essay 2 half draft and research question and checklist of essay 3
Please begin work on your essay #2 draft, so that you at least have a few pages to work with. This can be just half as long as a full draft.
English 126: Essay #2:
Omnivore’s Dilemma
Assignment (15%)
Two draft versions of your introduction are due on Thurs. 3/28. A half-draft is due on
Thurs. 4/11. A FULL DRAFT of essay #2 is due on Tues. 4/16, and the final essay is due
on Thurs. 4/25
. You may want to complete this paper earlier, though, since the third
essay will be due shortly afterwards. This paper should be 5-6 pages long. Please type the
essay in 12 point font, double spaced, with 1” margins all around.
•Limit the scope of you paper. You need to make sure you have a thesis statement, which
is a central argument in your introductory paragraph which you support throughout the
essay, and which you revisit in your conclusion.
•Close analysis of specific passages from texts, use of quotations from the text,
observations, personal experience, etc. are important. Use MLA format for documenting
sources. Include a Works Cited page at the end of your essay, including the book and
your outside sources, if any.
•Part of your grade for each essay includes the writing process: posting drafts,
commenting on peers’ work (posted on peer editing discussion group), and revising,
according to course deadlines. If you have used any outside sources, submit a page from
each outside source with your final essay (screenshot, scan, or link).
• No Plagiarism!
Do not copy your essay or any phrases in your essay from the web or
any other source, unless you use quotations and give proper bibliographic citations..
Choice 1: Rhetorical Analysis
What is a rhetorical analysis? See relevant class handouts. You will be analyzing
Pollan’s persuasive strategies in the essay,
including appeals to the audience through
ethos, pathos, and logos, as well as his use of other literary devices,
such as metaphor,
repetition, or irony to get his point across effectively.
Choose a particular chapter or chapters, or a particular thread of inquiry, such as
the cattle industry, the poultry industry, the hidden costs of industrial farming, local vs.
industrial organic farming, fast food, the ethics of eating animals, the meaning of food in
our lives, etc. (topics thanks to Professor Mikolavich).
As a writer for
The New York Times Magazine
and a professor of
journalism at UC Berkeley, Pollan suggests we have become “unhealthy people obsessed
by the idea of eating healthily” (3). He looks into the complex conditions that have grown
up around our food consumption, and reminds us, ultimately, that “we eat by the grace of
nature, not industry” (411). What persuasive strategies does Pollan use to educate and to
influence?
In your analysis, provide a close reading of selections of
Omnivore’s
and a well-
supported rhetorical analysis. You may draw upon your personal experiences with food
and your observations of the role of food in our culture to help to illuminate Pollan’s
strategies and to assess the effectiveness of his claims.
For this assignment, I would like you to critically and closely read selections from
Pollan’s book and analyze Pollan’s argument about the impact of food industries and
government policies, assessing how he uses these arguments to advocate that we “eat
with a fuller consciousness of all that is at stake” (11).
Take into account what knowledge Pollan assumes the audience has. What values
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does he assume the audience holds?
Your overall analysis needs to be organized like a conventional, unified essay—
with an introduction, thesis that ties together your major points, analysis of quotes from
the texts, and a conclusion restating and tying up your thesis.
Choice 2: Research on a “Thread”
Choose a particular chapter or chapters, or a particular thread of inquiry, such as the
cattle industry, the poultry industry, the hidden costs of industrial farming, local vs.
industrial organic farming, fast food, the ethics of eating animals, the meaning of food in
our lives, etc. (topics thanks to Professor Mikolavich).
Analyze this topic as Pollan presents it in
The Omnivore’s Dilemma
and draw upon two
reputable outside sources (ideally from the library or library electronic databases) to
further develop on this topic.
This topic requires two outside sources in addition to
The Omnivore’s Dilemma
.
At least half of your essay should draw upon and analyze material from
The Omnivore’s
Dilemma
, such as illustrations of how “the health of these animals is inextricably linked
to our own by that web of relationships,” ecological connections and the food chain (81).
Your overall analysis needs to be organized like a conventional, unified essay—with an
introduction, thesis that ties together your major points, analysis of quotes from the texts,
and a conclusion restating and tying up your thesis.
