Be Interesting

Description

Be Interesting Writing Project

Purpose 

The main goal of this writing project is to influence other readers that an idea you care about is worth reading and/or discussing. As you write to convince a reader or readers that an idea you care about is worthy of their time and consideration, you’ll be making choices about how to use various sources, how to employ stimulating questions that will intrigue your readers, and how to use language in creative ways to sustain your reader(s)’ attention through to the end of the piece. You are welcome to extend one of your earlier One-Page Writes, as long as you are sincerely interested in the idea and can write thoughtfully and meaningfully about the idea for your reader(s).

Task

This writing project asks you, the writer, to first be interested in your idea, and then to persuade a specific audience to become interested in the idea.

You are making an important move in this paper to get your reader(s) to believe in an idea that already has great meaning for you. 

You will need to think carefully about your reader(s) since your focus will be to convince him/her/them that your chosen idea has significant meaning. 

You will have to decide what genre will best highlight your idea for your reader(s); there is no limitation regarding your choice of genre. For example, you could write a letter, a report, a brochure, a script, a magazine or newspaper article, a traditional essay, etc. Along with genre, your style and word choices should help influence your reader(s) to want to sustain interest in what you have to say about the idea.

Your purpose to influence must be clear to your reader(s), whether it is explicit or implicit in the paper. The three required sources you provide in this paper will need to be used strategically to satisfy your reader(s) curiosity and interest.

Once you choose an essential idea and complete the appropriate level of audience analysis to determine your readership, you will be ready to gather your three sources to support the idea’s presentation to your reader(s). When constructing your paper, be sure to use language, questions, and sources carefully to convince your reader(s) that caring about the idea will benefit her/him/them in some way.

Criteria 

When you submit your project for feedback, your peers and I will be looking for your Be Interesting Project to contain the following elements:

• creative and appealing title;
• well-crafted introduction that leads your reader(s) to want to read on;
• paragraphs with clear topic sentences that continue to influence/intrigue/persuade your reader(s) that your idea is worthy of their time;
• well-developed and interesting content;
• specific language choices and the occasional well-written question within paragraphs to appeal directly to your reader(s);
• three well-integrated sources that will satisfy your reader(s) curiosity and will support your ideas in the topic sentences;
• a conclusion that leaves your reader(s) either satisfied with their time/effort reading about your idea, or wanting to read more about your idea;
• proper in-text citations along with a Works Cited page in MLA format.

Format & Length 

Prepare your project using either Microsoft Word or Pdf, and be sure to back up your work in a safe place.. In the upper left corner of the page, put your name, date, and W131 Be Interesting Project as a double-spaced list.

Underneath this information and centered on the page, develop a creative title that piques your readers’ interest and provides a clue about what to expect in your paper. Insert page numbers starting on page 2.

Use 1” margins, double spacing, and Times New Roman 12 pt. font. Your paper must be at the very least three full pages and try not to go more than five pages in length. Attribute all sources in your paper using MLA, and provide a separate Works Cited page. Please avoid the school-based five-paragraph essay (too predictable!); I encourage you to write authentically using your voice, supported by your sources, to develop the idea in a meaningful way for your reader(s).

Remember, you must use 3 sources in this paper. See the Library Research Guide for help