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We’ve read essays featuring everything from small, personal journeys to profiles of groups in historic moments. Some of these essays feature subjects who were both familiar and strangers. For your final, essay, you’ll get to choose your own topic that draws you into an investigation. It may be a personal narrative like Sedaris or Seshadri, who have personal experiences that draw them toward larger questions. You may want to recount a new experience like Wallace or Matter, who write to make sense of the quirky, poignant, and occasionally hilarious things they encounter. Or, you may want to take this opportunity to investigate something outside of your own experience like Hersey and Orfi, who write essays that build connections to subjects who are strangers or misunderstood. Whatever you choose, your topic should prompt you to do a little research. 
Write an 8-10 page (double-spaced; MLA, APA, or Chicago style) creative nonfiction essay in which you:
Pose a question about your subject. You may want to write about something personal, or you could choose an event, place, person, process, or group that interests you.
Present your findings about your question using an appropriate essay structure and genre
Demonstrate an awareness of audience through effective use of language and style
P.S. If you’re feeling stuck about how to incorporate research into your essay, have a look back at our discussion posts and lecture materials for some ideas.

Actual Assignment: Instructions:
You have 2 hours to complete this exam. Please make sure you complete and submit your exam within this time frame. After the allotted time the examination will close and you will no longer be able to write.If you are writing in an accommodation time slot because of an IEP, your exam time will be modified on a personal basis.
Please write your answers in a Google doc in case there are problems with Brightspace. You will need to have a backup copy.
Once you are finished your exam, please copy and paste your work from your Google doc into the Quiz Answers section.
Read all instructions and question carefully. Look at the marking scheme to see how you will be evaluated.
When you have completed your exam, read over your answers and edit carefully. It’s been a pleasure working with all of you this semester 🙂 Good Luck!
Constructing Meaning analyzes oral texts, focusing on the ways in which they communicate information, ideas, and influence the listener’s response
evaluate the effectiveness of a wide variety of presentation strategies used in oral texts.
/50
Using Knowledge of Form, Style & Conventions
proper use of paragraph structure & overall comparative organization
establishes a formal voice
effective use of conventions writes complete sentences that communicate clearly, incorporate transitions & vary sentence type, structure length
/50
Step 1: Watch the Clips / Read the Transcript
Watch video prompt #1: John Krasinski – A commencement speech by actor John Krasinski, at Brown University, June 2019.
Watch video prompt #2: Viola Davis – A commencement speech by an actress at Barnard College’s Graduation Ceremony in May 2019 Step 2: Note-taking
As you watch/read the commencement speech clips, jot down your ideas, observations and thoughts so that it is easy for you to respond to the question below. You will need to take note of specific details such as quotations and speech style in order to support your ideas.
Step 3: Paragraph Response
Please respond to the question in a comparative paragraph format. Be sure to discuss at least three of the bullet points from the questions below, and to use direct quotations from both speeches to support your points. Essay Requirements Provide a clear thesis argument to respond to the questions below
Discuss both of the speeches provided
Provide at least 3 points, 6 proofs, 6 comments
Use specific evidence in the form of quotations to support your ideas Address at least three of the topics included in the question
Use proper conventions throughout (i.e. spelling, grammar, punctuation use, etc.)
Structure
Unsure how you should structure your paragraph? Use the outline below as your blueprint. THESIS STATEMENT/TOPIC SENTENCE
Point #1
– Context & Proof #1A
–> Comment #1A
– Context & Proof #1B
–> Comment #1B
Transition + Point #2
– Context & Proof #2A
–> Comment #2A
– Context & Proof #2B
–> Comment #2B
Transition + Point #3
– Context & Proof #3A
–> Comment #3A
– Context & Proof #3B
–> Comment #3B
CONCLUDING SENTENCE
Paragraph Response Question
Which commencement speech is the most effectively constructed? In your response, please discuss both speeches using direct quotes and discuss at least three of the following points: The purpose and audience of each speech and how the speaker effectively targets their audience and achieves their purpose through the speech they deliver.
The 6+1 Writing Traits that help to deliver the message.
The Rhetorical Devices that are used to convey the message of the speech
The delivery of their speech with reference to the oral communication skills used to share their message
The main message/advice provided by the speaker and the relevance to the audience; which message is the most valuable and why?
The presence/absence of bias in each of the commencement speeches; as celebrities in the entertainment industry, how do their unique experiences impact the speech they deliver etc.?
Feedback for previous assignments that might be useful for you.
Good effort. You include considerable research from your annotated bibliography in addition to references to your nonfiction book. Since this is a pitch, rather than diving right into the research regarding the topic, consider how you could have started with a relevant hook and addressed the advisory council. Make sure to explicitly state the problem you are exploring, so you can provide a comprehensive overview of both the problem and solution you are proposing. Your conclusion was much more professional and impactful, nicely done! While you did use a number of images, your slides were quite text heavy. Consider how you could haveincorporated additional stats/graphics to support your ideas. Your voice is clear and easy to follow throughout the presentation. Your pacing and volume are effective. How could you use body language/gestures to enhance your pitch? Another way to improve is to add more energy and passion into your voice. Modulate or change the way you sound based on the kind of information that you are sharing. Your voice is a powerful tool to draw your audience into your speech and make them want to listen to you. You may want to review the rubric for a breakdown of your marks:
K: 9.2/10
T: 7.8/10
C: 7.2/10
A: 7.4/10
Use the feedback I also gave you in the previous assignment. Not sure but I’ll give you previous units, it might help you since this assignment is meant to showcase learning. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1o2EsrY7HjkhLxo…
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OEacU72MBN-DEC…
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JYzbEnKQH_21e3…
https://docs.google.com/document/d/18jvgInF2-oZ9ri…
https://docs.google.com/document/d/11Btajet_VUlewm…
Fill this out Note-taking organizer, its also on the Active Reading Notes Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1T40a03c5M-mRxq…
Detecting Bias: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jVKD9M6ZnS98ZN…
You need to fill this out, it’s also on the detecting bias doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KqZCMCLqjneWwo…
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kshF2TebXXbYig…

