Object Paper (tribe/ community emphasis option)

The first paper has a couple of goals: to begin thinking about the theme of the course (what popular culture is and why it matters). We are also starting to debunk some of the myths about writing (that it's solitary, merely a matter of correctness, that writers are these odd people who sit around in attics chain-smoking and drinking till inspiration hits). The most crucial concept you can get from this class is that writers (including poets, scientists, lawyers, you name it) write in order to understand what they think, and how best to convey that point of view to others. That's why each assignment lets you try out different prewriting discovery strategies called heuristics (it comes from the same word as "eureka," our state motto). At the end of every quarter students consistently respond when I asked them what was most valuable about the course, they say prewriting.

Another myth that we are quickly trying to debunk is that "College Writing" is the longest possible word in the longest possible sentence (remember what we got from Play with Words analysis? Specific detail [showing, not telling], metaphors, and writing designed to attract the reader and make them curious to know more is what works). People get brainwashed into thinking that good college writing is al abstraction, and it's true that we're into using concepts to figure out the meaning of things, but we also need to keep it real and grounded. That's why we're using an object that represents your community as a starting point (and it may well end up being the literal starting point of your essay as well, which solves two problems many people have: getting started and attracting audience interest (great ideas for intros and conclusions are in the Writer's Reference p. 14).

Prewriting can help with another problem writers must solve: what is my "angle" or point of entry/exploration of this topic. Because writing in high school has to favor correctness and form over ideas, we are often conditioned that merely mouthing typical ideas (sort of the Family Feud school of writing; the worst case of this is what we call Engfish, language that exists only in mindless student essays [quick test; if you cannot imagine a string of words coming out of your mouth in the dinning hall, it's probably not going to be effective) and stock phrases (the Lego school of writing) about a subject is enough.

So go back to (and expand?) that list of communities you are or aspire to be a member of (ways to expand the list: who are you? What do you have? What do you want? Who/what have you or would you sacrifice for?) Let the list cool off and then look it over and see if something pops up and just asks you to write about it. Don't worry if it does not seem like a good topic for an "English Theme" since no one in history ever wanted to read one. You might want to watch for a community that is misunderstood by outsiders (for examples see the course website on community and object papers: lowriders, smokers, ravers, Irish dancers), or one that needs to hear what you have to say on some particular issue of concern to the community itself (i.e., that new ravers must be taught the beliefs of the tribe, otherwise they will be lost to all).

The Tagmemic questions will help ground your paper, and give you specific detail to show us what you mean. It can also give you ideas: what makes your group different? Is it getting more important or less? More or less common? Accepted? What is its relationship with relation to outsiders and/or power, and does that matter? Are there subgroups? Do they matter? So let the prewrite cool off, then select something from it that looks promising as an intro, and/or as your overall argument/point and write an intro, outline or mindmap. Then expand that into a draft. Don't let the answers to the Tagmemic analysis be your paper, or even structure it; it is just to help you get an "angle" or ideas about your topic. Above all, try to have fun; this should be a subject close to your heart.