Manifesto

English 101

Manifesto

A manifesto is a type of document that gets a lot of bad press. Well known manifestos include The Communist Manifesto (Karl Marx and Friedrich Engles), Anarchist Manifesto (Anselme Bellegarrigue), and Mein Kampf (Adolf Hitler). Part of the reason people have such a negative opinion of manifestos is that the label tends to be given to documents produced by people or groups who are outside the mainstream school of thought; those who are less radical use terms like “declaration” to describe their principles. In reality, a manifesto is simply “a written statement that describes the policies, goals, and opinions of a person or group” (Merriam-Webster).

For this essay, you are going to write your own personal manifesto. It can be about something important, such as politics or social issues, or less controversial, like a sports team or a hobby you have; all that is required is that you have a strong opinion about it. You will then support this opinion with personal experiences you’ve had regarding it. Some guidelines to writing a manifesto:

1. Have something you feel strongly about.

2. Have some points you want to make. Five is a good goal.

3. Support those points with detailed descriptions of your experiences.

4. Be clear and concise in your writing.

5. Use slang and jargon carefully.

6. Don't Be Wishy-Washy.

7. Expect to be misunderstood.

8. Don’t hide yourself.

Don’t get this confused with an argumentative essay. While you are explaining your beliefs or views and supporting them with personal experiences, you are not necessarily trying to get people to assimilate and adopt your beliefs as their own. Focus more on developing and describing your experiences in detail so that your audience can better understand where you’re coming from and why you believe what you do.

Format: Minimum 3 full pages, double spaced, 1” margins all the way around, 12-point Times New Roman (or similar) font, title at the top and centered on the first page, MLA heading and page numbers. No cover page. All submitted pieces (outline, drafts, etc.) must be typed, with the exception of peer review sheets, which must be legibly written.

Grading: The purpose of this assignment is to work on using descriptive words to create a mental picture for the reader. You will be assessed on how well you execute this idea throughout your essay while still staying focused on your paper’s topic. The pre-draft outline will be very helpful in staying on task. Make sure you use plenty of descriptive words (both adverbs and adjectives) while still moving the story forward. Finally, readability will also count toward your grade, so be sure that it makes sense and flows well.

Outline Due Date: September 18, 11:59 p.m.

Draft #1 Due: September 25, 11:59 p.m.

Peer Review: October 2, in class (bring 3 clean copies of your rough draft to class this day)

Manifesto
Discusses a topic the author feels strongly about		10
Sufficient anecdotes used to support the position		15
Points organized in logical fashion (e.g. chronological)		10
Anecdotes support the main idea of the manifesto		10
Follows narrative arc		10
Emphasizes why these experiences led to the topic belief/viewpoint		10
Description helps create a mental picture for the audience		15
Conclusion wraps up with a big picture idea		10
Free of grammatical and mechanical errors		10
Total		100