Memoir – Peer Letter Two Components

 

Write a 3 – 3 ½ page memoir (MLA double spaced) to share with your fellow classmates. Do not write anything that you do not want known. Use the information on truthfulness and authority from the readings. First person is allowed. Do not check with others (siblings, friends, etc.) They may remember things differently and then you are writing their story. Also, there may be a reason you don’t remember things the same way. After you have completed the readings about writing a memoir, you are to write a memoir of your own. Pick one moment in your life. Do not pick a long period of time (All of high school, 1 year, 9 months, etc.). Keep it short – one day, an afternoon, 1 hour. The longer the period of time, the less room for details. Do not get carried away with details (the azure sky lit up the fluffy white clouds making them look like the marshmallows I loved as a child). On the other hand, a lack of descriptive detail will keep the reader from engaging (I walked into the room and sat on a chair).

Criteria for Evaluation:

• Does your memoir narrate an event that had strong personal meaning for you?

• Is it coherent and cohesive?

• Is your memoir interesting, with vivid descriptive passages and sharp details?

Do not read Hampl before submitting Component A first.

 

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Component B – (100 pts.)

Write a 2-3-page letter to Patricia Hampl, business letter format, single spaced, responding to her article about writing a memoir. How does your experience writing your own memoir validate/question/challenge her claims in “Memory and Imagination”? As you write this letter, you will discuss your own experience as an author of a memoir and cite short quotes from your memoir as evidence for your claims. When you write the letter, consider carefully what Hampl says about the difference between the narrative self and the reflective self in relation to your own project. Include 2 quotes from the Hampl reading and 2 quotes from your memoir. First person is allowed. No Works Cited page.

Criteria for Evaluation:

• Does your letter demonstrate that you have understood (not necessarily agreed with) Hampl’s ideas?

• Have you utilized your memoir in a way so that appropriate details are presented for this new writing situation?

• Is the language of your letter clear (i.e. easily accessible to the readers), concrete, and appropriate to your purpose (i.e., responding to the author’s claims about memoir)?

• Do you avoid clichés and stilted sentence structures and phrasing?

• Are your grammar problems few enough and insignificant enough that they don’t get in the way of understanding? For instance, is your letter presented in complete sentences? Are subject-verb, pronoun, and verb tense agreement errors rare? Are spelling errors infrequent?

· Do not mention that you are a student and that this is homework. You are a peer

that has also written a memoir.

 

Key 305W outcomes met with this assignment:

· Research and contribute to specific areas of inquiry by evaluating, synthesizing, and integrating strategies and sources appropriate to genre.

· Adapt and employ conventions to communicate with diverse audiences who are members of or affected by a specific area or discipline.

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Career Project 2: Portfolio – Three Components

 

Component A: Future Career Report (100 pts.). This report could be viewed as preliminary research for your future job search. This is an analysis report format, not question and answer (no bullet points).

Start with a small introduction, then set up the steps as sub-headings, keep each company separate within the steps. MLA format for Component A.

 

STEP 1. With your career path in mind, locate three companies that you might realistically envision yourself working for. See what you can learn about the company by seeing how it represents itself on the Internet. For example, a graphics design firm will likely have an entirely different look and feel to its website than a law firm would. What kind of information is included on the website? Provide a brief summary of what kind of corporate image each company seems to be portraying. Stay 3rd person throughout the entire report, MLA heading. (Note: If you plan on starting your own business, you might want to use this assignment to check out your competition!) This is three separate paragraphs, one for each company.

 

STEP 2. Narrow your search to two out of the three companies based upon your preliminary evaluation. Why did you eliminate one of the three? (1 paragraph) In one paragraph for each, attempt to find out about:

1. The current financial viability of the company;

2. The position of the company in the greater marketplace;

3. The potential for the company’s growth, given its position in the marketplace;

4. The corporate culture (formal, informal, casual Friday?);

5. The non-profit organizations supported by the company;

6. The professional groups or organizations that company employees belong to;

7. The benefits package (401K, health insurance, profit sharing) for employees.

 

STEP 3. Now, narrow your search down to one of the two companies (why did you eliminate one of the two? 1 paragraph) and answer the following questions in one paragraph for the remaining company.

1. What is the president’s or CEO’s name?

2. How many people does the company employ?

3. How much do people in this field get paid?

4. How many employment openings are expected in the next year? Five years?

5. What special skills, knowledge, and experience are you expected to have?

6. What might you expect as far as promotion and career enhancement in this company? (Women—pay particular attention here!)

