The Emotional Lives of Animals

So far in class, we’ve read Cory Doctorow’s “Writing in the Age of Distraction,” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “The Danger of a Single Story,” and Marc Bekoff’s “The Emotional Lives of Animals.” All of these articles touch on different and important issues—writing, cultural inclusion, and empathy in the natural world. Many of you have written about your own experiences in relationship to these ideas, exploring how the concepts apply to your own life. Must use these articles listed above as sources and research.
For this essay assignment, you will choose one article to expound on in a meaningful way. According to OWL at Purdue, “The expository essay is a genre of essay that requires the student to investigate an idea, evaluate evidence, expound on the idea, and set forth an argument concerning that idea in a clear and concise manner.” You will choose a concept or concepts from one of the three articles to discuss at length. Consider our practice of critical reading. Can you include narrative, allegory, reflection, and action?
This essay assignment will also ask you to engage in primary research. According to OWL at Purdue,
Primary research is any type of research that you collect yourself. Examples include surveys, interviews, observations, and ethnographic research. […] Conducting primary research is a useful skill to acquire as it can greatly supplement your research in secondary sources, such as journals, magazines, or books.
The primary research you will be required to complete is interviewing. Based on the article you’ve chosen to write about, you will choose a person to interview who can illuminate an expound on the subject matter. For example, you may choose to interview a friend who has a successful writing routine, related to Doctorow’s article. You could choose to interview a family member who lived in multiple countries to listen to their thoughts about Adichie’s “single story.” Maybe you talk with someone who works within animal rights to better understand Bekoff’s ideas.
You will be graded according to the following benchmarks:
• Does the writer choose an appropriate thesis and have a well-organized paper with an introduction, body, and conclusion? 10/50
• Does the writer include a primary resource interview and one of the articles within the paper, quoting and paraphrasing as appropriate, with all quotes introduced? 10/50
• Are the ideas of the paper well-developed at a collegiate level and roughly 3-4 pages of text (title page and reference page are not included)? 10/50
• Is the paper in APA format, with a correct title page, APA citations, and reference page? Is the paper mostly free of mechanical and grammatical errors? 10/50
• Does the writer turn in a fully developed rough draft of at least 2-3 pages? 10/50 (less than 2 pages will receive half (5) credit; no draft with receive 0 credit)