Essay 1

Essays this semester will reveal your understanding of texts we've read and how they intersect with cultural and social ideas.

For each essay you will present a researched, argumentative essay based on one or more reading from Unit 1. You will use these as primary sources, but you are also required to use at least two credible secondary sources. I suggest using InfoTrac which you have full access to at school and at home.

You must offer a claim, a line of argument with evidence, counterargument(s), concession(s), and refutation(s).

To begin: read or reread "The Heroic Journey" (pp 349-355) which we did not get a chance to discuss in class. Make sure you revise your initial Writing Journal 1 to reflect this reading. (You can do this by going into customize, posting, and edit posts.) How does this essay relate to the stories we've read? What is significant here? How does the essay relate to the modern world?

Read back through all of your journal entries for the first unit "The Heroic Journey." What issues/stories grabbed your attention? What would you like to write more about? Next, review all my blog entries which offer suggestions about possible essay topics. For class on Wednesday, write a journal (about 500 words) on your ideas for Essay 1. Bring a copy to class and post this on your blog. Essay draft 1.1 will not be due until Monday, 3/10. We will be working in class on our writing both Wednesday and Friday.