Homework for Wednesday and Friday Conferences, Week 2

Draft a written plan for Project 1. Here are the possible scenarios you can choose from:

Instruction for Project #1" Writing to Explore

Choose one of the following Scenarios for your first project:

Scenario 1: Exploring a Major or Career

Imagine you are taking a "Career and Life Planning" class—a class devoted to helping college students decide what discipline they might like to major in. This class gives you the opportunity to explore different career paths, to learn what the educational requirements are for various majors, and to find out what job opportunities will be available in various careers and what salaries and other forms of compensation different jobs might offer.

Writing Assignment: Select one college major or career that you may be interested in pursuing and construct an exploratory piece—a conventional essay or some other genre-- in which you consider the various aspects of that major or career from many angles, including the preparation you would need for it and the rewards and pitfalls you might encounter if you decide to pursue it. Asking and answering questions about the major or career you are considering will form the heart of your exploratory paper.

Scenario #2: Exploring Purdue Student Groups

What student clubs or organizations exist at Purdue that you might be interested in joining? What do you know about how they function? What do you know about their activities? Do you know any of their members? Select one student club or organization at Purdue about which you would like to learn more.

Writing Assignment: Investigate the club or organization you have chosen. Explore what its purpose is, what its main activities are, and who its members are. Then construct an essay or some other genre in which you explain your exploration of the club or organization.

Scenario #3: Exploring Purdue Programs

What departments or offices at Purdue are you interested in learning more about? Examples might be the Financial Aid Office or the Office of the Dean of Students or the International Programs Office. What do you already know about their purpose and how they function? Have you had contact with anyone who works in these offices? Select one of the departments or offices about which you’d like to learn more. You may want to narrow even further to a program within a department—for example you might investigate the Writing Lab, which is part of the English Department.

Writing Assignment: Investigate the department or office you have chosen. Explore its mission, its services, and the people who work there. Then construct essay or other genre in which you explain your exploration of the department or office.

Scenario #4:

In Margaret Edson’s play "W;t," the main character, college professor Dr. Vivian Bearing, explores various cancer treatment options by reading as much as she can about them. As she actually undergoes one particular treatment, chemotherapy, she explores it more fully—not just by simply experiencing it but by taking note of, analyzing, and talking to herself about her physical, emotional, and intellectual responses and reactions to the treatment.

Writing Assignment: Think about a situation you were involved in or a time in your life when you used some form of talking to yourself as a way to explore a new experience you were going through. Then write an essay or other genre in which you explain the ways that talking to yourself allowed you to understand this new experience.