultural rituals in their daily lives?
When you begin writing, assume that you are writing this essay for publication in an academic journal. Remember that an effective explanation has a point and has a clear thesis and an interesting angle or slant. Be sure to support your thesis with a clear explanation that utilizes specific support such as facts, data, examples, illustrations, statistics, comparisons, analogies, and images. Remember that your thesis is a general assertion about the relationships of the specific parts and the support you use to prove that thesis should help your reader identify those parts and see those various relationships. All examples that you use should be relevant, interesting, convincing, representative, accurate, and specific. You must use dependable, reliable sources (i.e. library’s databases, scholarly journals, newspapers, and magazines; YOU MAY NOT USE INTERNET SOURCES).
As you prepare to write a critical essay on popular culture, remember that you are already an expert in your subject. Being an expert doesn’t necessarily mean spending years of your life studying in a library; simply by actively participating in everyday life, you have accumulated a vast store of knowledge about what makes our culture tick. Just think about all you know about movies, or the thousands and thousands of ads you have seen, or the many unwritten “rules” governing dating behavior among your circle of friends. All of these help form the fabric of contemporary American culture—and, if you’ve ever had to explain to a younger sibling why her latest outfit was inappropriate for work or why his comment to a blind date struck the wrong chord, you’ve already played the role of expert.
Complete ALL of the following:
a.Brainstorming (5 minutes). On a sheet of paper, brainstorm everything that comes to mind that is remotely connected to American cultural objects or practices: words, phrases, images, or complete thoughts. You are merely making a "grocery list" here. Do not use complete sentences.
Brainstorming (5 minutes). On a sheet of paper, brainstorm everything that comes to mind that is remotely connected to American cultural objects or practices: words, phrases, images, or complete thoughts. You are merely making a "grocery list" here. Do not use complete sentences. b.Clustering (5 minutes). Visually analyze your subject. This is a visual scheme for brainstorming about your subject that should aid you in seeing relationships among your topics and subtopics, and give you a rough idea about an order or shape you may wish to favor for your essay. Begin with one topic you wish to explore further from your brainstorming list. Write it in the center of a piece of paper. By free association, create a “spider web” by listing and linking all ideas that come to mind by connecting each idea to the next by drawing lines between them.
Clustering (5 minutes). Visually analyze your subject. This is a visual scheme for brainstorming about your subject that should aid you in seeing relationships among your topics and subtopics, and give you a rough idea about an order or shape you may wish to favor for your essay. Begin with one topic you wish to explore further from your brainstorming list. Write it in the center of a piece of paper. By free association, create a “spider web” by listing and linking all ideas that come to mind by connecting each idea to the next by drawing lines between them.c.Looping (24 minutes). Looping is a method of controlled freewriting that generates ideas and provides focus and direction. Begin with a subject you wish to explore further from your clustering exercise. Freewrite about your subject for eight minutes. Then, pause, reread what you have written so far, and underline the most interesting or important idea in what you’ve written. Then, using that sentence or idea as a starting point, write for 8 minutes more. Repeat this cycle, or “loop,” one more time. Each loop should add ideas and details from some new angle or viewpoint, but overall you will be focusing on the most important ideas that you discover.
Looping (24 minutes). Looping is a method of controlled freewriting that generates ideas and provides focus and direction. Begin with a subject you wish to explore further from your clustering exercise. Freewrite about your subject for eight minutes. Then, pause, reread what you have written so far, and underline the most interesting or important idea in what you’ve written. Then, using that sentence or idea as a starting point, write for 8 minutes more. Repeat this cycle, or “loop,” one more time. Each loop should add ideas and details from some new angle or viewpoint, but overall you will be focusing on the most important ideas that you discover.d.Research Tips. After completing the above invention exercises, you may discover there are areas related to your subject that you need to further research. Review your topic for other research possibilities. Tips to remember: Make photocopies of all sources that you plan to cite in your essay. When you make copies, be sure to write all relevant information on the photocopy, such as author, date, publisher, place of publication, journal title, and volume numbers. When you cite sources in your paper, be sure to introduce them (i.e. John Smith, in his article, “Violence in the Media,” states, “There is a direct correlation between violence in video games and increased aggression in children.”). Make sure your quotations are accurate word-for-word transctiptions. If the information was not common knowledge, your idea, or you didn’t know it ahead of time, you must give credit to the appropriate source.
Research Tips. After completing the above invention exercises, you may discover there are areas related to your subject that you need to further research. Review your topic for other research possibilities. Tips to remember: Make photocopies of all sources that you plan to cite in your essay. When you make copies, be sure to write all relevant information on the photocopy, such as author, date, publisher, place of publication, journal title, and volume numbers. When you cite sources in your paper, be sure to introduce them (i.e. John Smith, in his article, “Violence in the Media,” states, “There is a direct correlation between violence in video games and increased aggression in children.”). Make sure your quotations are accurate word-for-word transctiptions. If the information was not common knowledge, your idea, or you didn’t know it ahead of time, you must give credit to the appropriate source.