For this assignment and the remainder of the semester, you are going to focus on one social problem. We are going to define it in this module and work toward creating change to improve the lives of those affected in future modules. To get started, you should watch the following project overview video. Then, answer the questions posed below.
What is the social problem that you would like to address?
Define the problem in one paragraph.
Why did you choose to focus on this problem?
Answer in one paragraph; this section can be in first person.
Who is affected by this problem?
Describe what groups of people are affected, how they are affected, and how much they are affected. Focus specifically on vulnerable or marginalized populations.
In this assignment, it can be very tempting to jump ahead to solving the problem. We will get there, I promise! But for now, focus on defining the problem, not solving it. Otherwise, we can’t know if we’ve solved it, because we won’t know what we are trying to solve.
Requirements
Upload your completed assignment as a Word document or PDF by the posted due date.
Plagiarism detection will be used.
Your assignment should be written in APA format as a complete paper rather than in a Q&A format. In addition, only Part B can be in first person.
All facts in the paper and ideas that are not your own should be cited in APA style, using in-text citations for at least two sources. You can use course readings as these sources.
Other than the paragraph about why you have chosen the problem, everything else should be in third person.
The length of your assignment should be two pages of text, plus an APA style title page and a reference list. It does not require an abstract.

Week Three: Discussion
Contains unread postsMust post first.
There are countless cases of discriminatory practices within organizations that privilege employees on the basis of race or gender.
Research such a case and present some of the pertinent details, then on the basis on our weekly readings and your research, describe how you’d attempt to rewrite the organization’s rules in order to emphasize the need for diversity and fairness.
You must start a thread before you can read and reply to other threads