English Writing

Writing Assignment 1 (WA1)

The Case of the Spelunkers

4 best friends, all of whom were males, decided to go on an adventure excursion for the weekend. Two of the men, Greg and John, were married; the other two, Paul and Peter, were single. Paul has a child by a previous marriage. Peter is an ordained minister, Greg is independently wealthy from his parent’s trust fund, John is an EBay executive, and Paul is unemployed.

The four men had initially decided to go mountain climbing, but on route, changed their plans and decided to go cave exploring (spelunking) in the Providence Mountain State recreation area (remotely situated in California).

At the close of the first long day of cave exploring, the men were deep in a remote cavern preparing to camp in a “cave cathedral” when they heard, in the distant recesses of the cave (near the entrance), a loud cracking sound.

The next day, the men venture just a little further (until the entryways were too narrow for exploration) before turning back.

Near what they hope is the first mile of the cave entrance, they discover that there has been an enormous cave-in and the way out is completely blocked. While they try every attempt to clear the exit, it is to no avail.

After taking stock of their surroundings, they are painfully aware of the fact that though there is a source of water trickling through the cave about a mile and a half inward, they only have 4 Powerbars left between them.

A week passes. As they sit in despair of their lives, their bellies empty, Greg suggests a fateful course of action—they will draw straws to determine who must be “sacrificed” in order to feed the remainder of the friends (so that the remaining three have any hope of making it out alive). John and Peter both agree with the plan and take their straws—Paul is horrified by the idea. He tells his friends that if they want to do whatever they want to do, that is fine, but they should leave him out of it.

Taking this advice, Greg, John, and Peter select 4 straws and place them in hand and each of the three men takes his straw (leaving one remaining for Paul who refuses to draw). As it turns out, the last straw remaining, the one they allocated for Paul, is the shortest straw.

The three men kill and eat Paul before they are rescued 4 and one half weeks later.

When the men reveal the gruesome details of their ordeal, the public outrage is immediate and the men face moral repudiation and charges in court for homicide.

1) This persuasive essay will test your ability to employ thoughtful and effective use of the principles and techniques regarding: Topic, Audience, Purpose (T.A.P.), style, tone, and voice. Additionally it may include elements on buzzword captures, prewriting elements, thesis paragraph structure (O.T.R), and major/minor transition sentences.

2) Please note, you may (and should) review the assignment RUBRIC by clicking on the Case of the Spelunkers Assignment on the Canvas Shell. You will see an exact point distribution that also serves as a reminder of critical concepts tested by this assignment.