Extra Credit Assignment (optional)

Description: You will have the chance to improve your overall course grade by submitting an additional writing assignment. If your assignment is of quality work, you can increase ONE of your essay grades up to a full letter grade. (i.e. if your Poetry Analysis paper receives a B-, this could change it to an A-). If your assignment is not of quality work, it will not be graded.

Directions: For this assignment, your task is to write a 2-page critique on one of the following events:

• Attend a Play – The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl
  • When: Fri 7/5, Sat 7/6 at 7:30 PM
  • Where: Loeb Experimental Theater ($10), Cambridge, MA (Harvard Square)
  • Website: http://www.ofa.fas.harvard.edu/cal/details.php?ID=44102
• Attend a Book Reading – Patricia Vigderman, Possibility: Essays Against Despair
  • When: Tue 7/9 at 7:00 PM
  • Where: Porter Square Books, Cambridge, MA (Porter Station)
  • Website: http://www.portersquarebooks.com/event/patricia-vigderman-possibility-essays-against-despair
• Attend a Poetry Reading
  • When: Thurs 7/4, Fri 7/5, 2013 at 7:30 p.m.
  • Where: Pine Manor College, Founder’s Room, 400 Heath Street, Chestnut Hill, MA
  • Website: http://www.poets.org/viewevent.php/prmEventID/12248

In order to write a successful analysis, you will want to follow these steps:

1. Decide which event to attend ahead of time and plan how you will get there.
2. Look over any materials that will give you sufficient context when attending the event. For example, if you are attending the play, read a summary or better yet, glance through the script.
3. Your analysis should include the following information:

• Relevant background on the event (author, context, summary of the plot, etc.)
• Summary of the event (what happened, who attended, where it took place, etc.)
• Personal response to the event (connections to course material or health sciences, what you liked/didn’t like, what you learned, etc.)

4. Remember that this is NOT an essay or analysis. Your purpose is to prepare for, attend, and critique an event. You do not need to write in essay format, but be sure that you are using proper English paragraphing and that your ideas are fully developed with evidence.

Audience: Write for an audience of your academic peers (classmates) and professor. You can assume that your audience did not read any of the materials or attend the event.

Citation: At the end of your paper, include a “Works Cited” page in which you provide a complete citation any sources that you used (i.e. sources about the author’s life or historic context). Also include in-text citations of sources.

Format: Your analysis should be at least 2 pages long, double-spaced, size 12 font, with 1 inch margins. Use an “academic” font, such as Arial, Cambria, Calibri, or Times New Roman.