Explicit Instructions
Directions: Respond to the assignment below. Be as clear and concise as possible with responses. Offer specific illustrations to support your opinions, observations, and concept applications. The paper is worth a maximum value of 50 points.
As Lesson 9 indicates, popular amusements can be analyzed as popular culture texts. For this assignment, attend a public event that constitutes a popular amusement and analyze formulas it uses along with one or more myths those formulas reflect. Examples of a popular amusement you might use for this assignment include a sporting event, a music concert, a fair, a parade, a Comicon, and much more. Be sure, though, that it is a public event. (In other words, an activity such as playing a game with your family or friends would not count.) If you have questions about whether an event will work for this assignment, ask your instructor.
In examining formulas, focus on ways in which the event utilizes standard ways of doing things that other events of similar types also use. For example, how might a particular sporting event rely on particular ways of doing or presenting things that are common to all sporting events? In connecting to myths, apply the definition of the concept provided in Lesson 1, which explains that myths are deeply held beliefs, whether true or false, that people accept within a culture and that significantly influence the way of life of the community. Putting formulas and myths together, develop a reasoned argument that expresses the conclusions you reach based on your analysis of the public event.
Provide an opening paragraph that introduces the topic and the event. In one sentence at the end of your introduction, provide a thesis statement that gives the reader a specific sense of what overall conclusion(s) your paper will show. In this sentence, summarize the formulas your paper will show that the event uses and the myth(s) your analysis will suggest those formulas reflect. Note that the thesis statement should state an argument about the specific public event you are analyzing, and not about public events of that type in general. As such, the thesis statement should clearly name the specific event, even though you will have likely already introduced the event in your introduction paragraph. Also note that the thesis statement should be specific in indicating the kinds of formulas the analysis will show that the event uses and the particular myth(s) the analysis will show that those formulas reflect.
In your second paragraph, describe the event in your own words. Provide a full description of what the event entailed and what kinds of activities occurred at the event, including any significant parts of the event you will use in your analysis.
In the remainder of your paper, use the specific details of the event to explain and demonstrate the formulas the event uses and the myth(s) reflected in the events use of those formulas. In doing so, begin paragraphs with topic sentences that link directly to your overall thesis statement. Also, make sure each paragraphs topic sentence is an opinion statement you then defend or explain within the paragraph.
Provide specific examples from the event you have chosen and clearly explain how these explicit details illustrate your points. This assignment asks you to develop your own interpretations from what you see when you look at the event. You will not be graded on whether your interpretation is “correct” or not. Rather, you will be graded on how well you state, explain, and illustrate your conclusions.
If you use one or more essays from the required course texts, cite them appropriately. See Step 7 of the “General Instructions for Papers” in this lesson for directions on how to cite a source properly.
Create a fitting, descriptive title for your paper. You can summarize the content to follow or you can devise a clever title connected to what the body of your paper discusses.
Construct a clear conclusion that brings together the major points from your paper.
Suggested paper length: two to three typewritten pages. Do not worry if your paper is a bit longer, as the suggested length is just a guideline.
Submit your paper as an attachment to your instructor via the course Message Center. The paper should be double-spaced using a 12-point font. Send it either in Word or in Rich Text Format (rtf), including your name, the course number (HUM225), and the assignment identifier (e.g., Lesson 10 Writing Assignment). Microsoft Works is not acceptable.
(Note: All written work for this course will be checked for plagiarism/copying, so be sure to rely on your own impressions and not those of an expert or those presented in an online source!)
