Eng 103, Spring 2007, Essid
Paper Two

Topic: Think about how the Amish and Sven Birkerts judge new technologies. Continue your handwritten journal from paper one for at least another week and take notes about these questions:

How is the technology you chose for paper one influencing how, when, and where you write? What would the Amish, Rheingold, and Birkerts think of your chosen technology, and why? How is what you chose different from the rules for academic writing, as you are coming to understand those rules?

Your introduction should give the reader a "roadmap" that provides claims to answer these questions.

Whenever appropriate in the body of your essay, make reference to our readings and document them properly.

Potential traps to avoid:

1) Don't waffle. Please do not say "it is helping and hurting" without getting more specific. Make a reasoned judgment based upon your focus and a few specific details. For instance, here's a possible thesis by a writer who likes his new wireless laptop but worries about one effect of the technology:

I enjoy the ease of access to information and I benefit from the powerful tools now at my fingertips, but I am a writer who always takes lots of time to revise. If he were watching me now, Sven Birkerts would be concerned that I am becoming a lazier writer who relies on my computer to do a few important tasks once done in my head or face-to-face.

2) This topic is deliberately tough, to make your brains work hard and stay in good shape for Core and gen-ed classes that ask you to juggle several sources, then produce a critical and supportable thesis. Writer's Web has a page about Multiple-Subject Essays; get to know it. The advice and examples in AN Ch. 2 and 3 will help you organize this project.

Audience: Me, your editing group, and Fellows from Eng. 383. Your classmates and I have all read the essays, so you need not summarize the content of our readings. Even for the Eng. 383 audience, keep your summary brief--remember to quote others for the "Three Es": eloquence, emphasis, evidence.

Format: at least 1800 words (approx. six pages, double spaced), plus your journal, and:

• Use MLA format for all sources quoted or paraphrased; see our guide pages on documenting sources
• Include a title page with your name and the title of the essay. The title should be a descriptive one that sums up the idea of the paper's thesis
• Make margins no larger than 1.25" and type size no larger than 12 points in Time or Times New Roman fonts.

Grammar, Style, Usage: Writer's Web pages under Focusing/Connecting Ideas.

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