The coffee is a crucial step.
At this point, you should have chosen an essay from the collection, One Hundred Great Essays, and gotten approval from your teachers to study that particular text. You should also have shared your choice through this Google Form and as part of a conversation on our Google+ Community. Before you move on, read through the comments on Google+. If you see a text that looks more interesting or engaging, you can still switch. After Friday, however, you really shouldn’t switch, because it will mean redoing a lot of work.
Bishop Composition: Step #1
Now you begin the emulation-through-analysis process. Over the next few days, you need to analyze your chosen text and begin drafting your own essay. That starts with what the collection itself provides, which comes in two parts:
- Before each essay is an overview of what the essay says and how it is written.
- After each essay is a set of questions about what the essay says and how it is written.
Here is an example of #1, from an essay called “Shooting an Elephant,” by George Orwell:
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In this introduction, you are given much of what you would need to emulate Orwell’s writing:
- “Orwell conveys his ambivalence…” | Your essay, too, could convey ambivalence. Click here for the definition.
- “His language holds nothing back…” | You, too, could write that strongly about your subject.
- “At the climactic moment of the essay, Orwell describes in harrowing detail…” | If you were writing a narrative like this, you could focus on “harrowing detail” at the climax. (Here is the definition of harrowing.)
- “Orwell has so slowed the pace of the essay as to create a cinematic effect of slow motion…” | You, too, could slow down a single moment in your essay, attempting to emulate the way Orwell does it.
And so on. The introduction is essentially a rhetorical analysis of the essay, which means it is also a blueprint for emulation. Then you have the questions that come at the end:
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Depending on your chosen essay, these questions may or may not help. The last question is usually a prompt that you could use to emulate the author directly, so if you are feeling lost, use that question to get started. The other questions tend to ask you to look at particular choices the author makes, some of which you could emulate.
Your first assignment is to work your way through the introduction and concluding questions for your essay. We will review how to do this in class on Thursday, December 1; if you are absent, you will be able to sit with your teachers when you return to go over your essay and how these framing assignments help you analyze the text.
Bishop Composition: Step #2
The next part of the writing process requires you to work together and with your teachers to learn the analysis tool known as SOAPSTONE:
Ignore all the mentions of the AP exam. This is the best guide to SOAPSTONE analysis and planning that you will find. The original College Board explanation is here, and you should read it, as well. Then you can:
- Apply SOAPSTONE to the essay you have read. Write a paragraph or so for each element.
- Begin to brainstorm about your essay, using SOAPSTONE to outline. Again, you’ll write a paragraph or so for each element.
We will review how to do this in class on Friday, December 2, and again on Monday, December 5; if you are absent, you will be able to sit with your teachers when you return to go over SOAPSTONE and apply it to your own work.
Using Google+
We will take as much time as necessary for these two Bishop Composition steps. The initial plan is to use December 1, 2, and 5 to work in class. If your teacher is with another student, you should post questions either here, in the comment section of this post, or on Google+:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/117716758051277289443
Posting good questions creates evidence for grade abatement, as does answering questions effectively.