English 0950
Spring 2006
Essay 1

Background:

The essay by Richard Rodriguez, "Workers," and the poem by Wanda Coleman, "Office Politics," are meant to put you in the right frame of mind for writing Essay #1. Both Rodriguez and Coleman write about the people they work with -- people "above" them, people "beside" them, and perhaps even people "below" them. But more than that, they both write about how they "fit in" (or don't fit in) in the workplace, how they are both similar to and different from those around them.

Rodriguez knows that he is beneath the contractor, he learns that he is not quite like the other regular workers (but in some ways he is also like them), and he also realizes that he is even more removed from the Mexican aliens who appear on the jobsite, even though he is of Mexican heritage. So factors of education, age, work experience, race/heritage, and language all play roles in his workplace. Playing with common stereotypes applied to various groups of people, Coleman points out, I think, that she is unlike nearly everyone else in her workplace; she is most different in race and gender, but probably also in class as well.

Assignment:

Like Richard Rodriguez and Wanda Coleman (but you cannot write a poem!), write an essay of 3 to 4 pages, word-processed and double-spaced (using complete sentences and multiple paragraphs), in which you analyze one (1) of your current or past jobs; the job that you pick can be either a paid position or a volunteer experience. "Analysis" means to break something into its parts so that you can study the parts more closely and, hopefully, learn something new from this examination. Your essay should contain these three sections, but perhaps not in this particular order; in addition, you essay should not be a series of answers to these questions:

• How do you "fit in" in this workplace? Do you fit in? Why or why not?
• How are you similar to and different from the other people in this workplace? What are the most significant similarities and differences?
• What have you learned about yourself and about these other people from working this job?

Suggestions:

To help you with the similarities and differences, as you think about and analyze the workplace or situation you have chosen and the people involved, think about the things that most often "differentiate us" from one another. More and more nowadays, people are examining these differences and using them in various ways, both for good and for bad:

• Gender
• Age
• Race and ethnicity
• Education level
• Language and literacy
• Social class
• Political viewpoints
• Religious affiliations
• Disabilities (physical or medical, psychological or learning, etc.)
• Sexual Orientation

Think about how these things play a role in the workplace or situation you have chosen. Are they obvious and apparent? Or, are they not obvious or hidden? Or, are they obvious but ignored? Do they divide certain people from each other? Do they bring certain people closer together? Most importantly: Do they help you to understand something about yourself? Do they help you to understand something about the others on the job?

The goal of this essay is for you to think about a particular job or experience in a new way. As I said in the course syllabus, the most exciting "academic writing" does two things: it makes the familiar strange, and it creates new knowledge about everyday life. And, even though "academic writing" is often seen as formal and dry, really good academic writing is also personally meaningful to the writer -- and if it is personally meaningful to the writer, it will be interesting and exciting both to write and to read.

Your analysis should lead you to learn something new about that particular job or experience. And, this "thing" that you learn, you will want to be able to express it in 1-3 sentences; it then will become your thesis for your essay--the "central idea" that all of the examples and details and explanations in your essay will support.

What Not to Do:

Do not structure your essay as a series of answers to the questions above. Do not attempt to write about each and every person you worked with (you may have to limit yourself somehow, you may have to focus on groups instead of individuals, etc.). Do not "evaluate" the job or experience you have chosen (that is, do not say if it is a good or bad job or if you like or dislike it). Also, do not tell what you do/did at the job (this is not a "process analysis" essay).

When I Grade Your Paper I Will Look For:

In initial drafts, I will be looking for you to bring specific experiences, examples, and details into your essay and explain to your readers what you think those experiences, examples, and details mean or what they show.  In the final draft, you should also be addressing how they each relate to some main/central idea (the thesis).  I will also be looking for interesting interpretations and conclusions, a thoughtful presentation and development, a consistent focus, and an ongoing relationship between examples and main idea.

Format:

The first three drafts should be word-processed and double-spaced; don't worry about any other special formatting. The final draft should be word-processed and double-spaced, and it must be at least 900 words. In addition, use 1.0-1.25” margins and a 12-point “normal” font (Times New Roman or Arial). No title page is needed; put your name, the course information, my name, and the date in the upper left-hand corner of the first page. For specific formatting information, see RFW, pages 34-37 and 68-70. At some point, I will also take us through specific formatting features in the computer lab.