Essay 1

Exercise 1.1 (Warm-up for Essay 1)

Due Session 4

Purpose of assignment:

To focus your attention as you read and think about a particular work.
To help you distinguish between observed details and the ideas that emerge from those details.
To ensure that your own ideas are rooted in specific textual evidence.

Instructions:

Choose one of the texts listed below; then, identify and transcribe between fifteen and twenty key passages from the work your have chosen. Be sure to note page numbers.
Divide your collection of quoted phrases between those that provide factual information about the bird or birds (data or direct description) and those that explore the significance of the bird.
- Some phrases may combine both features. You may list them in both categories and underline the distinctive terms.

Be sure that you know the precise meaning of every word that you include in your list of quotes. Print out 3 copies of your exercise and bring them to class.

Draft of Essay 1

Due Session 5

Readings to consider:

[AE] = McKibben, Bill, ed. American Earth: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau. Library of America, 2008. ISBN: 9781598530209.

Beston, Henry. The Outermost House: A Year of Life on the Great Beach of Cape Code. Reprint edition. Holt Paperbacks, 2003, pp. 19–25. ISBN: 9780805073683. [Preview with Google Books]

Eiseley, Loren. “The Judgment of the Birds.” In The Immense Journey: An Imaginative Naturalist Explores the Mysteries of Man and Nature. Vintage, 1959. ISBN: 9780394701578. [Preview with Google Books]

[AE] Leopold, Aldo. “Marshland Elegy.”

[AE] Carson, Rachel. Excerpt from “Silent Spring” (pp. 835–848) and “And No Birds Sing (Section 1).” See pub info below.

[AE] Turner, Jack. “The Song of the White Pelican.”

Each of these authors draws upon the symbolic resonance of a particular bird or group of birds, but the power of each work depends upon carefully observed details. In a coherent essay that develops a unifying thesis, explore the role played by the particular bird or group of birds at the center of one of these texts. Be sure to consider the relationship between the observed or documented details and the symbolic associations of the bird. This assignment is deliberately open-ended to allow you to follow the distinctive path of your own thoughts, but the resulting essay must be tightly organized and well documented.

Guidelines for draft of Essay 1

Workshop 1

In-class on Session 6

Guidelines for Workshop 1

Revision

Due Session 7

Guidelines:

Finished essay should be 3–4 pages long (1000–1300 words, double-spaced).
Use MLA in-text citations. Remember Works Cited list.
Proofread your essay before submitting it.

Questions to consider before you try to articulate your central idea:

Why did the author focus on this particular bird or group of birds?
Why did the author write at this particular moment in time?
Why should we trust the author’s observations? Insights?
Is there any evidence of tension between the author’s view of this bird and more commonly held views?
What effect does the author aim for?

Questions that may help you articulate your central idea:

Why did you choose this text?
- What is it about the text that intrigues you or bothers you?
- Can you point to specific passages that prompted your response?
What would you like your readers to understand about this text that they might not have noticed or considered on their first reading of it?
Why does this aspect of the text matter? What does it reveal about the text as a whole? About some larger issue?
How can you help your readers share your understanding of the text?
- What is the logical starting point for your essay?
- What is the logical sequence of points within your essay?

Preparation for essay (required): Request approval of planned focus for your essay by Session 4. Send the instructor a two-sentence description of your focus and thesis. The earlier you send this email, the sooner you will receive a response.

Guidelines for essay:

1st draft should be 3–4 pages long (1000–1300 words, double-spaced).
Use MLA in-text citations. Remember Works Cited list.
- See publication information below for Beston, Eiseley, and additional Carson material.
Edit and proofread your draft before submitting it.
Post a copy on the class site by Session 5 and bring three copies to class.

Guidelines for introduction:

Avoid cosmic claims. Focus on your particular work.
Assume that your readers are thoughtful and open-minded.

Publication information for assigned material that did not appear in American Earth:

Henry Beston’s “Autumn, Ocean, and Birds, I” was taken from Beston’s book The Outermost House. The book was originally published in 1928, but this edition was published by Penguin Books of New York City, in 1976. Original pages appear on scanned copy.

Loren Eiseley’s “The Judgment of the Birds” was taken from The Norton Book of Nature Writing edited by Robert Finch and John Elder, pages 525–533. The anthology was published by W. W. Norton & Company of New York in 1990. Original pages appear on scanned copy.

Rachel Carson’s “And No Birds Sing” (additional material) was taken from Silent Spring (Twenty-fifth Anniversary Edition) published in 1987 by Houghton Mifflin Company of Boston. Original pages appear on scanned copy.

Begin by reading your partners’ essays for pleasure. Then, read through the below list of questions. Now, reread the essay with these questions in mind. Finally, write out your comments on your partners’ essays. Use each question as the point of departure for a thoughtful response (“yes” and “no” answers are out of little value to your partners). Your finished comments on each essay should be at least one and a half pages long (double-spaced, not counting the questions themselves). Be sure to complete this assignment by our next class on Session 6.

Remember that your comments are intended to help the writer create a more compelling version of his or her critical essay. Be tactful and complete. I have not asked you to comment on the writer’s grammatical or mechanical errors. I will take care of those problems myself. Thank you in advance for your thoughtful comments.

Specifics:

Does the introduction engage your interest? Any ideas for a livelier introduction?
Does the writer make clear what we can learn by examining this particular work (by Carson, Leopold, Turner, Beston, or Eiseley)? What is the main idea (central insight) of this essay? Where do you see that idea stated most clearly?
Did you learn enough about the original work to enable you to follow the writer’s analysis?
How well does the writer handle evidence from the original work? Is there enough supporting evidence within each paragraph? If not, point out weak spots.
How well does the writer handle internal transitions? Can you follow the logic that leads from one paragraph to the next? Identify any gaps.
How effective is the writer’s conclusion? What changes or additions might you suggest?
Reconsider the introduction in the light of the conclusion. Does the introduction point the reader in the right direction? Would you suggest any additions to the introduction?

Overview:

What is the most intriguing point presented in this essay?
What would you say are the essay’s major strengths and why?
Should the writer consider reorganizing the essay? Does the sequence of points within the essay lead us step by step toward the central insight?
What do you think the writer needs to focus on when he or she begins revising this essay? (You may omit this question if you feel you have answered it in your earlier comments.)
Does the writer’s prose serve him or her well? Do you have any general suggestions for next version?

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Writing about Nature and Environmental Issues