Overview
of assignments
All assignments are to be word processed,
double spaced, 12 point font Times New Roman, 1” margins; also all assignments must have a
header in the upper right corner, to
include: Your Name, Writing 2,
Emmerling, Date, Assignment
Humanities
Paper about Maxine Hong Kingston
Presentation: We will read
Analysis of a film in which patterns of male/female
communication can be observed as well as relational communication between
same-sex friends. Make observations regarding the kind of relationships and
bonds between same sex friends, gender related values that characters exhibit,
and gender specific communication that the characters’ actions
illustrate. The paper should be 3-5 pages. Due date 1/24
Cross generational interview: This
assignment is to encourage you to explore generational, cultural, familial
attitudes, values, and behaviors between generations through interpersonal
dialogue. Choose a person to interview
face to face (no phone interviews) and make arrangements for a quiet place and
undisturbed time to conduct your interview.
The interview should last about an hour to an hour and a half. Hopefully this will be a pleasant and
enjoyable conversation and not be a rigid interview. Engage the person in conversation and
elaboration. Plan questions ahead of
time focusing on a particular family lore.
Probably 6-8 questions should prepare you. Feel free to add other questions as the
interview unfolds, or questions related to the topic area that our authors
perhaps do not cover. Your challenge is
to plan good questions. Conduct the
interview keeping notes either during or after to help you remember specific
points or comments your interviewee makes.
Report your interview results in a coherent paper (about 3-4 pages)
which speaks to what you learned. Please
no scripts of questions and answers but summary comments about the interview
regarding both planned and unplanned questions.
Do include a list of the preplanned questions you designed somewhere
inside or attached to the paper.
Introduce your paper by describing the person and the setting briefly
and close by commenting on highlights of the interview experience. Paper should be 3-5 pages. Due Date:
1/31
Social Sciences
Write an Editorial for a publication you read. An editorial is a short essay in a newspaper
or magazine. The purpose of the
editorial is usually to express an opinion based on your observations and
research. It differs in tone and length
from letters to the editor and feature articles. In this assignment, you will choose a
magazine or newspaper that you read regularly and compose an editorial for that
publication. Choose a timely topic which
the publication covers regularly and one that sparks your interest. The topic of your editorial should be
something of importance to you. You do
not have to pick a global topic such as abortion or capital punishment
(though if you choose to, you can write on either of these topics). Your topic can be something closer to home,
such as should high school campuses be open or closed? How can UCSB solve the parking crunch? Is there a safety problem on campus? If so, what responsibility should the
university take to ensure a more safe campus?
This is a tiny list of possibilities is hopefully a mere springboard for
you to find your own topic. If you are
having trouble choosing a topic, please contact me. Effective
editorials come from the heart and the mind. Some students have mentioned that editorials
are “cop outs” for not having to present research. Make sure your editorial is not a
cop-out. While footnotes are not
necessary, you will want to incorporate sources that will support your point
and you will want to give proper credit to those sources. The number of sources is not critical. Just make sure they are effective. Editorials
are written in a compelling and lively tone yet they present pertinent facts
and observations. As you plan your
paper, remember that you will be writing to an audience that reads this
publication. The more you can use the
lingo and relate to your audience, the more effective it will be. Draft due 2/27
Health Sciences
Compose and conduct a
survey (only for use in our class)
and report your results in a paper. This
survey is an attempt to gather information about health and gender. Choose a topic. Isolate some particular goals for your
survey. Develop questions which address
your goal. Do you want open or closed
questions? Do you want to use a Likert
scale (1-5)? Write clear question for
your respondents. Report the results in
a 3-4 page paper which will include: the
purpose of your survey, a summary of the results, and
speculation/interpretation of your findings.
Include a copy of the survey with the tabulated results. Raw survey is due 2/21, paper 3/9
Cover Letter for Portfolio:
For your final
portfolio, I am asking that you spend some time reflecting on the work you have
done for the quarter. Please describe
your fairly recent experiences as a writer.
These need not be limited to our class.
In what ways, this quarter, have you been thinking about your writing
and reading, about yourself as a reader and writer?
Ways to begin: Look back through your work. What do you see there that interests
you? What patterns do you see?
Which areas of the
reading and writing have engaged you and which have given you the most grief,
and why do you think that is?
How have your ideas
for your drafts come about? How has it
changed through peer editing/my comments, etc?
Do you find overlap
between your writing assignments/activities for other courses you are taking
and assignments for this course? Do your
different college instructors seem to be emphasizing similar or not-so-similar
things about the nature of writing at the university level? If you are noticing differences, how are you
responding to and managing these different demands?
What are you
noticing about likeness and differences between your writing of drafts and your
daily and in-class writing? Are these
two areas of writing quite distinct for you, or do they tend to merge…and why,
do you think?
What do you consider
to be your strengths and your weaknesses as a wrier? Please give examples from your writing. How have you worked with difficult areas in
your writing? How has your sense of your
own abilities as a writer changed since you wrote your in-class piece the first
day of class?
What helps you write
well? You might consider the role of
these…
The subject or ideas you’re
exploring
The amount of time you have to write
Opportunities to revise your work
Classroom
discussions and activities; ideas from your classmates and me, etc.
This is to be in a letter format, addressed to me. This is not a class evaluation but rather an introspective look at you, your writing, and an understanding of your writing process.