I’m studying for my Writing class and need an explanation.Assignments 1 & 2 for week 4Assignment #1 The first assignment is going to be to read the article I wrote entitled, “Black and White Thinking,”about why it is so hard to communicate with others sometimes. Then, you are going to write a short 2 page personal essay, reflecting on a recent interaction you had with somebody, either in person or on social media, and break down for me to what degree it was “black and white thinking,” and to what degree it was “dynamic communication.” The first part should be written as a scene with at least some dialogue describing what happened, and what was said, but at the end there should also be some explicit reflection on to what degree it was either “black and white thinking” or “dynamic thinking.”Before you write this, I would also like you to read 2 more handouts that I have included. The first is entitled, “How to Write a Deluxe Scene,” which is my patented method on how to make everyone sound like a novelist, even if you are just a beginner. You will rarely get a chance to write like this in college, but it is nice to be able to punch things up when the time comes for scholarships and college applications and you need a good personal narrative. The second handout is entitled, “A Quick Reminder on How to Punctuate Dialogue in a Narrative.” As I said, one doesn’t get to write much personal narrative in most academic classes, so your knowledge of dialogue punctuation may be a little hazy. That is the point of this handout. Also, keep in mind that a personal narrative is less formal than a traditional academic essay, so it can sound more like your speaking voice, and it will have less need for power vocabulary words. At the same time, I wouldn’t go full slang either. Keep it somewhere in the middle or the hybrid space.Assignment #2: Now that you have warmed up your personal narrative skills, your second assignment is going to be to write a short 1.5-2 page (500-750 words) essay about something that 1) that you are proud of achieving through hard work OR 2) Some adversity that you overcame to get where you are. This is basically the kind of thing that one has to write when applying for scholarships and graduate schools, so it will be good to have something done for this.Keep in mind everybody has a different life story and for some getting into Lane was a more difficult journey than somebody else who may have got into Harvard. This is a chance for you to say something about yourself that somebody wouldn’t be able to tell through just your grades and test scores. Remember the better the version you send me, the better I can help you hone it. If you need help thinking of a subject matter, you can email me or we can zoom to help you figure it out. I am also very good at helping students figure out a good subject.In terms of structure, I think keeping it within a 3 page limit will force you to get out the most important information, in the shortest amount of time. Below is a possible structure you could use:1) Start with a general introductory paragraph to what it is you are going to be talking about.2) Give 2 specific examples to illustrate what you went through, and how you achieved or overcame what you did. These could be deluxe or semi-deluxe scenes, depending on how much space you have. You might want to trim to 1 or 2 describing details, for example.3) Conclude by telling the reader what the lesson was, and how it made you the fantastic person you are today.As always, you have until Midnight Friday to complete this assignment and turn it in via email. Thank you so much for your hard work and cooperation. –JoseHow to Write a Deluxe SceneIntroduction to the deluxe scene:First of all let me say that there is no “right” way to write, and that everyone is going to develop their own unique voice and style, but in the meantime I want to give you some concepts that will help you regardless of how you write. I have read many books, and studied many years to be able to distill these concepts to you in an easily digestible way. The first concept I want to talk about is what I call the “deluxe scene.” The purpose of a deluxe scene is to create a movie in the reader’s mind so that they feel like they are taking part in your world. Below is an example, that I will later break down for you into parts to show how it works.Deluxe Scene:The bar was tiny, right beside a river where you could see boats bobbing on the water. On the wall hung old black and white pictures of old celebrities that had been there, (Carrot Top, Vanilla ice). There was even an old DEVO hat on top of a rusted beer keg, signed by Mark Mothersbaugh himself. She walked in late, wearing a big orange ski coat with rainbows on the sleeve. Her blonde hair was frazzled, and she wasn’t wearing any make up. There was a tattoo of a unicorn on her neck that seemed oddly fitting, as she spied me, then made her way toward me, bumping into everyone as she made her way to the back. “Hey,” she said, “I am sorry l am late, but my brother wouldn’t give me the keys to his car because he said he needed it to go see his dealer.””Damn,” I said. “Well, you can’t get in the way of a man and his drugs.”I said this, trying to be funny but it concerned me that she was living