Writing Project 1: Summary and Response

The theme for this section of ENGL 111 is Food.

Core reading links:

Sarah Corapi, "Why It Takes More Than a Grocery Store to Eliminate a 'Food Desert'" (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Lauren Davis, "Should You Really Start Eating Insects?" (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

James Delingpole, "Eat Local Organic Food If You Like, But Don't Kid Yourself That It's 'Green'" (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Nathan Fiala, "The Greenhouse Hamburger" (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

John P. Foreyt, "Weight Loss Diets: Are They All the Same?" (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Heather Long, "'No One Believes We Do This to Kids': Will Congress End School Lunch Shaming?" (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Eric Schlosser, “Why the Fries Taste Good” (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Ellen Smirl, "Social Justice Deficits in the Local Food Movement: Local Food and Low-Income Realities" (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Tim Spector, "What a Hunter-Gatherer Diet Does to the Body in Just Three Days" (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Assessment Specifics

Cover Letter

• Minimum 150 words (successful cover letters are often longer)
• Address letter to your instructor
• Answer at least 3 of the 6 questions below; (where applicable) provide brief, specific examples of the following in your cover letter:
  • What is your primary motivation or purpose for writing your draft? Who is your intended audience? What revisions did you make in order to improve how you accomplish this purpose and/or appeal to this audience?
  • What feedback did you receive from your peers? How did you use this feedback to revise your draft? How do these revisions improve your draft?
  • What feedback did you receive from other sources, such as your instructor or tutors? How did you use this feedback to revise your draft? How do these revisions improve your draft?
  • What have you decided to revise in your draft, apart from feedback you received? Why? How do these revisions improve your draft?
  • What problems or challenges did you encounter while writing or revising your draft? How did you solve them?
  • What valuable lessons about writing effectively have you learned as a result of composing this project?
• Place the cover letter at the beginning of your final draft, before the first page of your actual essay draft; delete your purpose statement.

Your Final Draft

• Summary and Response of ONE of the core readings 
• Description of core reading, identifying its rhetorical characteristics
• Clearly developed main point (thesis) stating overall, focused response to the selected core reading
• Accurate summarizing and meaningful response, supported with evidence
• Effective organization using topic sentences and transitions
• APA or MLA manuscript style, as specified by your instructor, with in-text citations and a Works Cited or References list. (Works Cited or References list does not count in the minimum word-count requirement)
• Use of at least 5 quotes (words, phrases, or key sentences) and/or paraphrases (key details or ideas rephrased in your own words), cited using correct in-text citations
• Observation of the conventions of Standard English
• 750 words minimum for final draft (the minimum 150 words for the cover letter is not included in this count)