English assignment
Points: This assignment will be worth 100 points
Date Due: Dec 8 11:59 pm
Paper Length: 2- 2 1/2 pages (approx 700 - 800 words)
This prompt is in two parts. Answer both parts of this prompt as completely as you can.
You will be graded on how well you answer both parts to this prompt. There is no "right" answer to this- it is entirely personal and I will not be judging what you choose. I will, however, be judging how well you explain everything related to the questions in the prompt.
This short write attempts to explore how you perceive what you see as "Cool" - something that you really like. There are a variety of factors, and so many things that are "cool" in society today. We may not like the same things, but we all have our own interests and care about them the same way. I'm hoping to explore that process.
Please try to use Gladwell's ideas in his article about the cool hunt in describing your own ideas about what is cool as best as you can.
Click
(Links to an external site.)
to read a Malcolm Gladwell article on "cool hunting"
(Links to an external site.)
Part 1
What object / thing do you think best represented you when you were younger- say approx. 12-13 years old? Ideally, it should be something you bought or was given to you.
It should be something that you thought was very cool- if you're having trouble remembering, maybe it was something that you used to collect.
Please choose a specific item rather than something like a sport or activity (such as Dancing or Soccer). For example, if you liked dancing then you would write about your favorite pair of dancing shoes and explore that for the prompt. You would not just talk about how much you liked dancing when you were younger. You can talk about that
through your favorite pair of dancing shoes while explaining why the shoes were so important- what they were made of, how comfortable they were, what kind of dancing shoe was it (tap, ballet, etc.), and anything else that might be relevant.
What was it about that object that you thought was "cool"? What do you think may have influenced you wanting it- a friend, an older relative, TV, etc. ?
Part 2
What object / thing do you think best represents you now? It should be something you think is cool to you now, perhaps it is something that you also collect. Again, I'm looking for something that you bought or was given to you that holds great value- not necessarily worth a lot of money, but something of great value to you.
Is it the same as when you were younger (at that age you discussed earlier)? Why or why not? What may have changed? What do you think may have influenced you today?
The point of this is to explore how you've changed and how the things you liked have changed- if they have, then in what ways were things in your life no longer as cool as they used to be and whether you may think that the things you are into right now may change over time as well.
NOTE: Please watch sentence length per paragraph. Remember that each new idea can be its own paragraph, even if it's only two sentences. If you're looking over your paper and you have a page that is only 1 paragraph then you did something wrong. Break that long paragraph into smaller ones before you submit your paper to me.