source conversation essayUnit II Essay: A Source Conversation Play

For your Unit II core writing assignment, you will write a source conversation play, using the authors of texts we have read this unit as characters. The characters in your play will debate and/or discuss a central question or topic that would be of interest to all of them.

Your conversation should focus on a central question or topic, such as “How important is traditional education in the 21st Century?” or “Does everyone have the chance to be successful in our society?” It is up to you to decide on the central question and how it is presented, but it should be a question that all of the characters have something to say about. It is also up to you to choose your setting and other details of your play. Your characters shouldn’t completely agree or completely disagree; looking for nuanced areas of commonality and difference and having characters ask meaningful questions make for good conversation. Your conversation can be serious or funny, or some of each.

Characters: Your play will have a total of 4-6 characters. At least three of the characters must be authors from our Unit II texts (DeGhett, Kramer, Satrapi, Smarsh, Coates, Douglass, Robinson). Other characters can be anyone you choose: yourself, Marie Curie, Kim Kardashian, Vladimir Putin… whoever you think would fit well into your source play

Total length: 1000-1500 words, plus an MLA-style Works Cited page

Additional requirements:
• You should include at least one direct or indirect (paraphrased) quote from each author who is one of your characters. Be sure to cite the page number for these quotes and include a Works Cited page (MLA-style) at the end of your source conversation.
• Each author/character from the Unit II texts needs to accurately reflect both the ideas of that author and the tone that that author uses. You will need to do some superficial background research on your authors in order to help you know about your characters.
• You should format this as a play (see the example source conversation posted on Blackboard for guidance). Be sure to include a character list (a list of the characters in your play, with a brief description of who each character is), a description of the setting, and any necessary stage directions (descriptions of characters’ actions or behavior).

Schedule:
• Week of March 14: Develop source conversation, in and out of class; optional (but highly recommended) Writing Center consultations; office hour attendance
• Friday, March 18: First draft (complete) in peer review workshop
• Monday, March 21: Second draft complete by class time
• Tuesday, March 22: Take advantage of office hours!
• Wednesday, March 23: Final draft due by class time
Grading:

• (25%) Organization and Development, including:
o Appropriate central topic/question
o Suitable setting and description
o Sufficient character development
o Useful stage directions
o Natural flow of conversation
• (25%) Creativity and Critical Thinking, including:
o Accurate analysis and application of characters’ tone
o Accurate analysis and application of characters’ views
o Engaging setting, characters, and central question/topic
• (25%) Grammar and Style, including:
o Correct grammar
o Absence of typos
o College-level language usage
• (25%) Adherence to Assignment Guidelines, including:
o Character list
o 4-6 characters, including at least three authors from Unit II
o At least one quote (direct or indirect) from each text author
o At least 1000 words
o MLA-style Works Cited page