APPLYING YOUR SKILLS: ADDITIONAL ESSAY ASSIGNMENTS

Using what you learned about description in this chapter, write a descriptive essay on one of the topics listed below. Depending on the topic you choose, you may need to conduct research. (For more on locating and documenting sources, see Chapter 22, 23, and 24.)

TO EXPRESS YOUR IDEAS

  1. Suppose a famous person, living or dead, visited your house for dinner. Write an essay describing the person and the evening and expressing your feelings about the occasion.
  2. In “You Are Your Bike,” the author describes her Schwinn Sting-Ray and what it meant to her. Write an essay for your classmates describing a childhood toy that you had that still evokes fond memories.

TO INFORM YOUR READER

  1. Write an essay describing destruction or devastation you have observed as a result of a natural disaster (hurricane, flood), an accident, or a form of violence.
  2. Write a report for your local newspaper on a local sporting event you recently observed or participated in.

TO PERSUADE YOUR READER

  1. Write a letter to persuade your parents to lend you money. The loan may be to purchase a used car or to rent a more expensive apartment, for example. Include a description of your current car or apartment.
  2. “Heatstroke with a Side of Burn Cream” contains a description of the preparation of food. Do you think that Americans are overly concerned with food, or is food an important social and cultural experience? Write a persuasive essay taking a position on the role of food in American culture.

CASES USING DESCRIPTION

  1. Imagine that you are a product buyer for a cosmetics distributor, a food company, or a furniture dealership. Write a descriptive review of a product recommending to the board of directors whether to distribute it. Use something that you are familiar with or come up with your own product (such as a new cosmetic, an advice book on nutrition, or an electronic gadget for the home). Describe the product in a way that will help convince the company to accept your recommendation.
  2. Write a brief description of your ideal internship. Then write an essay to accompany your application for your ideal summer internship. The sponsoring agency requires every applicant to submit an essay that describes the knowledge and experience the applicant can bring to the internship and the ways that the position would benefit the applicant personally and professionally.

Synthesizing Ideas

Working Low-Paying Jobs

Both “Speaking Quiché in the Heart of Dixie” and “Heatstroke with a Side of Burn Cream” describe the writer’s work experiences. Thompson works in a chicken processing plant, and Sawchuck works in a restaurant kitchen.

Analyzing the Readings

  1. Compare how the two authors feel about their work experiences. How does each author reveal his or her attitudes? How are they the same, and how do they differ?
  2. As a writer who is researching jobs that most Americans won’t do, Thompson works “undercover,” but Sawchuck is an actual worker. How do you think these differences affect the essays and the authors’ reported experiences?

Essay Idea

Write an essay describing your work experiences. Choose one job you have held and describe it to create a dominant impression. Then explain whether your experiences were more similar to those of Thompson or Sawchuck — or why they did not resemble those of either.