Homework for Friday, March 30

Plan/Overview of Inquiry Paper

So far this semester, working with your team, you have researched a local arts organization, compiled a guidebook, and prepared a group experience (field trip, film, or panel discussion) to introduce the rest of the class to your organization. It is safe to say that, at this point in time, you know quite a bit about the organization.

Now that you have explored a wide variety of sources (web, print, interviews, and site-visits), contemplated the implications, developed a preliminary question, done some further research, and done some exploratory writing, you are ready to plan your inquiry paper.

First: “What kind of paper are you writing?” Your inquiry paper will be a presentation of your own thinking supported by evidence from your research. Your paper may be ANALYTICAL (using evidence to analyze various facets of an issue) or PERSUASIVE (using evidence to attempt to convince the reader of your particular stance on a debatable topic). This choice will affect your strategy as you move forward with the paper.

Analytical Paper
Begin by writing a question that simply and clearly defines the issue you are exploring. (e.g., “What impact does Seattle Children’s Theatre have on the development of local theatergoing audiences?”) The paper will then go on to analyze and explore the range of answers to the question, and you will contribute to the discussion by drawing your own conclusions based on the evidence.

Persuasive Paper
Begin by writing a declarative sentence that states your point directly and clearly. (e.g., “Seattle Children’s Theatre contributes to the long-term health of the local arts community by introducing young people to theatergoing and nurturing a lifelong love of the art form.”) The paper will then go on to argue your point, presenting supporting evidence and refuting opposing views.

Second: Apply the “So what? Who cares?” test. In order for your inquiry paper to be worth writing and reading, the topic needs to be worth analyzing or arguing about. Re-read your analytical question or persuasive point and ask yourself, “Why does this matter? What’s new, meaningful, or interesting about what I have to say?” Once you’re satisfied with the answer, you’re ready to move on. (If not, you may need to revise your analytical question or persuasive point.)

Third: Map it out. You have a starting point: your analytical question or persuasive point. You have a destination: a thoughtful conclusion. How are you going to get from one to the other? You need to create a map: the plan or overview of your paper.

Working in broad strokes, make a map of the journey on which you plan to take your reader. Draw pictures, place blocks, or use Post-Its to construct each of the stops along the way. Each “stop” represents a specific argument, observation, or point that you have to make.

Look through your research. What evidence do you have to support each of your ideas? Mark specific references that you would like to quote, and note any points for which you need more support.

Consider the sequence of your “stops.” Do your points flow logically from one to the next? If you are writing a persuasive paper, do your arguments build, becoming more and more persuasive with each point that you make? Move the “stops” around until you find a satisfying sequence.

Finally: Write a plan or overview for your paper, briefly noting:
o your analytical question or persuasive point
o your answers or arguments
o your conclusions

Save a copy of the plan/overview on your computer, and print a copy to bring to class. (Your paper should be double-spaced, with one-inch margins. At the top of the page, please include your name, the date, “Seattle Arts Ecology,” and “Plan/Overview.”)

Opera . . . featuring our own Katya Kalfov!

Dido & Aeneas
Presented by the Cornish Music Series
Date: Thursday, March 29, 2007 8:00 PM

PONCHO Concert Hall
Cornish College Capitol Hill Campus, 710 East Roy Street
Seattle WA 98102

March 29 - 31 at 8pm

Cornish Music Series in collaboration with the Cornish Performance Production Department presents Dido and Aeneas, an opera by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell. The opera tells the story of Dido, the legendary Queen of Carthage, and Aeneas, the Trojan refugee, who fall in love when Aeneas and his crew become shipwrecked in Carthage. Stage direction and choreography is provided by Cornish Dance Professor Gérard Théorêt and musical direction is provided by Cornish Associate Music Professor Natalie Lerch. Cornish students Vanessa Ament and Sage Price play the role of Dido and Aeneas.

$15 general; $7.50 students, alumni and seniors

Tickets can be purchased through Ticket Window at 206.325.6500, www.ticketwindowonline.com, or in person at one of the three Ticket Window box offices (Broadway Market, Pike Place Market, and Bellevue’s Meydenbauer Center).

For more information please contact 206.726.5011 or email events@cornish.edu

"GONNALETITGETCHA . . . AGAIN?"

Anti-Procrastination Discussion 12:10 to 12:50 this Thursday, March 29, in the Counseling Office (MCC308).

* For students only. Bring your lunch!

For more information call Barry Eben at 726-5047

Homework for Wednesday, March 28

Response Paper #3

1. Read “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott in your course reader, pp. 103-106.

2. Read actively: Mark passages that strike you. Note words, ideas, or images that resonate for you. Consider how Lamott’s idea of the “shitty first draft” could be useful to you in writing your inquiry paper for this class.

3. Jot down notes in response to the following questions:
o According to Lamott, what is “the fantasy of the uninitiated”?
o What does Lamott mean when she says that she needs to “quiet the voices in [her] head”?

4. Take a few moments to get ready to write by quieting the voices in your head. Then, freewrite for 15 minutes, laying out in broad strokes the points that you want to cover in your inquiry paper. Work fast and don’t stop to edit. Share what you know, what you think, and what you need to find out more about. Tell yourself that it doesn’t have to be great—it can even be, in Anne Lamott’s words, “shitty.”

