English 120, Project #3 Revisiting Rule of the Bone: The Policy Letter
Length: aprx. 3-4 double-spaced pages 20 points possible (20% of semester grade)
Key readings for this project: CTW, Chapter 4, "Letters: Thinking About the Genre. " Be sure to read this chapter carefully.
Final version due (with Portfolio): Tues., May 8th (2 PTS. EXTRA CREDIT FOR TURN-IN BY THURS. MAY 3RD!) Note: to receive credit for this assignment, you must include it in your Portfolio and hand in a separate copy as well. There will be boxes on the floor just outside of the English Annex in South Engineering #318 for turn-ins Questions? Email me!
Background Many battles have been waged in American schools over what constitutes "educational" and "appropriate" reading matter, and over censorship issues generally. A number of books have been banned from the classroom or from school libraries through the years, to loud and sometimes legal protest. Who should select reader matter for the classroom, and/or who should have the final say about reading material in the schools? What is "literature" and what, in your view, constitutes worthy reading material for a high school or college course in the humanities? What is the goal of education, and how does literature help or hinder those goals? How does Rule of the Bone fit, or not fit, your criteria for "good literature" or a "good education"? Your first semester project was a literary interpretation of Rule of the Bone. This time I'd like you to do something different with the novel: argue whether it should or shouldn't be used in high school or college curricula.
For this project you will write a policy argument in the form of a letter, for or against use of this book in the schools. Select a newspaper, magazine, or specific person (someone on the state Board of Higher Education, a former teacher or principle, etc.), and make your argument with a real audience in mind. Your purpose is to convince an undecided or opposed reader that your position on the issue is the best one. Be sure to ground your argument in a clear central claim about the goal and purpose of education, and possibly the goal and purpose of the literary arts as well. Take care to adequately educate yourself about your topic, and don't forget to acknowledge (and refute) opposing views. Note: to do a good job on this essay, you will need to do some brief research on 1) censorship; 2) book banning; 3) standards/procedures for textbook selection in the public schools; and/or possibly 4) the legal definition of obscenity.
If writing for a newspaper or magazine: this is a public letter to parents, teachers, and administrators--anyone with a vested interest in how we educate our kids. You are appealing specifically to those groups of people, and will need to keep in mind their possibly competing values and interests. However, because this is a public letter, keep in mind that anyone could potentially read it. If writing for a specific person: this is a formal letter to someone of influence. You need to know who that person is, what kinds of arguments are likely to persuade them, what their values are likely to be, what kind of voice and style they will best respond to. In this case, you will zero in specifically on the needs and expectations of a specific individual. For tips and ideas, see our Power Point presentation on Project #3. In all cases, you will be writing an argument of policy. That is, you will be arguing about what someone should or shouldn't do in the high school or university classroom. Your essay should:
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