Quarter 4 Senior Writing Projects
Plagiarism
If your writing or work plagiarizes
any writer or artist's work--no matter to what degree--it will receive a zero
and you will be referred to the Dean of Students. Plagiarism means that you
have taken an idea from another writer without showing attribution, even if
you have paraphrased it in your own words. You may not use an art or writing
project that you have done for another class to fulfill this assignment. Any
words or ideas taken from other writers must be attributed with a citation.
Please, write this at the top of your paper and sign it if it applies:
Honor pledge: I have not received or given unauthorized help on this paper/project,
and as I work on it, I will not provide any unauthorized help to anyone.
_____________________________
Signature
_________________________________
Honor code
Choose one of the writing projects described below and adjust it to suit your topic or theme. You may choose any work of the Spring semester. Write at least three pages for any of the projects.
Note on the writing: Be sure to work according to the "show, don't tell" guidelines you learned when you wrote your personal essay in September. Set the scene, show feelings with imagery rather than just stating feelings abstractly, find ways to bring in the five senses to add atmosphere. The writing should be as polished as any out of class essay you've written this year, even though it is written in semi-formal prose.
Project 1: Margin to Center essay
Choose one character in a story or a figure in a poem and write from that character or figure's point of view. Also, make sure your character portrait presents a view of the larger story or poem.
Project 2: Here I Am: Choose one scene in a novel or a poem that intriques you and envision what would change if you placed yourself in the scene. Write the scene from your perspective and show what you see and hear and do.
Project 3: New Endings
Choose a work and write a new ending for it that fits its themes but resolves them in a new way. Retain the setting and writing style of the original text as you write your own ending.
Project 4: Personal reflection
Choose one theme or character that we've read about this semester and use it as a starting point for a personal essay. The key element of a personal essay is the personal aspect; you must write of your own personal life, your struggles, your dreams, your daily experience, your unique manner of thinking or interacting. You will address the work in a tangential way, but it's not a literary analysis, so you will not be discussing the work at length; you'll be making your own work. You may choose any style you like—journal format, letter format, chronological or fragmented—and do consider these formal elements as you plan your essay.
Project 5: Writing a Literary Analysis essay on a topic of your choice (conferring with me).