5. Save your freewrite and do something else for awhile.

6. Read your freewrite. Note what is good in it. Note vivid, specific, concrete references. Note persuasive arguments. Mark phrases and sentences that are worth saving. Make a list of the questions it raises for follow-up research. Save these notes.

7. Using elements that you selected from your freewrite as the foundation, write two paragraphs of your inquiry paper. (You don’t have to know yet where these two paragraphs will fit into your paper. They can be for the beginning, the end, somewhere in the middle, or somewhere that you don’t even know yet.)

8. Save a copy of these two paragraphs on your computer, and print a copy to bring to class. (Your paper should be double-spaced, with one-inch margins. At the top of the page, please include your name, the date, “Seattle Arts Ecology,” and “Response Paper #3.”)

Hugo House

If I could get involved with anything at the Hugo House, it would be ZAPP. I fully intend to do volunteer work, once things slow down a bit... it's so hard to do in college. But listening to Kate talk about it made me even more excited -- both about my paper and about possibly volunteering. I also really want to have a theatre intership there! How totally awesome thatwould be ::Hannah floats off to fantesy land:::

As far as how the field trip went, it could have been much better. I think I was under prepared and I apologize to my team and the whole class. I love that Kate talked to us for so long, and that we got to see ZAPP even though it wasn't open (I wish we could have spent longer down there, but that's just me :)

Something I think would really help the field trips would be participation. Maybe as you are reading the guide books, jot down one or two questions you have about the organazation and then ask them on the field trip.
And then there was the almost transportation disaster... but it wasn't too bad, so that's good.

Okay all, we were the guinea pigs... it's your turn

Homework for Monday, March 26

Response Paper #2

1. Read “Living in the Medium” by J.G. Bennett, pp. 74-79 in Creators on Creating.

2. Read actively: Mark passages that strike you. Note words, ideas, or images that resonate for you. Consider how Bennett’s idea of “living in the medium” applies to your inquiry paper for this class.

3. Jot down notes in response to the following questions:
o According to Bennett, what is the difference between memorizing information about a subject and “grounding oneself in the subject”?
o How does Bennett suggest that a person can create the conditions necessary for a flash of insight?

4. Write a short paper (1½-2 pages) describing the “ground” you are preparing for your inquiry paper. What do you know about your subject, and what do you intend to do with the knowledge? Why is it important to you?

5. Save a copy of the paper on your computer, and print a copy to bring to class. (Your paper should be double-spaced, with one-inch margins. At the top of the page, please include your name, the date, “Seattle Arts Ecology,” and “Response Paper #2.”)

Homework for Friday, March 23

Before the field trip, please read the "Richard Hugo House Guidebook" that was placed in your Cornish mailbox.

The Hot Sheet (revisited)

Your hot sheet will contain three sections:
- A brief description of your project.
- A list of key words and phrases (terms, features, images, ideas) associated with your subject.
- A collection of “what,” “how,” and “why” questions about your subject.

1. Write your name and the date at the top of your sheet.

2. Title your project. (Keep in mind that the title of your paper may change as you work.)

3. Describe your project in 50-75 words. (What are you exploring? How will you approach the inquiry? What’s involved in the work? What do you hope you or others will “get” from your paper?)

4. Brainstorm a list of key words or short phrases that relate to your project. Aim for 15-20 words or phrases.

5. Make a list of “what,” “how,” and “why” questions about your subject. (Or, translate your project into “what,” “how,” and “why” questions.) Aim for 10 questions.

6. Save a copy of the hot sheet on your computer, and print a copy to bring to class. (Your hot sheet should be double-spaced, with one-inch margins. At the top of the page, please include your name, the date, “Seattle Arts Ecology,” and “Hot Sheet.”)

Homework for Wednesday, March 21

Response Paper #1

Read “Short Assignments” from Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott in your Course Reader: pp. 101-102.

Read actively: Mark passages that strike you. Note words, ideas, or images that resonate for you. Consider how Lamott’s idea of “short assignments” applies to your inquiry paper for this class.

Brainstorm a list of “short assignments” for yourself on this semester’s inquiry paper. “Short assignments” might include writing
- a description of a place or person
- a brief account of an interview you did
- a brief comparison of your arts organization with another
- an explanation of one key argument you’d like to make
- a one-paragraph “dialogue” with a source
- an introductory paragraph, or “curtain-raiser”
- etc.

Write. Choose one of your short assignments and write it.

Save a copy of the paper on your computer, and print a copy to bring to class. (Your paper should be double-spaced, with one-inch margins. At the top of the page, please include your name, the date, “Seattle Arts Ecology,” and “Short Assignment.”)

* Save your list of short assignments! Keep working your way through the list, one at a time, over the course of the next few weeks. Before you know it, you’ll have written your inquiry paper.

Fire on the Mountain

I just saw Fire on the Mountain at the Rep, and I loved it... it's the story of coal mining in the Mountains of Kentucky and West Virginia, and it's told through music -- real, live, blue grass, country music. There's 3 fiddler players, a banjo player, lap steel player(he's amazing), and everyone sings. If you like this kinda music, I very highly recommend it -- and it brings to light the horrors of coal mining in an engaging way.

And you can get in for $10 if you're under 25, $6 with teen tix :)

Go see it!