Howard Community College Farming as A Passion Discussion

Try to think of a procedure or activity you’re an expert in. Maybe you make a perfect cup of coffee. Maybe you can sew a dress or dress a deer. Can you defeat the impossible level on some video game or tell someone how to play “Stairway to Heaven” on the harmonica?

Everyone has some kind of expertise they’re capable of sharing with the world.

Someone else in this class may need to learn from your expertise!

AUDIENCE

Someone who has never done what you’re telling them how to do.

However, they should not be considered a blank slate. One of the first steps will be to more deeply consider who your audience will be.

PURPOSE

The audience has a need – for a good cup of coffee, to play “Stairway to Heaven” on the harmonica, or whatever – and they have turned to you as an expert in helping fulfill that need

Don’t be shy! You’re the expert.

PROCESS

1. Spend some time inventorying your own experience.

What are you good at? What do you enjoy doing? What do you take pride in? Make a list.

2. Select your Subject

What one skill do you think best lends itself to this particular writing-related problem? Why have you chosen that one?

3. Plan

A good way of preparing to write this essay is to do the action itself while writing careful notes along the way.

4. Analyze your audience.

Who is your audience? We know they need or want to learn this new skill, but what might their attitude be toward this task? Excitement? Concern? Something else?

Additionally, what about their knowledge? What do they need to know before attempting to follow your directions?

5. Find and analyze mentor texts.

Look for models that serve similar purposes. Stay away from ones that are too closely related to your own task. You don’t want to risk plagiarism and remember that you are the expert here. You don’t want to be influenced by someone else’s approach and it’s probably not as good as yours!

Look at how these mentor texts are formatted and structured. How do they begin? How do they convey the information? What writing choices and techniques can you use in your own writing?

6. Draft

Doing your best to meet your audience’s needs, draft your documents. Use your models to help guide your approach. For this assignment, you are restricted to “text only” instructions. No diagrams or illustrations are allowed.

7. Test draft

Give your draft to someone else. If possible, have them attempt the task by following your directions while you do the same with their task. If that isn’t possible, try to visualize the process while reading

Would they be successful? Where might they be confused or even lost? Identify those sections in your essay.

Look for areas of confusion that is in need of additional clarity.

8. Revise draft

Based on the feedback, as well as any additional insights gained along the way, revise the draft to improve its effectiveness. Think of your audience.

9. Edit & Polish

Check each of your sentences for clarity – Are they saying what you think they are saying? Find someone to read your essay aloud to you and listen for any mistakes. It’s much easier to hear our errors than to see them.

10. Title

The title is the first thing your audience will read. A good title may introduce the topic and engage your audience.

(Adapted from The Writer’s Practice: Building Confidence in Your Nonfiction Writing by John Warner. 2019. pp 21 – 23)

ORGANIZATION

Introduction

The introduction has two purposes: pull your readers into the essay and provide a clear thesis statement. Ideas to consider in creating your introduction:

1. Engage readers with something interesting or surprising (your hook)
2. Give a clear impression about why your instructions are valuable (why this is a thing worth learning to do)
3. End with a clear thesis statement that predicts the lessons or advice you’ll be giving to readers of your essay

Body paragraphs

Remember, the body of your essay should carefully and clearly explain (in sentences—not bullet points or lists) how to do this thing you do. Help your readers learn something they can apply to their lives. For this essay, I’d like to see focused paragraphs that have a clear purpose. Also, remember to use details and examples to help your reader follow along.

Conclusion

The conclusion is your opportunity to pull the essay together and leave your readers with something to think about. Honestly, for this type of assignment, the conclusion isn’t as important as an analysis or a more researched argument. So once you’ve finished giving instructions, you can wrap up in a couple ways:

1. Review the hook you used in your introduction – can you refer to it or discuss it from a new, changed perspective?
2. Remind readers why this skill or process is valuable.

ESSAY REQUIREMENTS

Essay Requirements

Your essay must be clearly organized, fully developed, and at least 2 typed pages, double spaced.

Proofread carefully to be sure that your essay:

• • is written in clear, complete sentences.
  • has been spell-checked.
  • has been proofread.
  • is typed and double-spaced.