Project 1: Literacy Collage – Assignment Sheet

 Description: This project requires you to abandon the organized essay you are most likely familiar with and to instead select and then piece together what you feel are the best pieces of writing from various freewriting sessions you will engage in both inside and outside of class.  These writings should offer insight into the experiences that have shaped you as a literate person and the various voices you use to express yourself. 

You might think of a collage as a collection of interesting pieces.  Your literacy collage, therefore, is a collection of interesting pieces of writing about your thoughts on literacy – reading, writing, and speaking.  The pieces in a collage are usually specific; they pinpoint some important details.  So if you’re telling a brief story, try to focus in on memorable details that make your story distinctly yours – details that are vivid enough to help readers envision and understand the story.

 Physical Requirements:  Must contain a relevant and meaningful title, at least 10 original passages (the majority of which are typed), MLA format (citing quoted works).

 Organization: The organization of your collage requires some creativity.  Since a collage is supposed to be a bit disruptive and surprising to readers, you will want to not follow organization strategies employed in a traditional essay.  That is, you should not have smooth transitions from piece to piece, and you should not order your pieces in a logical, predictable manner.  Instead, if you have two similar pieces, don’t put them next to each other.  If you have two pieces that starkly contrast with each other, put them together.  Think of the collage as a shoebox of collected ideas, memories, and texts.  As you create the order of the collage, you are taking items out of the box to show to your readers. 

 Variation: One characteristic of a collage is a variety of its components.  In your collage, you’ll probably have pieces that deal with different aspects of literacy.  You’ll also probably have pieces that ‘do’ a variety of things: tell a story, describe an object or character, explain a concept, illustrate something, etc.  You may have pieces that have different ‘voices.’ After all, you probably speak differently to your mother than you speak to your best friend or your boss; you probably use different vocabulary, different types of phrases.  Consider using languages that look different: dialect looks different than standard English, instant-message typing looks different than other typing, and you might even use other actual languages that you speak. 

 Suggested Topics:

• What do you remember (or what is family lore) about learning to speak? To read? To write?  What were your “firsts” (spoken words, storybooks, scribbles on the wall, etc.)?
• What was one of your favorite books as a child?  What did you like about it?
• What kinds of books do you read today?  Why do they appeal to you (cite specific reasons)?
• Create a dialogue that is representative of an encounter you have had with someone in which you expressed yourself in a way that is not typical considered acceptable in a formal public setting (school, work, etc.).
• Write a letter to a favorite teacher describing how s/he helped you learn about language or write a letter to a teacher who inhibited your language learning.
• Write a poem about literacy, your experiences, about something specifically related to reading, writing, or speaking. 
• Describe a time when you succeeded or failed in communicating with others.  Why was the endeavor successful or not? 

 Revision: Once you have a pile of drafted pieces, go through and read these pieces.  Leave out parts that you don’t like and parts that don’t interest you.  If you have a large piece, consider chopping it into two pieces.  Don’t entirely re-write or do-over a piece.  You might also think of something to add or insert in one of your pieces – go ahead. 

 Copyediting:  There should be a fresh, raw quality to a collage.  However, it should look as if you spent some thought and time with each piece.  Therefore, you will want to spell words properly and make sure that it will be clear to your readers what you are saying with your writing.       

 Audience:  Your fellow classmates are your audience for this paper.  Include only those experiences/stories you feel comfortable sharing with others. 

 Criteria for Evaluation:

For this assignment, Satisfactory papers will

• Give descriptive details that help the reader understand/visualize the author’s experiences
• Vary the presentation of ideas by including distinct topics and voices
• Fulfill the characteristics of a collage, lacking transitions and emphasizing the contrasting nature of the passages
• Contain references to literacy as a common thread throughout the free-standing passages
• Be clearly written and easy to understand, including minimal copyediting errors
• Meet the physical requirements listed above, including a cover letter containing details about the processes involved in writing this collage and a relevant and meaningful title

Unsatisfactory papers will fall short of these minimum requirements; Excellent papers will exceed them. 

Assignment adapted by Julie Myatt, University of Louisville.