2 Essay Examples
TOPIC: USES OF OBSERVATION-BASED SUPPORT IN WRITING
“Southern Comfort,” by Mark Doty, published in the Smithsonian Magazine (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/southern-comfort-11008230/ ). I used this Houston-focused essay in unit one and paired it with an essay about a different place. (The theme for my class was in fact place–analyzing how meanings are made about places, near and far.) For homework or an in-class activity, students wrote about a detail from each essay that they found particularly memorable or complex. We used this as a starting point for discussing (1) the importance of using unique wording and/or unexpected examples and (2) the need, especially in academic writing, to connect one’s details to upfront and explicit claims. Note: the Doty essay is not an academic essay, so I had to foreground the fact that I was expecting my students to produce far less open-ended essays. Still, though, Doty’s essay has instructional potential for ENGL 1303 due to Doty’s use of observation-based support. – Nathan Shepley
(Also, see below for activities using two or more short online articles. – Nathan Shepley)
How to Use this Resource: Content on the Smithsonian Institution website can be used for personal, educational, and non-commercial purposes, under the following terms:
- “You must cite the author and source of the Content as you would material from any printed work.
- You must also cite and link to, when possible, the SI Website as the source of the Content.
- You may not remove any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary notices including attribution information, credits, and notices, that are placed in or near the text, images, or data.
- You must comply with all terms or restrictions other than copyright (such as trademark, publicity and privacy rights, or contractual restrictions) as may be specified in the metadata or as may otherwise apply to the Content.”
You can make fair use of the content as defined by copyright law; note that it is your responsibility to determine whether your use is a fair use. View the full Terms of Use.
