Our third public piece of writing will be a blending of subjective and objective perspectives--a creative nonfiction piece.  Basically, you should focus on one theme, experience, issue, life lesson, or concern that has been significant and/or influential in your life.  Think of causes you support passionately, ideas you love or hate, conditions that affect you or someone in your family, or long-term goals that drive you.

Consider:

• An issue or situation or problem that has affected your life or the life of someone you care about or society in general, such as racism, sexism, religious oppression, a medical condition, substance abuse, a mental health issue, poverty, etc.
• A goal or dream that you are pursuing in order to contribute something meaningful to the world--teaching, social work, health care, etc.
• An important decision you’re wrestling with--for example, you might be a parent considering homeschooling your children or wondering what effect TV has on your children
• A social issue that affects you and that you have strong feelings about--for example, war, unemployment, privatization of Social Security, hunger, terrorism, gay rights, and so on
• An experience you’ve had that gives you insight into a larger issue, such as crime, disease, education, family dynamics, etc.

Unlike journal assignments, this piece will be graded on correctness (mechanics, style, grammar, etc.) as well as content.  Don’t worry—I’ll gladly edit your work if you give it to me at least one week before the final draft is due.  This assignment is worth 100 points—50 for content (writing) and 50 for mechanics (editing).

Your piece should be about 4-6 pages in length (though it can be longer if you need more space). 

Hint for success:  Remember the power of specific detail!  Include statistics, quotes, and examples that create a context for your thoughts and experiences.  Specific detail will help the reader empathize with your experience.

When I'm writing, I know I'm doing the thing I was born to do.

~Anne Sexton