with her drug addicted brother, and was a thirty year old woman who still didn’t own a car of her own.r’ve always hated going on dates, but this was supposed to be different. She had beenrecommended to me by a woman friend whose point of view I very much admire and trust. “You’ve got to meet Lizzy,” she said, “She is a wonderful nut job.”Now, normally most people would balk at the term “nut job” but to me it was code for interesting in this cookie-cutter California town just outside of LA where everyone wants to be a star. But not Lizzy. The first thing she says after noticing all the stars on the wall is, “Christ, I hate celebrities!”So at least we have this in common, for now.Hopefully, this pulled you in as a reader. Sometimes in writing you hear the idea that “showing” is better than “telling,” and though I believe there is a time and place for both, a deluxe scene is all about showing. So, let’s break this down in parts:First of all, it is a scene, and a scene is something that takes place at one time and place. It isn’t a description of something that goes on for years.Secondly a deluxe scene gives a description of the place with two concrete visual details.A concrete visual detail isn’t just saying “a bar” or “classroom” or “a man” but sometime more detailed, such as “a bar with bamboo festooned with lights” and “a classroom with crumbling blue paint,” and “a man with a grizzled beard, hunched over like a broken bush.” Of course, you don’t have to use concrete visual details, but I hope you can see how powerful they can be to help your reader see the story happening.In addition to a description of place, a deluxe scene should also have a description of character, again with at least two concrete visuals, such as “grizzled beard.’Of course, if you are writing about more than one character in a scene, this could get cumbersome, so for now let’s stick to one other character in a scene besides you.Next there should be some dialogue. Dialogue means we get to hear the other character speak, and you respond in some way.And finally, last but not least, is the key to creative nonfiction and that is what I like to call the inner response. The inner response is where you tell the reader how you are thinking and feeling as things are happening. Without it, the reader doesn’t know why they should care, or what is at stake for the speaker. An example of inner response from my deluxe scene above:“Now, normally most people would balk at the term “nut job” but to me it was code for interesting in this cookie-cutter California town just outside of LA where everyone wants to be a star.”If you reread my deluxe scene above, you will see that I have incorporated each element along the way, and your task is to write a 1-2 page scene about a recent interaction you have had with somebody, either in person or on social media, etc. Then, at the end tell me to what degree you believed the interaction to be based on black and white thinking or dynamic thinking.All of the terms in bold are key terms I expect you to know as we continue so that we have a common vocabulary to work from.Good luck, and I look forward to reading these!How to punctuate dialogue in a narrativeHere is a basic refresher on how to punctuate dialogue in a narrative illustrated in a story: Once upon a time there lived a Prince, and his name was Hank. He enjoyed gambling, and pizza. One day he saw his friend the frog and said, “Hello Frog.”Introduce a quote with a comma, and put the period (and all other ending punctuation marks) inside the quotation marks, not outside of them. Do not write, for example, “Hello Frog”. Just look at how terrible that period looks outside the quotation marks. Once upon a time there lived a Prince, and his name was Hank. He enjoyed gambling, and pizza. One day he saw his friend the frog and said, “Hello Frog.” “Hello Prince,” said the Frog.Indent a paragraph tab or five spaces to show there is a new speaker, in this case Frog. Don’t put a period after “Hello Prince” when there is a tagline like “he said,” or “she said.” Put a comma there, until the end of the tag line. You write: “Hello Prince,” said the Frog.” You do not write: “Hello Prince.” Said the Frog. Once upon a time there lived a Prince, and his name was Hank. He enjoyed gambling, and pizza. One day he saw his friend the frog and said, “Hello Frog.” “Hello Prince,” said the Frog. “You look green today,” said the Prince, laughing. “I am a damn Frog.” “Oh, you’re right, said the Prince, adjusting his crown. “Don’t get pissed.” With that, the Frog jumped away. The EndNotice on the third line of dialogue, I didn’t even have to use the tagline, “said the Frog” anymore. That is because I already know who is speaking by the paragraph indentation. The speaking order has been established. Look also at the fancy way I divided up the dialogue with some action in the fourth line of dialogue. You can do that too! I don’t mean to sound like a smart ass, but I just went through about 10 Youtube videos trying to find somebody to break this down for you in a simple and efficient manner, and it was painful.. Let me know if you have anymore questions, but this is basically it.
Requirements: MLA | Essay | 3 pages, Double spaced
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