Weekly Essays

Example of Title and Formatting

Example Assignment

An example Weekly Essay from a previous student is available in the Project 1 Example Google Drive folder. 

Prompts

There are six questions to choose from and you will complete four essays total (so two of these prompts will not need to be completed).

Pick a different prompt each week:

Prompt #1: Writing in Your Community

• What kind of writing is done in your community (if any)? How does your community interact with this writing? What impact does the writing have on your community?

As an example, a previous student observed the boba cafe she worked at and wrote about the labels that they write to give instructions for how the drink should be made (such as the acronyms that the customers wouldn't need to understand but the other baristas would). 

Prompt #2: Communication in Your Community

• How do members of this community communicate with each other? 

For example: How close are they to one another? Does personal space seem important? What type of body language is used? Do they speak quietly or loudly? Do they laugh often? How much eye contact is there? What kinds of things do they talk about? Are these topics appropriate to the setting? Why or why not? Is anyone on his/her cell phone? Is it appropriate? Is there a different/special language or set of words/phrases that people use here? For example, if you’re observing a community of computer programmers, they probably use very technical language. Reflect on what you see. Why do you think the people in this community communicate in the ways they do?

Prompt #3: Observing Community Space and Interaction in that Space

• Describe the space (physical layout and look) of your community.

For example: Look at the space of the place you’re observing. How is it set up? What is the layout? Why do you think it is laid out that way? How do members of this community interact within that space? How do they move? What does the setup/layout say about the community that inhabits that space? For example, if your community contains cubicles, and you see that the people there do a lot of walking around corners and have a hard time getting to each other, you could decide that there are cubicles to keep people separated—perhaps to keep them concentrated and working productively without distractions from co-workers. On the other end of the spectrum, if you are observing a dance club, you might notice that there are only tables on the perimeter of the room (or none at all) and that the space is open in the middle so that people can be close to each other.

Prompt #4: Personal Appearance of Community Members

• How do community members present themselves, and why is their presentation/dress significant for this community?

For example: What are members of this community wearing? How do they present themselves? Do they dress/appear alike? Is there some kind of uniform or dress code? If there is, what do you think is the reason for it? If not, why do you think there isn’t? How might the dress code or lack of a dress code affect the community? Now, think about what people’s clothing/appearance says about them. I am not asking you to make value judgments about people. Rather, reflect on the way people in this community present themselves and then ask yourself why they might be presenting themselves in that manner. Are they wearing name-brand clothing or not? Are they wearing clothing that reflects or broadcasts their social/cultural background?

Prompt #5: Learning Something New

• What have you learned about this community that surprises you?

For example: What is something you have observed that you were not expecting? Why is that significant? How does this observation (the thing you observed) impact this community?

Prompt #6: Make Your Own Prompt

• Pick a specific topic that is not covered in Prompts 1-5 to discuss for this week’s post.  This should not be just general thoughts about your observations but have a clear topic. Be detailed and specific about your response, and clear about what topic you are going to look at for this prompt.