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Engl 108A: Collage Assignment

Topic

Using the writing you have done in class and for homework, please create a collage on the topic: You as a Writer and How You Write. The goal is that your reader should find your collage interesting and should learn various things about you as a writer—for example, your good and bad experiences with writing, people who have influenced you, how, where, when, and with what you like to write, and your experiences doing freewriting, invisible writing, clustering, writing letters, exams, and essays etc. You can use any relevant writing you have produced this term, and you can write more if you need to—using, I hope, the techniques we have been studying.

Criteria

The collage should be between 500 and 700 words. It should contain at least five sections, divided from each other by rows of asterisks. Each section should be related to the topic of the assignment, and each section should have a coherent and unified theme. (Thus the piece you wrote introducing yourself is probably not relevant to the collage, unless you introduced yourself as a writer.) The overall order of the sections, however, does not have to be logical. You can even have one section contradicting another section. Put the sections in whatever order you think will be the most effective—logical, emotional, intuitive, it’s up to you.

At least three of the sections should be at least 150 words each. Other sections can be very short, even just a phrase or a word, but limit the number of short sections (e.g. to two very short sections) as many short sections can be boring. You can use short sections for sudden impact and contrast them with other longer sections. Remember, you are trying to keep your reader interested. You can shock your reader (but avoid inappropriate vocabulary), tell stories, be descriptive, include similes and metaphors, and so on, to make your writing interesting. Throughout, though, stay on the topic of “You as a Writer and How You Write.”

I will use the criteria grid below to evaluate your collage, assessing 1 – 4 as Excellent, Good, Satisfactory, Unsatisfactory, or Failing and 5 – 7 as Yes or No. Then I will provide an overall evaluation out of 150.

  1. Content interesting:
  2. Internal organization of paragraphs:
  3. Sufficient, relevant details:
  4. Grammar, punctuation, spelling:
  5. Length: 500-700 words (include the word count at the end of the collage):
  6. Attached cover letter (at least 250 words):
  7. Double space typed:

Three Drafts

There are three drafts due in the assignment. (See the syllabus for the due dates, though check also with the instructor for any changes in due dates.)

The peer response draft. On the date assigned, you should bring to class a draft of your collage, meeting the criteria described and outlined above, except that the grammar does not need to be correct and you don’t need a cover letter. Also, your draft need not be typed, but it must be obvious to the instructor that it is a collage. For example, the draft should have at least five sections, each separated from the others by asterisks, and it should be at least 500 words. It should be on a separate piece of paper, not in your journal. You will read your collage aloud to a small group of your classmates. Note: the instructor will record whether or not you have brought a draft to class. If you do not bring a draft to class on the due date, you will earn 10 negative points, which cannot be made up.

The first draft to the instructor. This should be top quality, the best that you are capable of writing. It should be typed, and it should meet, as far as you are able, all the criteria described and listed above, including grammatically correct sentences. Get help from the LATC on all aspects of your collage so that you are proud of and confident about what you are submitting. You should staple a cover letter to the front of your collage. In the cover letter, tell the instructor some or all of the following

  • what you like about your collage
  • what you don’t like about it (if anything)
  • what sections (if any) you want feedback on
  • what it was like to write the collage using the processes introduced in class
  • what it was like to read your peer response draft to your classmates
  • any other questions or comments you have about your collage
  • any questions or comments you have about the class.

The cover letter should be at least 250 words.

Please see the syllabus for penalties for not meeting the due date for submitting the draft of the collage. These penalties are cumulative. If you submit the draft late by one business day (not class meetings), the penalty is 3 points. If you submit it late by two business days, the penalty is 6 points. If you submit it late by one week, the penalty is 15 points. If you want to do well in the class (or even just pass the class), you cannot afford penalties. Please avoid them!

The final draft to the instructor. This is your revision and new cover letter following feedback from the instructor on your the first draft. The score you receive for the revision is the score that counts. The penalties for late submissions are the same as for late submissions for the first draft. Again, avoid penalties, please!

I am looking forward to reading your collage. It can reveal a great deal about you as a writer and how you write. And you are a writer—of whatever quality or level. I wish you the best in your writing.

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Updated: Saturday, February 12, 2005 at 8:45:28 AM by David Lang

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12/4/2008; 1:55:46 PM

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