particular landscape

Assignment Overview: In the Unit 3 essays we have read, we observe that the main character in each piece is a particular landscape which is brought to life through

sensory details. There is a strong authorial presence, an “I” in the piece, which provides ethos and distinguishes it from a geography or travel report. Landscape,

sensory details, and authorial presence are the key ingredients to a place essay.

Assignment Guidelines: Using your journal assignments from this unit as a starting point, or choosing a new place about which to write, write a descriptive essay of

five pages about a place that has had some special meaning in your life–a place which is a part of you.  Provide specific physical details about the place and

illustrate, with description, how this place is significant to you.

Your paper must adhere to the following minimum requirements:

Paper must adhere to the Manuscript Format below
Grammar and spelling counts.
Includes sensory details (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)
Clear pattern of organization
Paper sticks to the point
Voice is unique and consistent
Standard Manuscript Format (from Writer’s Write: The Internet Writing Journal–William Shun–and Speculations):

1. Courier, 12 pt. font, double-spaced

2. 1? margins all around (right, left, top, bottom)

3. Place your name, address, and telephone number in the upper-left corner of the first page of your manuscript: (Feel free to include the following place holders in

lieu of your authentic identification information for privacy purposes.)

Name
Street
newyork, ny 70001
(928) Phone
4. In the upper-right corner of the first page of your manuscript, you should place an approximate word count (if you use Courier, 12 pt., you will fit approximately

250 words on a page). Be sure to insert a comma in the proper place in your word count, if necessary.

1200 words
5. Place the title of your story about halfway down the first page of your manuscript. Your title should be centered between the margins and not in capital letters.

Anecdotes of a Fraudulent Reality
6. Two single lines below your title, you should place your centered byline. Your byline is the name that will receive credit for the story when it appears in print,

your pen name–which may be the same as the name that exists in the upper left-hand corner of the first page. Even if both names are the same, they must both still

appear.

by Jane Doe
7. Begin the text of your manuscript four single lines (or two double lines) below your byline.

8. The beginning of every paragraph in your manuscript, including the first, should be indented five spaces from the left margin. You should not place blank lines

between paragraphs as separators. The indentation is sufficient to indicate that a new paragraph has begun.

9. You should place a header in the upper-right corner of every page of your manuscript except the first. This header will consist of: the surname used in your byline,

one important word from the title of your story, and the current page number. Do not place the header in the upper-left corner, because the typesetter will often have

your manuscript clipped in that corner as he or she transcribes it and will not be able to see what the current page number is. The keyword and surname are important

because sometimes unbound manuscripts happen to fall off editors’ desks and become mixed up with other manuscripts. This information will be essential if your

manuscript is ever to be reassembled in proper order.

10. Except for paragraph indentations, the left margin of your manuscript should be ruler-straight. The right margin, however, should be ragged. Never right-justify

your manuscript.

11. If a word is too long to fit at the end of a line, then move the entire word to the beginning of the next line. Only if a phrase is normally hyphenated may you

break it up at the end of a line. You may, however, break up a hyphenated phrase such as “jack-in-the-box” when it falls at the end of a line.

12. You should always place two spaces after any punctuation used to end a sentence. Also, you should always put two spaces after a colon.

13. If you intend a word or phrase in your manuscript to appear in italics in the final printed version of your manuscript, then you should underline it in your

manuscript. Never use actual italics in any manuscript that you plan to submit.

14. If you want an em dash–the punctuation that sets off a phrase like this one–to appear in your manuscript, use two hyphens to indicate it. Do not place spaces

around the dash.

15. If you want a line break to appear in your story, then rather than leaving a blank line in your manuscript, you should center the character “#” on a line of its

own. Do this for every line break, not just for ones that fall at the bottom or top of a page.

16. At the end of your manuscript, triple-space down and do this:

Approaching your Place Essay

Prewriting techniques: Use a journal-writing prompt to get you started or consider talking to a friend or relative about a special trip taken together in the past.

List several places you’ve always wanted to explore, and then explore at least three with journal in tow. Choose a place, take a picture of that place, and then create

a web or map of that place identifying those details that seem most appealing to you.

Planning, Developing, Drafting : Think of how you want to order your essay.  Consider the beginnings of some of the essays you’ve read for class. Consider the details

that make your place come alive and which make the place special. What feelings do you want your readers to have when they read your essay?

Revising: Make sure your first line grabs your reader. Trim the fat. Don’t overuse similes or adverbs. Vary your sentence length: use a combination of simple sentences

and complex sentences. Make sure your presence is felt.

GRADING CRITERIA Possible Points: This assignment is worth a total of 100 pts.

You will be graded according to the following rubric:

You will be graded according to the following rubric:

Requirement    Total Points
Includes Sensory Details (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)    20
Follows a Clear Pattern of Organization    20
Does Not Deviate from the Point    20
Voice is unique and consistent    20
Meets minimum page requirement     10
Follows Standard Manuscript Format (see above)    5
Absent of Grammatical Errors and Typos    5