Visit-to-a-New-Place Essay Assignment

Comparison-Contrast Thought and Writing

Due: Beginning of Class, Wednesday, March 17

Value: Up to 100 points. Peer Editing Day: Wednesday, March 10

Follow these steps for a successful essay:

First, you will need to start early.

Second, devour the Comparison-Contrast Essay Writing Advice in your course packet.

Next, make a list of local places you are aware of but have never visited. Examples might include a particular church, a particular park, a cemetery, a museum, the bus station, a video arcade, a nursing home. Use your imagination. The more unusual the place is for you, the better.

Pick the place you plan to visit.

Before your visit, ask yourself what you think the place will be like--what sights, sounds, smells, tastes, feelings do you think you'll experience? Make a list of these.

Actually visit that place. Spend some time there taking in the sights, sounds, smells, and other sensations. Look for experiences and impressions that capture your attention, are unique, or differ markedly from what you had expected to experience. Make a list of these.

Compare your lists. Choose three similarities OR two differences OR a mix to create your outline.

Create a physical outline using the comparison-contrast organizational logic that fits the similarities, differences, or the mix of these you chose in the preceding step.

Your thesis paragraph should name the place you visited, explain why you never would have thought to visit the location were it not for this assignment, and present your thesis sentence using the shell appropriate to your outline.

Your conclusion might contain your changed opinion of the place and/or what you've discovered about pre-conceived notions.