{"id":238,"date":"2013-09-01T09:59:49","date_gmt":"2013-09-01T16:59:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/writ416\/?page_id=238"},"modified":"2014-09-08T15:31:56","modified_gmt":"2014-09-08T22:31:56","slug":"major-essay","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/writ416\/major-essay\/","title":{"rendered":"Major Essay"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This is the major assignment of this course: a mature, ambitious, complex and heavily researched work of long-form creative nonfiction (3,000-6,000 words) that will go through three separate stages of workshopping (proposal<\/strong>,\u00a0first full draft<\/strong>,\u00a0revised draft<\/strong>) before you submit a polished final version that will be worth 50% of your final grade. (The revised draft you hand in for the C Workshop will contribute another 5% to the final mark.)<\/p>\n

You may choose to write a\u00a0Personal Essay<\/strong>\u00a0that explores and connects cultural, social, historical or intellectual trends or ideas with your own experiences and observations. The goal is to make the narrative leaps between anecdotal evidence, research material from various secondary sources, and personal insights and reflections\u2014to\u00a0tell a universal story that has personal flair;\u00a0to think aloud on the page about a topic or theme or question that will intrigue your readers; to engage, enrage, entertain and persuade.\u00a0This should\u00a0<\/strong>not\u00a0<\/strong>be pure memoir<\/strong>. You should feel obliged to play with structure, to break from the constraints of chronological narrative, to use forms such as the lyric essay, the braided essay, collage, the prose poem, or other experimental frameworks. You should also play with style and voice; the tone of this essay can be tragic, comic, ironic, contemplative, inquisitive, or a combination of these modes.<\/p>\n

The other option is to write long-form literary journalism, as a magazine-style\u00a0Feature Article<\/strong>\u00a0or\u00a0Book Chapter<\/strong>,\u00a0that likewise tackles a complex and potentially controversial topic or question with wide social relevance. In this case, the challenge will be to develop a strong personal voice while gathering and integrating different forms of research: secondary material, interviews, observed scenes, recreated scenes, personal experience and memories, reflective opinion. You will also need to forge a complex multi-sectioned structure that weaves together the various research and narrative strands into a unified whole. Read through the published samples from the Taking Risks\u00a0<\/i>anthology for inspiration.<\/p>\n

During the first two weeks of the course, we will work on in-class\u00a0prewriting exercises\u00a0brainstorm, refine and organize ideas for the major assignment. We will also explore\u00a0research options\u00a0for secondary and primary research sources to enrich and deepen your essay with outside ideas and examples. Finally, we will look at potential\u00a0publishing venues<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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From this work, you will put together and submit for September 30<\/strong> a Query Letter<\/strong> or Proposal<\/strong> (750 to 900 words) that includes:<\/p>\n