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WOC190 Spring 2021 Session 4

Class Notes and Homework Assignments

Day 11

Tues. Apr. 27

  • Aphorisms: What I believe

  • Some advice about revising

  • Share postcards from the present

  • Reading by Xiaomeng

Homework

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WOC190 - Final project
WOC190 - Final project

Due at midnight (11:59pm) on Sunday May 14 (China time)

Choose one of your three essays—the one you’re proudest of, or most interested in improving—and revise it into a complete, polished work that you could imagine being published in the Literary Atlas of DKU, or elsewhere.

➤ Decide which essay to revise

By next class, please decide (at least tentatively) which of your essays you want to revise and submit as your final project.

As soon as you have a new version of your essay ready, feel free to make an appointment with me to read it. I’m happy to give feedback on as many drafts as you’re motivated to produce before the final deadline. Please note that the final project is due at midnight (11:59pm) on Monday May 10th.

(Note that it’s better not to wait to the last minute to do this! If I hear from you the day before the deadline, it might be too late to fit in an appointment.)

If you want to get started revising your character essay immediately, please message me so I know to get you feedback as quickly as possible.

➤ Go back and look at endings

Look at the endings of the following pieces: “The Old House at Home,” “Orange Crush,” “Southern Summers,” “The Man Who Eats,” and “Mazie.” For each one, ask yourself: Why does the author choose to end this way? Come prepared to share next class.

➤ Write three aphorisms that reflect your own beliefs

Write three aphorisms expressing things you believe are true. (They could be three aphorisms that express the same belief in different ways, or that express different beliefs; it’s up to you.)

Write original aphorisms that sound good. Avoid cliche. Try doing the following:

  • Write one aphorism that uses mostly abstract language.

  • Write one aphorism that uses mostly concrete language.

  • Write one aphorisms that uses a mix of abstract and concrete language.

Upload your three aphorisms to Box, to the folder called “Three aphorisms: What I Believe.”

➤ TURN YOUR “POSTCARD FROM THE PRESENT” INTO A POEM

Rewrite your “postcard from the present” as a poem. Cut it up into separate lines. As you go, make changes to the language you wish to make it work better as a poem: delete unnecessary words, change word to make it more vivid, etc.

Upload your poem to Box, to the folder called “Postcards from the Present as Poems.”

Austin Woerner