Pick+a+Paper

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The "Pick a Paper" Assignment is an opportunity to write a paper that is out of the ordinary from your normal English paper. For each of the options below, you need to follow certain basic requirements: The paper should be between 2 and 3 pages, typed, MLA format, it should be free of grammatical and technical mistakes, and it should develop an idea/argument in a coherent and logical fashion. Your paper should consist of a mixture of telling me about what you did and analyzing what you learned from what you did. At least **half of the paper should be analysis of what you learned**. Most importantly, it needs to demonstrate thoughtfulness - you need to show me that you have taken the assignment to heart and truly tried to learn/grow from this assignment. Beyond that, the requirements are fairly loose in terms of the paper's structure. Use this as a chance to write in a bold new way that you have never tried before. Step outside your comfort zone in your writing, just as all these assignments ask you to step outside your comfort zone. And one last thing: THINK AHEAD!!!! Don't wait until the end of the semester to get going. Many people have failed to think ahead and it ends up making the paper very hard to write well. Think of this as a semester long project, not something that's simply due at the end of the semester. You can hand this paper in any time throughout the semester, so please think ahead and get it done early! In fact, as an incentive, I will add half a letter grade to anyone's paper who hands it in by April 1. As always, refer to the Wesleyan Writing Rubric for grading guidelines. This will count as a 75 point grade - half of a normal paper, in other words. ALL STUDENTS MUST SUBMIT A WRITTEN PROPOSAL BY MARCH 1ST. =====

Here are your options:

 * 1) During this semester, do a service project and write a paper describing your experience. Be creative: try describing it from the point of view of one of the people you served or from Mrs. Pack's vantage point or something like that. You should not simply describe what you did but what happened throughout the experience within you. Were you nervous? Where you happy with how things went? Were you frustrated by anything? Try to mention as you are writing what you believe about the place of service in a Christian's life, or, if you are not a Christian, explain what motivates people to serve other than religion? You need not do all of these things...that would be impossible; but please do not just write a paper telling me what you did and leave it at that. THIS MUST BE APPROVED BEFORE DOING IT. Whatever you do for this project MUST be for the sole purpose of this project, not something you did with your youth group or something you did with your family over the summer.
 * 2) Find a spot in nature where no one will disturb you and sit quietly for one full hour without doing anything other than observing what happens within you and around you as you sit. You must do this 3 separate times for a total of 3 hours alone. You may not take a notebook or a gameboy or an iPod with you. Just sit quietly with absolutely nothing to distract you except what happens internally and externally while you sit there. After the hour (you will need to pledge on your honor that you have done this), take a few minutes each time to record your experiences in writing. What did you hear, smell, see, feel, etc? What surprised you? Were you bored the whole time? If not, try to say exactly when you either became bored or got over your boredom. What does it say about our culture that we have such a hard time sitting still for this long? Do you wish you had more hours like this one or do you hope this is the last time you'll ever do this? After a day or two have gone by for you to reflect on the time you spent, sit down to write your paper, and explain to me what this hour was like.
 * 3) Fast from something for one week. It needs to be something that you think might be getting in your way during your day to day life. Stay away from simple things like sugar or caffeine, unless you feel that you have a true problem with one of those things. Focus on more meaningful items like arguing with your sister, gossiping, TV, Facebook, or complaining. After the week is over, write a paper explaining why you chose this particular thing from which to fast; then evaluate the overall experience of the week. How did it get easier or harder to keep fasting as the week went on? When were you most tempted to give up? Did you have any "failures" (be honest) and when/why did they come? How did your perspective on this particular part of your life change over the course of the week? Are you glad you did this? Will you do it again? Why/why not? THIS MUST BE APPROVED BEFORE DOING IT. Doing this for 2 days and then "failing" for the rest of the week does not count as doing the assignment. Messing up because you forgot for a few minutes is different from messing up for the whole week and then saying, "Oh well, I tried!"
 * 4) Do something Transcendental (meaning you should do something that you've always wanted to do but have not had the self-confidence to try - we will cover Transcendentalism during the first semester) in a place where others will inevitably wonder what you are doing. Go to the mall wearing an unusual outfit that you happen to really like, talk to people about topics you've been afraid to address, pursue some adventure that you've been afraid to try, or something along those lines. This should not be interpreted as license to do something outrageous for its own sake; rather, it should be seen as an opportunity to express your unique self in a way you've always been intimidated by. You need to do this for at least 2 total hours, and you may not have anyone with you to "bond" with or laugh with about the experience. I want you to experience this alone; that's part of it. Then you need to write a paper about how this task affects you as the time progresses. Do you become less self-conscious or more self-conscious? Do other people react to you the way you expect or are you surprised by people's responses? Is this freeing to you? How will it affect your behavior in the future? Make sure to comment on how society creates restrictions for us and whether or not you think we/you can overcome those restrictions in the future. ALL IDEAS MUST BE APPROVED BEFOREHAND! OTHERWISE YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE CREDIT FOR THE PAPER.