Excerpt from your syllabus:
What I would like you to do is to inject yourself into an event, a place, a phenomenon and, in so doing, take your reader along on a journey of discovery. You can write about a place that is important to you or fascinates you and find out more about it. You can even write about a special day or event. We have modeled the process in small measure in your “My Name” essays.
Your process of discovery is important, and you need to do that via research—reading published sources, conducting fieldwork or studies, doing a literature review. Ultimately, you are to tell the story of your discovery. I am envisioning a final paper of 3000-4000 words, based on at least 10 quality sources, that goes through multiple drafts and reviews by your professor and classmates.
We will be reading several essays that can perhaps give you a spark to begin and develop your project.
Be sure to read the entire assignment expectations and get any questions you have answered as soon as possible!
From the Encyclopedia of the Essay by Tracy Chevalier, Tracy (Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1997)
Despite the huge variety of its forms, there are certain features which recur often enough to give the word “essay” a specific though not rigid meaning. Generally it is used of nonfictional prose texts of between one and about 50 pages, though in some cases book-length works are also called essays. The term also frequently connotes a certain quality of approach to a topic, variously characterized as provisional and exploratory, rather than systematic and definitive. The essay can be contrasted with the academic article, which is usually a contribution to a recognized discipline and to a collaborative inquiry, previous inquiries being taken account of by means of quotations and footnotes. The essay tends to be personal rather than collaborative in its approach, and usually lacks this kind of scholarly apparatus. The essayist’s authority is not based on formal credentials or academic expertise, but on his or her personality as reflected in the style of writing. Persuasiveness is based on distinctiveness of style rather than on the use of an accepted professional or technical vocabulary. The essay typically eschews specialized jargon and is addressed to the “general reader” in a friendly, informal tone. It also avoids the application of pre-established methodology to particular cases, but rather works from the particular toward the general, and even then is not concerned to produce conclusions applicable to other cases. Its concerns are personal and particular, more than professional and systematic.
When picking a topic, choose something that is interesting to you. Maybe look at something that you have always had an interest in, but never studied closely before. Another strategy is to choose something that you have a personal connection to.
Be flexible in the beginning. As you start your observations and research, you may come across ideas that change your thinking and alter the course of your essay.
Ask yourself:
What do I already know? What do I want to find out? Where do I look for information and evidence?
Try this exercise from John Bean's book. "Engaging Ideas"
Before reading my paper, my readers will think this way about my topic ______________________.
After reading my paper, my readers will think this different way about my topic_________________.
One great way to figure out what you want to write about and what you might want to explore within your topic is by creating a concept map. This is a way to visualize a broad topic as related to questions and sub topics.
Check out this video from the UCLA Library (2:52)