5 Page paper

Adding to The Botany of Desire

The “FIFTH CHAPTER” Assignment

What’s the Next Plant? Criteria:

• Domesticated/Manipulated by humans • Common/Impactful at some point in history • Bought and Sold/have economic implications • Readily available to us/personal inter-action with the plant is

possible • There must be some moral/ethical controversy or question

Elements of Pollan’s Style

• Personal component/ Anecdotal • Historical background/ACADEMIC RESEARCH • First-Person Experimentation and Exploration/HANDS-ON RESEARCH • Maintains his focus on human desire • Includes the plant’s perspective as an organism • Keeps the science relatable and simple • Uses figurative and descriptive to create vivid images in minds of readers • Purposefully provocative and plays up the moral controversy element

• He is judgmental and opinionated and invites the reader to be the same way

Room for Improvement: Elements of Pollan’s Style We MAY Want to Change

Nobody’s perfect, right? Let’s list elements of Pollan’s style we can improve on:

• Not write solely from a position of privilege • Include more perspectives other than our own/give to others • Be more specific about the botany/science • Cite sources more responsibly • Avoid repetition and redundancy

Potential Plants from our FIRST conversation

Nailing down Pollan’s style • If we are going to write in the vein of Pollan and mimic his style somewhat,

let’s figure out exactly what that means. NUMBER each paragraph of your chapter in your book

1. EXAMINE each section and paragraph in order, and determine Pollan’s MODE in each one. Is it personal anecdote? Field research? History? Botany lesson? General Discussion? Other? Think about it.

2. Think about percentages. How much of Pollan’s chapter is devoted to each mode? Can you figure out a rough estimate that lists how much of the chapter he devotes to each mode?

Planning and Writing your own B.O.D. Chapter 5

• Assignment: Each student will write their own fifth chapter of The Botany of Desire • In class we discussed and dissected Pollan’s style and content at LENGTH. We know

WHAT he does and HOW he does it. Check out the slides in the slideshow. Right before Spring Break, each student chose a plant.

• Over Spring Break, you are asked to plan and think about your essay, and especially to get out in the world and accomplish the FIELD RESEARCH component.

The Field Research Component

• Pollan uses personal stories from his earlier life but in a more important way, he goes out into the world and INTER-ACTS. He inter-acts with the chapter’s PLANT, and he inter-acts with PEOPLE who inter-act with the plant, and he uses these experiences in his writing.

• So: What will YOU do out in the world to satisfy the Field Research part of your Chapter Five? WHERE will you go? WHAT will you write about?

• An obvious answer will, for some of us, be a food market. But let’s try and think BEYOND a food store. Think about where ELSE you could go and who ELSE you could speak with.

The Field Research Component Discussion Post: What’s Your Plan?

• In a discussion post, write a paragraph that: 1. Reminds us of which plant you chose 2. Discusses which human desire the plant exposes 3. Describes which active experiences you will pursue to get material for the Field

Research component of your Fifth Chapter. Remember that you will probably have to attempt MORE THAN ONE activity to generate good MATERIAL.

4. Also, if you have already gone out and pursued an experience, write about that in this post.

Writing your Chapter 5 • Writing in a style that both matches Pollan’s tendencies AND is true to your own individuality, provide a fifth chapter to The Botany of Desire that explores your

chosen plant as it relates to human desire. Here’s a checklist, in no particular order of importance:

1. 5 double-spaced, 12-point font pages 2. Focuses on the theme of which human desire the plant exposes 3. Describes active experiences that were pursued by the author to get material for Field Research 4. Contains a visual element 5. Provides a responsibly-cited scientific/botanical element 6. Explores the plant’s place in human culture, including how we have manipulated the plant 7. Includes discussion of the student author’s personal history with and connection to the plant 8. Written with attention to paragraph structure and organization, as well as grammar, punctuation, usage, mechanics, and style 9. Is written in the TONE of enjoyable, readable, top-level nonfiction prose. The student uses Pollan’s style as a jumping-off point and creates a tone and style

that is heir own

10. Contains a moral element. The student should demonstrate a clear attitude about how this plant reveals the moral virtues and/or failings of human beings.