Describing Experiences: Observation Essay

Assignment

Select a person or place that you are interested in observing. Interview the person or observe the place thoroughly. If you are interviewing someone, prepare questions for the interview (which you will turn in with your essay). If you are observing a place, observe it more than once. In both cases, take detailed notes. After you perform your observation, your assignment is to choose the most important details and develop them into an essay that will leave your readers with a dominant impression of what you've observed and an understanding of what you think is significant about the person or place.

After reviewing your notes, determine your purpose. What you choose to include in your essay depends on your purpose. (Use the examples we've read as models.) For example, if you interview a person, the person's comments will be important, but the reader might also benefit from seeing details of the environment that help us understand more about the person (what does the setting show us about the person?). Or if you observe a place, the amount of environmental description would also depend on your overall purpose (are you interested in describing the place or the people who come to the place?).

Present the results in a four-page (double-spaced) essay. As you did in essay one, use description to show your audience what happened, so that they feel as though they have experienced it with you (consider sensory information: sight, sound, taste, feel, etc.). In the thesis, let your readers know why you are showing them this person or place: what will they learn from reading your essay?

Format

Workshop drafts and final versions of essays should be word processed in a 12-point standard font (Times New Roman, Garamond, Arial, etc.);follow the manuscript format described in A Writer’s Reference. Aim for the length requirement; half a page over or under is acceptable. Please proofread carefully. If you use a source, you must include citations and a works cited list; please use MLA parenthetical documentation format for citing sources (see A Writer’s Reference). When essays are due, please put all drafts, notes, workshop comments, and your criteria sheet with your final version in a folder with pockets.

Things to Consider

• Have I established my purpose and indicated in my thesis the reason for writing about this topic?
• Have I used appropriate sensory description?
• Have I organized my essay so that the movement of thought will make sense to my audience?
• Does my title invite readers into the essay, not simply state the topic?
• Does my introduction use a strategy that engages readers?
• Does my conclusion gracefully end the essay, not simply restate what has been discussed?
• Have I integrated quotations correctly?