Spring 2004

English 101.10 -- Language and Composition I

Paper One: The Elements of Content

One of the most important things I'd like to teach you about writing is that often the most successful writing combines different elements and weaves different 'threads' together into a whole. In this assignment, we'll consider four different elements that are typically part of the content of essays [Please note, however, that these are not set in stone as THE elements of content. I'm asking you to work with these because I think considering them will be useful in developing your paper. They are a tool only]:

1. Ideas: theories, worldviews, philosophies, ways of thinking, ways of being, thoughts, principles or tidbits of wisdom. This will be the most abstract ingredient in your paper because unlike things, actions, or symbols, ideas can't be seen (at least not until you connect them to something more tangible). [Ideas usually supply the main point or purpose of the essay.]

2. Things: technologies, consumer products, any type of material or made thing such as tools, clothes, architecture, inventions, etc. This is referring to 'things' in the most concrete sense, literal items that can be touched, seen, heard, smelled, or tasted. [Things are often used as examples of illustrations of the Ideas in a paper.]

3. Actions: Activities, behavior, experiences and their outcomes. [Sometimes actions can be used as examples, and other times they will be combined with the writer's purpose.]

4. Symbols: representations, human expression, art, media, language, rhetoric, etc. This last category will tend to overlap a lot with the other three-that's okay. [Symbols deal with the connection between ideas and things or actions. This largely has to do with the meaning that is given to objects or behaviors. Metaphors might fit into this category.]

Creating a List of Topics
We'll also use these four categories as a tool to brainstorm possible topics. For each category, make a list of what interests you. For example, if you are interested in the concept of Work Ethic, or the principle of Friendship, you might list those under the Ideas category. If you collect decorative hand soaps, that would be listed under things. If you have an interest and aren't sure what category it might be placed in, go ahead and list it anyway, or you might list it in more than one. Use these categories as a tool to help you think of possibilities.

Once you've found a topic…
After selecting a topic from the lists you made, use the four categories to develop that topic. For example, if I picked the topic 'Video Games' from the 'things' category, I would now find the ideas, actions, or symbols that would go with that topic. For example:

Topic: Video Games

Ideas: the game world versus real life. Work ethic. Interior decorating principles. Games and learning. Developing reflexes. Materialism and altruism. The satisfaction of setting goals. How entertainment and work are alike and different. Gender roles portrayed in games. Do the games people play influence their actions in real life?

Things: Specific game titles. Hand controller. TV screen. Living room (or other location). Wires and cables. Memory cartridges. Game background music.

Actions: pushing buttons. Grinding teeth (or other responses to things that happen). Finishing a level of the game. Losing and starting over. Competing with other players. Setting a high score. Acts of violence. Heroic rescue of game characters. Climbing, jumping, walking, running. In the case of Harvest Moon: fishing, farming, planting crops, visiting neighbors, cooking, watching TV channels, writing in diary, winning the horse race, etc.

Symbols: What do things in the game represent? Do you notice any metaphors in the game? Some examples might be, in Zelda, the little hearts that represent life. Or trophies or models in Animal Crossing that represent certain accomplishments, events, or holidays.

Try to list as much as you can for your topic. This will give you lots of ideas for what you might include in your paper.

For Example
After looking at my list for video games, I might discard a stale "violence and video games" theme and instead write about "Connections between video games and real life." That would let me talk about violence if I wanted to, but it would also open up the topic to looking at other ways video games try to mirror real life and breathe a little new life into an old topic by approaching it in a slightly different way. Animal Crossing, for example, is about the character moving to a new town, working to pay off a loan, mortgaging home improvements, writing letters and developing friendships with town residents, decorating a home, collecting fashions, making contributions to the town museum, etc... I might choose to write about what I think the game teaches people about being materialistic. Or what it teaches about contributing to the community in which you live. What might this game be teaching? Does it have a message? Or I might write about what makes a video game like this appealing. One day while playing, I realized that playing the game was like *work*-- I mean the game involves pulling weeds and trying to get out of debt. I liked it because I was setting goals and then achieving them. It made me reflect on ways that accomplishing goals in real life can be just a much fun as playing a video game. In our culture, we are used to thinking about play and work as being very different, but I might question how different they really are. I might end up writing about the role of entertainment in our society.

Assignment Guidelines

Your goal for this first paper is see what you can develop your topic into. Use the categories above to focus it in an interesting direction and to assist you in brainstorming examples or main points you include to support your main idea. The paper should be logically organized, but does not need to adhere to a rigid five-paragraph format. You may use "I" and include personal examples where these are appropriate for your purpose and subject matter.

The paper should be 5-7 pages, double spaced in a 10-12 point font. See the Course Requirements page for more information about what needs to be turned in with your paper in order for it to be considered complete.

The final unit draft of this paper is due on Friday, at the end of the second week of class. Bring your rough drafts in progress with you each day to class until then.