Please click on the Handouts tab for corresponding assignment sheets, which will be posted as they become available; they will also be distributed in class.

Memoir

150 points/15%

Literary analysis/profile

200 points/20%

Annotated bibliography and proposal

200 points/20%

Reviews

4 reviews @ 25 points each OR
2 reviews @ 50 points each

Here are some possible ideas for your reviews. (The following list and attendant descriptions are from John Trimbur's The Call to Write):

• Live performances

  Attend a musical concert, a play, or a club with live music and write a review of the performance.

• Media

  Television programs, radio shows, movies, and musical recordings are all possible subjects for reviews.

• The Web

  As the Internet grows more crowded, people can use help finding which sites are worth visiting and which are not. Gather an assortment of related Web sites and write a comparative review of them. Or just focus on one site and review it in depth.

• Exhibitions

  Local museums, on and off campus, may be featuring special art, historical, or scientific exhibitions that you could review.

• Books

  You could review a best-seller, a recent book in an academic field that interests you, a controversial book, a book that is particularly popular with college students, or an older book that invites a revisit.

• Sports

  Write a preview of an upcoming season of a college or professional sport, or make a prediction about an important game.

• Leisure and entertainment

  Write a restaurant review, a guide to entertainment on campus, or an evaluation of backpacking routes you have taken. Visit historical places, local parks, or parts of a city, and write an evaluation of what they have to offer.

• Education

  Write a review of a course you have taken, a textbook, or a program you have been involved in (such as an orientation for first-year students or a summer program).

• Letters of recommendation

  You may be in a position to write a letter of recommendation for somebody you know. Such letters, in fact, are reviews of the person you are recommending (they are, by nature, generally positive). If you have a friend applying to college or for a position as orientation leader, peer counselor, or resident assistant that requires recommendations, you can consider the writing you do for that person for this assignment. Likewise, if you have worked with somebody who is searching for a job, consider writing that person a recommendation letter that he or she can take to interviews.

• Politics and the public sphere

  Write a review of the 2004 presidential campaign, the upcoming 2008 campaign, a particular elected official, a candidate for office, a proposed law, an ongoing program, or a controversial event.

• Rating systems

  Design a rating system for reviewing consumer products, musical recordings, movies, restaurants, or some other product or service.

• Greatest or best lists

  You could list the top ten (or twenty-five or hundred) rap songs, punk bands, teenage movies, game shows, female actresses, hockey players, or presidents and explain your criteria or evaluation. Some lists focus on the best of the year, while others identify the all-time greatest.