Central to any paper in this class and (as we learned by looking at the
grading criteria) central to passing a paper is the ability to locate
a project. If it's just "emerging" you'll just pass, but the stronger
the project the stronger the grade could possibly be. But what makes a
project strong? And how the heck do you locate a strong one? How do you
find any kind of project at all? To start forming an answer to these questions,
we should probably start by making sure we have a good sense of what a
project is.
Project Defined
According to the grading criteria, a project is
what he or she wants to achieve in the paper. A student creates a project
by contributing to the conversation raised by the texts read for class.
One essential skill in defining a project involves locating a larger
context in which students can use the relationship between two or more
texts as support for their own ideas. One of the signs that a paper
has a project is the creation of new or independent ideas that are affiliated
with the assignment question, but generated from the writer's unique
attempt to answer that question. Ideally, students should articulate
their paper's project in the introductory paragraph; however C-level
papers often have the work of a project in the body of their paper,
but not an articulation of it in the introductory paragraph. We define
these unspecified projects as emerging.
Let's break this down, way down:
- "what he or she wants to achieve in the paper."
OK, so for starters you have to be trying to do something in
the paper, which is just another way of saying that your paper needs
to have a point. We're not just cruel and sadistic Writing Program teachers
forcing you to slave away on pointless bits of writing; rather, we're
giving you an opportunity to think and to share your thoughts. In this
sense, you might think about a project as the end result of your thoughts
or, more simply, as your point. The project, then, answers the question
"What's the point?"
- "A student creates a project by contributing to the conversation
raised by the texts read for class."
Knowledge is not created in isolation. Knowledge is created through
conversation, and often conversations that happen in print. When Boyarin
writes his essay, he's not writing in isolation and his essay enters
larger conversations about anthropology, ethnography, Jewish identity,
Judaism, and more. Gould's text draws from and contributes back to a
really big conversation: evolution. When you write a paper, you're always
joining a conversation, and like any conversation that means you
need to have something to say. Your project is what you have to
say about the topic at hand, which makes it your contribution to the
conversation.
- "One essential skill in defining a project involves locating
a larger context in which students can use the relationship between
two or more texts as support for their own ideas."
The assignment question will generally help you here. What's one larger
context for Boyarin? The Roadmap to Peace. What's one larger context
for Boyarin and Gould? The role of science in society. When you find
a larger context, you find a larger conversation. When you find a larger
conversation, you stop being trapped in the text. When you're no longer
trapped in the text, what you have to say means something out in the
larger world.
- "One of the signs that a paper has a project is the creation
of new or independent ideas that are affiliated with the assignment
question, but generated from the writer's unique attempt to answer that
question."
This is just another way of saying that YOU are making a contribution.
When you reiterate ideas from class, you end up with a project, but
not a particularly strong one. Part of what makes a project strong is
the originality that comes from the fact that YOU thought of this project,
YOU made this contribution, YOU are making THIS point. Creating this
kind of project takes a certain kind of confidence and authority--that
confidence and authority often indicates a B or better paper.
- "Ideally, students should articulate their paper's project
in the introductory paragraph; however C-level papers often have the
work of a project in the body of their paper, but not an articulation
of it in the introductory paragraph. We define these unspecified projects
as emerging."
An emerging project is one that's not there yet, but on the way. You
know you want to say something, but you're not sure how to say it yet.
There might be moments of connective thinking--places where you bring
the two essays together--but the overall project is just barely there.
Avoid this.
The Writing Program chose "project" because it has a certain flexibility
as a term and because it emphasizes that YOU are trying to DO something
in the paper, but you may be more familiar with other terms: argument,
thesis, position. That's fine since they're all related.
Some Projects
OK, so we have some sense of what a project is, but we're still using
vague language: "something you want to do in the paper," ""contributing
to a conversation," "making a point," blah, blah, blah. So let's look
at some actual projects:
- In Jonathan Boyarin's essay "Waiting for a Jew," he described how
various tools can be used for mediating between communities. These tools
can be used on a larger scale to help Israel and Palestine solve their
differences by finding unity through compromise and sacrifice. With
these tools they can work out a roadmap for a smooth journey towards
peace.
- In Jonathan Boyarin's "Waiting for a Jew," he touches on the concept
of community repeatedly and he introduces various tools a community
must exercise in order to keep peace among its members. Even though
much effort has been put into the plan, the "Roadmap" to peace neglects
to make use of these very important tools, therefore dooming the plan
to failure even before it has been attempted.
So what's the point? What are the authors trying to do? They each are
making a point about both Boyarin's essay and the Middle East peace process.
They're suggesting ways to improve this process--that's what their project.
Strong Projects
Strong projects are:
- Specific: A strong project states very clearly just what are you are
trying to do in the paper.
- Engaged: A strong project engages the essays, the assignment, and
the larger conversation rather than avoiding any or all of these.
- Original: A strong project is original because it reflects your
unique thinking. Projects that reisterate what's been said in class,
therefore, are not as strong.
- Confident: A strong project is confident--in its wording and configuration
it demonstrates that you feel like a legitimate member of this
conversational community. You don't sound like a student; you
sound like a rational and intelligent adult citizen.
- Flexible: A strong project is flexible. It doesn't force the essays
to fit its contours nor does it roll over the evidence like a steamroller.
Instead, a strong project flexibly responds to the complexities of the
essays and reflects back on itself as much as it does the essays.
Making Projects
In trying to form a project, keep in mind that there are three bodies
of text at play:
 there's my text (the text of the
assignment), their text (the text of the essays), and your text
(your reaction to the essays, your thoughts about the issues, and your
critical thinking). The strongest projects are located at the intersection
of these three texts: they work with the essays, respond to the assignment,
and represent your contribution through your original thinking.
So, to make a project, start by sketching out all three texts. Make a
list of all the concepts and ideas from each of the essays. On a separate
sheet of paper write a summar of the assignment. And then on yet another
sheet of paper write down all your own thoughts about this particular
issue--start with your thoughts about the issue and not your
thoughts about the essays. That's the way to start locating your
place in the conversation.
Once you have these three texts you can start looking for the places
they overlap. To do that, start with you ideas and work outwards. In other
words, given what you want to say, how does it fit into the assignment?
And then, given what you want to say that fits into the assignment, how
can you show what you want to say through the essays? What concepts
or ideas will support you in the point you're trying to make?
Making It Stronger
Projects don't get stronger by themselves. They get stronger through revision.
But revision doesn't have to mean only peer revision with drafts in our
classroom. Revision is an extended process of testing and modifying, so
start by talking to people about your project: your classmates, me, people
down the hall from you, and whomever else you can find. At the same time,
go back into the essays (after all, they're a part of the conversation
and are in fact your entry into this particular conversation). Is there
anything in the essay that might challenge what you're trying to say?
If so, how would that change your project? That is, how can you revise
your project to account for that moments? The more you test your project--against
others, against peers, against the texts, against your own thinking--the
stronger it will become.
|
