Length: Suggested length 6 pages (double-spaced) in first version, 8 pages in revision.
Due Dates
Intro/Proposal: Due before session 6. Write three paragraphs: one paragraph describing your chosen photograph(s), one-paragraph plan/proposal for your essay (describing topic/theme) and one paragraph from the essay (it can be the introduction, but need not be). We’ll workshop these during part of session 6. Bring your photo to class, if possible.
First Version: Due before session 10 (at least 6 pages) with cover letter: email to peer review group (see Essay 2 Version 1 Peer Review Letters).
Workshop: Session 11.
Revision: Due before session 15 (about 8 pages) with revision cover letter (see Essay 2 Version 2 Peer Review Letters)
Revision Workshop: Session 15.
ASSIGNMENT: Begin this essay project by choosing a photograph (or set of photographs) that you view as powerful. This photograph(s) may be a personal image (self, family, friends, dish, travel site) or a news/documentary image(s) that has captured your attention. This image may be powerful for a wide range of reasons (e.g., it may inspire reflection on the meaning of an event, a favorite meal, or personal relationship, or it may symbolize a social problem or issue that you care about). The emotions evoked by the photo(s) may range widely from nostalgia to comic appreciation to empathy, disgust, and alarm. The same photo might inspire a range of different types of essays. For example, a photo of an immigrant family member at a U.S. naturalization ceremony might inspire a personal narrative about the role of that individual and their culture in your life or a social issue/political narrative about the contemporary political debate about immigration to the U.S. or the immigration policies of the current administration.
The topic of your piece, inspired by the photograph(s), may be personal/psychological or social/political. Your “I” may be the center of narrative attention, one of several characters in a friendship or family narrative or the witness to a social problem/issue in the U.S. or elsewhere that you believe needs to be addressed.
As you craft the essay, you should interview at least one person (by the revision) to gain an additional perspective on the topic of your narrative. Depending on the focus of your essay, you may need to integrate and cite secondary sources to provide evidence for claims that you make that are outside of your own experience.
Note: The photograph(s) may be described or embedded in the essay or just serve as a background inspiration for the piece. Some writers establish one photograph as the central one they discuss, but draw upon others (or a physical or digital photo album) for information or inspiration. Answer to a common question: Some writers take photographs for the purposes of the assignment.