7. What are other important factors you deem necessary to your search (Is the company planning on moving its location? What about commute time, traffic, etc.)?

 

STEP 4. Write a 1 paragraph evaluation to end your report. Put all of the above information into a short report (4-5 pages, MLA double spaced). Remember, this is an analysis that ends with an evaluation. Stay 3rd person throughout. (total paragraphs =10)

 

Component B: Resume/Cover Letter (100 pts.). Turn your attention to the present time and place. Even if you are currently working, find a different, specific (better?) position for which you are qualified. Prepare a resume and cover letter targeting the specific job you have chosen. Cover letter= 1st person allowed, business letter format, Resume= 3rd person, resume format.

 

A few things to add to the cover letter:

· Make sure you have additional contact information with the address at the top. List a phone number and email address there or in the last paragraph. Many of you will want to match the heading from your resume to the heading on the letter. This is not required but does look nice!

· Do not just repeat the same information contained in your resume. This is you chance to discuss why you are a great candidate!

· Email addresses are not underlined or in blue.

A few things to check in the resume:

· All past jobs are in past tense (managed, worked, assisted, etc.). Current jobs are in present tense (manage, work, assist, etc.)

· Do not list high school or high school activities.

· Finally, you are allowed to get help from the Career Center. The worse thing that will happen is you will get an A on this section!

Component C: Think about Your Future (25 pts.). Complete a brief (1 ½ -2 pages, MLA double spaced) paper discussing what you might need to do (aside from completing your undergraduate degree) to move from where you are now to where you eventually want to be. What volunteer work, internships, campus activities, etc. could you undertake to make yourself more attractive to a future employer of your choice? What exams or certificates do you need? Will you need to go to graduate school? If so, where? 1st person allowed. MLA format for Component C.

 

Key 305W outcomes met with this assignment:

· Analyze and Evaluate complex print, digital, and multimodal texts that engage significant academic, professional, or civic issues.

· Apply rhetorical principles appropriate to different purposes and goals, within specific disciplinary, professional and civic communities.

· Research and contribute to specific areas of inquiry by evaluating, synthesizing, and integrating strategies and sources appropriate to genre.

· Adapt and employ conventions to communicate with diverse audiences who are members of or affected by a specific area or discipline.

· Compose a variety of texts, working individually and collaboratively, through processes of drafting, critiquing, reflecting, and editing.

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Project 3: Ad Critique – 50 pts. total

1. After reading two outside articles, use them to support any section of the paper. You may not use articles assigned in class. Find a commercial that supports your position. This means that although you personally might not agree that advertising has any effect at all on society, you as a writer need to write as though your ad is basically a manual on what is normal and right in society. What is your ad teaching us about what we are to value, how we should behave, and who matters? What is the worldview? If seen in another country, what would they think about Americans? Your ad must be approved by me before submitting the paper. No acceptance of unapproved material.

 

2. The first step in your essay is describing your ad in as much detail as possible. Who are the characters? What kind of physical attributes do they possess? What group(s) do they represent? Are we supposed to be sympathetic to them? Should we admire them? Want to be who they are? Note: You’ll need far more detail than you think. You can’t say too much. Use your finest observational and creative writing skills here. Do not exceed 1/3 of the paper in length.

 

3. After writing a lengthy, thorough description, take into account the following questions. Some might not be relevant to your particular ad:

· Examine the world view promoted by this advertisement. Although in your heart you might believe that the ad is “just funny,” or “just an ad,” as a writer take on the assumption that this ad is disseminating a philosophical and political way of life. What is it? What does it show as core American Values if viewed in another country? Does it represent our society truthfully? What are the implications if society buys into it? What will our culture look like if we espouse what we are seeing? How does it reflect family, marriage, relationships, friendship, discipline, education, work ethic, industry, patriotism, nationalism, geo-politics…? Total page length for this paper is 3-3 ½ pages plus a Works Cited page that includes your outside sources and the ad. Stay 3rd person throughout. Use correct MLA format throughout. (Note: this paper will be electronically checked for plagiarism, be careful, and cite correctly)

 

Key 305W outcomes met with this assignment:

· Analyze and Evaluate complex print, digital, and multimodal texts that engage significant academic, professional, or civic issues.

· Research and contribute to specific areas of inquiry by evaluating, synthesizing, and integrating strategies and sources appropriate to genre.

· Compose a variety of texts, working individually and collaboratively, through processes of drafting, critiquing, reflecting, and editing.