Choice 3: Prepare a Meal
(topic thanks to Professor Fannin)
Pollan culminates his book by preparing and serving a meal that he hunted and foraged
from the wild, for the most part. For this assignment, I would like you to critically and
closely read selections from Pollan’s book and analyze Pollan’s experiment in self-
sufficiency, much like Thoreau’s two years at Walden pond. What does he hope to learn
by creating a meal from its natural sources? All in all, I would like at least half of your
essay to be drawn from
Omnivore’s Dilemma
, including specific quotations.
As part of this assignment, prepare your own meal. Unlike Pollan, you do not have to
hunt your own wild boar or forage wild mushrooms. Your meal can be just for yourself
or a few people, rather than the group Pollan hosts. But I would like you to take this
opportunity to investigate the kinds of issues Pollan explores: “What it is we’re eating.
Where it came from. How it found its way to our table. And what, in a true accounting, it
really cost . . . we eat by the grace of nature, not industry, and what we’re eating is never
anything more or less than the body of the world” (411). Part of your essay should give
an account of how you prepared and ate your own meal.
Your overall analysis needs to be organized like a conventional, unified essay—with an
introduction, thesis that ties together your major points, analysis of quotes from the
texts, and a conclusion restating and tying up your thesis. In describing your meal,
though, you may venture more into the narrative, storytelling mode.
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ENGL 126 Essay #3: Creative Research Paper (20% of course grade)
For essay #3, a creative research paper, you will be writing a 6-8 page paper on a
topic of
your choice
. A unique aspect of this project is that you are required to do field work
(interviews, observations, participation), along with library research, which should make
this a more memorable experience for you. All the better if your research paper departs
from the conventional academic format. Along with credible sources, you may use
graphics, video, artwork, etc. to convey your message. Build a nuanced argument using
effective sources and a sensible organization. It’s vital that you choose a
topic
that
engages and excites you.
This should be an original paper, not a research paper that
you wrote for another class.
Requirements
length: 6-8 pages
Works Cited and Works Consulted (if needed), including citations for interviews,
Youtube, Facebook, etc).
Sources:
Reading
: At least 80 pages of reading (a minimum of 4 sources).
You must use a
minimum of 3 library sources
. This could include books, articles and newspapers from
the databases, reference sources, etc., at DVC library or another library.
Field Work
: In addition to the above, you must
use at least 3 items of field work
drawn
from at least two of these categories:
•Interviews
•Observation
•Participatory Experience*
*A participatory experience involves doing something yourself, not just watching it be
done. This could include cooking a meal, marching in a protest, volunteering at an
environmental organization, applying for a modeling agency, rotating the wheels on your
car, writing a piece of music, etc.
Other optional sources: workshops and cultural events
Media 1 (film, music, photos, visuals)
Media 2 (film, music, photos, visuals that you create).
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________________________________________________________________________
We will also work on developing a
Critical Question
to help focus your research. Rather
than just giving a factual, encyclopedic account, you’ll want to present an arguable thesis
answering a question of significance and interest. Your critical question should be along
the lines of the following questions, but narrowed to fit your specific topic:
What problem under your topic needs solving or addressing? What’s the problem with the
solutions?
What standards of judging something exist in your area? Where are the disputes?
What ethical or moral issue(s) exist that need exploring?
What do you envision the future would look like for your topic (based on a careful look
at the present and past)?
What do the best thinkers think and argue about? What do the experts disagree about?
What’s been the influence of a particular person or subject on our culture?
How do you account for an interesting, complicated, inexplicable, or perplexing aspect of
our current society?
______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Critical Question Litmus
(Write your Critical Question (CQ) on a notecard and run it through these tests with your
peers to see how you might make it better)
1. Yes-No Test: Is CQ a yes/no question? (It shouldn’t be).
2. Been There, Done That Test: Does your CQ feel like it’s been asked, discussed, and
answered many times before (since high school)? ( It shouldn’t.)
