What your writing about: The emotional connection between humans and marine animals. In other words Emotional Attachment and why humans get attached to animals so fast.
This assignment is an invitation for you to follow your curiosity and conduct focused, interdisciplinary research into a topic related one of these:
Susan Orlean’s “Where’s Willy?”
For this assignment, you should pick Susan Orlean’s “Where’s Willy?” and research one topic (emotional attachment between humans and marine animals) related to the text and show how your research illuminates or changes or enhances your interpretation of the text, reveals some aspect of the text. What questions still linger for you from one of these texts? What do you want to dig deeper into or understand more?
For example: How would research on orcas in the wild versus captivity shift how you read either of our whale essays? While our first major paper was more “creative” in nature and a research paper is more scholarly, I’m adding a creative twist into this assignment: this research paper should be written in the form of a letter.
This means you choose a specific audience/person that you are addressing and sharing your research with. They could be your immediate family, your roommate, your soccer coach, your congressman, etc. This doesn’t mean you start the essay with “Dear Mom…” It means the “you” in the essay is your audience (you don’t need to tell me who) and the “I” is you the narrator and researcher. You are encouraged, in the spirit of autotheory, to write yourself into your research paper.
Your letter/research paper should give your audience a clear understanding of the text (assume they haven’t read it), an idea what your initial interpretation of it was, and explain how your research into one particular topic related to the text enhances, shifts, or illuminates your interpretation. You should try to persuade them of your point of view by citing passages from your primary text and your research. The final letter/research paper should be between 1800 to 2500 words, including a Works Cited page, and include:
An introductory paragraph that offers a way into the text, your topic, and your interpretation
A concluding paragraph that sums up your argument and interpretation of your topic/passages
MLA formatting: a “Works Cited” page of all the sources you quoted or consulted in MLA formatting as well as in-text MLA citations
There should be a total of 7 sources because you will include the text by Susan Orlean’s “Where’s Willy?”
Components you should include:
An introductory paragraph that lays out your topic, introduces the text, and gives a sense of your interpretation
Well organized paragraphs that demonstrate how your research contributes to your interpretation of the text
A concluding paragraph that sums up your argument and interpretation of your topic and text
A “Works Cited” page of all the sources you quoted or consulted in MLA formatting
The paper should be in the form of a letter. The “you” can be any audience of your choice.
You may write yourself and your experiences into the paper. You should use the “I.”
Mechanics
__ In the top left and double-spaced: Name, Instructor, Course, Date, and the intended audience for your letter
__ Creative title, size 12 Times New Roman and centered on the page (Not: “Writing Assignment #2)
__ 12-point Times New Roman font (no bolding, underlining, etc.)
__ Double Spaced
__ 1-inch margins
__ Page numbers on each page with last name (example: Krzywonos 1)
__ 1800 – 2500 words (which includes Works Cited page, etc.)
__ MLA-style citations in the paper itself
__ Works Cited page at the bottom of the paper with sources in MLA Style. Be sure to include your chosen text as a source!
GRADING RUBRIC
Criteria Ratings Pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeMechanics
__ In the top left and double-spaced: Name, Instructor, Course, Date, and the intended audience for your letter
__ Creative title, size 12 Times New Roman and centered on the page (Not: “Writing Assignment #2)
__ 12-point Times New Roman font (no bolding, underlining, etc.)
__ Double Spaced (no extra spaces between paragraphs)
__ 1-inch margins
__ Page numbers on each page with last name (example: Krzywonos 1)
__ 1800 – 2500 words (which includes Works Cited page, etc.)
__ Indent first paragraphs
__ MLA-style citations in the paper itself
__ Works Cited page at the bottom of the paper with sources in MLA Style. Be sure to include your chosen text as a source!
20 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeGrammar and Style
Does the paper have typos, spelling errors, misuse of punctuation (periods vs. commas), proper capitalization (capitalize names and proper nouns), etc.? Is the writing clear as opposed to clunky?
20 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeOpening and Closing Paragraphs
Are the opening and closing paragraphs compelling? Is there enough context at the beginning and a clear and specific thesis statement to argue? Does the closing paragraph conclude the paper without merely parroting what has been stated earlier?
20 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeSources and MLA Formatting of Works Cited Page
Did the writer use at least six quality sources, including at least three academic sources? Is the Works Cited page formatted correctly?
25 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeParagraph Bodies and Argument
Do the logic of the argument and the paragraphs make sense? Do they build on each other? Does the paper make an effective use of quotes (not just dropping them in, but interpreting them) and sources? Does the paper include in-text citations in MLA format?
40 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomePDFs of All Sources
If an article doesn’t give you a PDF, put it in a Word document and save it as a PDF. I will create another portal to submit these.
20 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeThesis Statement
Is there a thesis statement in the first paragraph that is clear, specific, insightful, argumentative (debatable), has a meaningful stake, and is supportable?
20 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeLetter
Is this a letter that uses the “I” and the “you” with a specific audience?
10 pts
Total Points: 175
This is a template of how it shoud be spaced out
Body paragraph 1:
Main point:
Quote from Susan Orlean’s “Where’s Willy?”
Quote from research:
Body paragraph 2:
Main point:
Quote from Susan Orlean’s “Where’s Willy?”
Quote from research:
Body paragraph 3:
Main point:
Quote from Susan Orlean’s “Where’s Willy?”
Quote from research:
Body paragraph 4:
Main point:
Quote from Susan Orlean’s “Where’s Willy?”
Quote from research:
Below I attached a examplen of what this paper is suppost to look like and the actual wheres willy article so you can use the texts.
