I need help with my essay.

First Draft Due: Monday, March 16

Final Draft Due: Monday, March 23

For this essay, I am asking you all to describe or define a concept and what it means to you. I encourage you all to go back to your own experiences. Recall those silly moments with friends when you invented something new. Try to remember the last hashtag you made up. These can all be parts of the creative process you must undergo for this assignment.

However, because the words that currently exist all carry many connotations I am asking you to create your own word or concept. The purpose behind this essay, as I will be teaching it, will be for you to demonstrate your ability to look at a complex topic and explain it on a deeper level. You will either define a word as you see it, or break the word down into its smaller components – or a little of both.

You can either 1. Make up a word.

· Go crazy! Get creative! The rules are there ain’t no rules! It doesn’t even have to make grammatical sense in English. Put two words together, scramble letters around, let it all out! The important part here isn’t what the word looks like, it’s what it means. The concept you assign to this word will still need to be clear, concise, and original.

or 2. Assign a new meaning to the same word.

· Here, you will take a word that was previously connected to a certain concept and replace that concept with your own. For instance, you could take the word “fork” that refers to a pronged eating utensil and change it to signify a tacky man. Ex. “Why is he wearing socks with sandals? He is such a fork.” Don’t forget, you will need to support your definition.

You will need to define social situations in which these can all be used. You can choose to reference personal experience but this essay is not about you – it’s about the concept behind the word. How will I know what you are describing when I see it? How will you feel if someone defines this word incorrectly? How do you foresee people using it? Try to keep your audience, authority, and logic in mind as you write. You will also need to explain why they need to be defined in the first place.

The easy part is coming up with a new concept or word. The hard part will be justifying it to your reader. But go ahead, be adventurous!