3. Is your CQ open-ended, speculative, disputable in a fair way (reasonable, smart, wise
people will legitimately disagree). (It should be)
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4. Hey, That’s My Old Research Paper Test: Will the answer to your CQ create a
conventional, familiar research paper (based mostly on information available by reading)
(It shouldn’t).
5. Critical Thinking Test: Will answering your CQ force you to do high level analysis
(the higher levels on Bloom’s taxonomy)? analysis, synthesis, evaluation (It should).
6. Creativity Test: Is your topic and CQ well-suited to the spirit of the assignment
(traditional/web reading, interviews, observing, doing yourself, critical thinking)?
7. Know-It-All Test: Do you already know the answer to your CQ before you start your
project? (you shouldn’t)
8. Where does your topic and CQ fall on the passion scale? Does your topic/CQ fascinate
and excite you? Do you actually want to explore the answers to the CQ?
_______________________________________________________________________
Research Checklist: Make a list of important sources you should check. Think of creative
ways to search, using not only your topic (memory) but also prominent people in the field
(Oliver Sacks), related topics (brain functioning), or even the opposite (forgetting).
________________________________________________________________________
Creative Research Proposal:
1. At the start of your proposal, explain what your final Creative Research topic is (you
can’t change the topic. You should choose something you are really interested in so that
you can develop your research over the time period needed). Then write one (or possibly
two or three) Critical Questions on your chosen topic.
2. Write a paragraph explaining what draws you to the topic. What makes you curious?
What do you love about this topic? What might you expect to find out? What do you
know about your topic? What would you like to know? As you plan your project,
consider how your questions will require you to participate in critical thinking–analysis,
synthesis, evaluation.
3. Report on what you have read so far, both traditional and online. You can include
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reading that you’ve done in the past.
4. Report on what you plan to do–who you might interview, what you might observe,
what you might do for participation, what you might create.
5. Tip: Start making a works cited right now and develop a system to keep track of which
source you found what information from.
6. Questions or concerns? Include these in your proposal.
_______________________________________________________________________
DUE DATES:
Thurs. 3/14
Final research proposal due.
Thurs. 4/11 Research question due and research checklist due.
Thurs. 4/25 Two versions of your introduction for essay 3 due
Thurs. 5/2 Annotated Bibliography and half-draft of essay 3 due
Tues. 5/7 Full draft of essay 3 due
Thurs. 5/16 Final paper due (Final paper, Drafts, Scans or screen shots of a page
from each source, Peer Review Sheets, Research Proposal, Research checklist, and
Annotated Bibliography
)
________________________________________________________________________
• You must provide SCANS OR SCREENSHOTS of selected pages from all printed
source materials you use for this essay as well as Internet sources. You must also
submit an Annotated Bibliography.
These are required parts of this assignment, and
your essay will not be accepted if not accompanied by photocopies/printouts of selected
pages from your sources and an annotated bibliography. In your Works Cited list, include
full information about all of the sources you used or consulted.
No Plagiarism!
Do not copy your essay or any phrases in your essay from the
web or any other source, unless you use quotations and give proper bibliographic
citations. Also, please write this original paper yourself and do not reuse a
research paper from a previous class.
Essay #3 Research Checklist
Write a critical question or questions about your essay #3 topic to help guide your research and writing. Remember that as with your other papers, this paper should have an arguable thesis/opinion, topic sentences, and evidence from your research to support your main idea:_______________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
example: Does volunteering for students take up too much time, or is it more beneficial?
What can students contribute to society by volunteering?
Research checklist
Important sources you plan to check:__________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
Make sure you have included the following in your final essay #3: (below you do not need to decide on your final sources, but I would like you to start listing possibilities)
at least 3 library sources (these could be from any library or bookstore, including the electronic databases at DVC library:
1.___________________________________________
2.___________________________________________
3._____________________________________________
3 pieces of original field work by you:
1.__________________________________
2.__________________________________
3.____________________________________
Is your field work from at least 2 of the following 3 categories?_____
- interviews: you interview someone whose opinion would be of interest about this topic
- observation: you observe something in person, such as how your classmates use their cell phones
- participatory experience: you participate in an experience, like giving a survey or joining a protest
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