First-Year Writing Placement Assignment

For All Spring 2012 Students Enrolled in ENWR100 or ENWR105

EXEMPTIONS? This is assignment is required for everyone
enrolled in either ENWR100 or ENWR105. Students enrolled into ENWR105
who have already completed ENWR100 (or its equivalent) cannot be moved back
into ENWR100; however, the assignment is still due on the first day of class.

Are We What We Buy?

For the first day of your writing class you will need to read the two linked articles and compose a 2-3 page essay in which you reference the two articles to discuss consumerism and personal identity or the place of shopping in American society.

Articles:

Cave, Damien.  “On Sale at Old Navy: Cool Clothes for Identical Zombies!” Salon.com. Salon Media Group, 22 Nov. 2000.  Web. 7 June 2010.
Zukin, Susan.  “Attention Shoppers: Your Dreams in Aisle 3.” Chronicle.com. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 19 Dec 2003.  Web.  13 Dec. 2011.

Overview:  Paul McCartney wrote the memorable words, “Money can’t buy me love,” and yet judging by the rate of spending on non-essential consumer goods in this country (and elsewhere), it seems like money does buy something.  And that something may go beyond the use value or pleasure of an object.  As the assigned articles suggest, the choices we make in the objects we buy (clothing, cars, cosmetics, sports equipment, food, communication devices, for example), the establishments we frequent (restaurants, coffee houses, salons, grocery stores, gyms and so forth), and our entertainment options (in music, film, television, art, literature, and the like) are the subject of much debate.

Essay Assignment: Write a 2-3 page essay in which you assert and support a position concerning how great (or little) an effect shopping has an individual’s identity and/or on American culture.  Draw on the two assigned readings and reflect on your own experience to write this essay.

Directions: Draw on the two assigned readings and reflect on your own experience to write an essay in which you address the essay assignment.

To construct a successful argument, you will need to have a strong central claim and to use the sources provided carefully, which is to say that you need to engage with the writers and their ideas rather than just summarizing them.  In addition to referring to the two assigned readings, you are encouraged to draw upon your own experiences, insights, and observations.

Some writers find it helpful to brainstorm responses to questions prior to get started.  Below are some questions that can serve that purpose.  You are not required to answer any or all of these questions.

How much do the things we buy contribute to shaping individual identity? How important is shopping in American society today? How might shopping contribute to or detract from individual identity?  How might shopping contribute to or detract from the development of American culture?  What might a focus on material goods reveal about an individual or society?  How does the very experience of shopping as well as the things we buy serve our needs as human beings or as a society or nation? How might it not serve our needs? 

Requirements:

Length: The draft must be 2 to 3 pages long (typed and double-spaced).
Style: MLA – a full description of MLA style can be found in a writing handbook or online at <dianahacker.com/writersref>.
Sources: You must appropriately use the two provided articles.
Academic Honesty: You are expected to write this paper alone and without consulting and using additional sources that you have not fully and appropriately cited.  For help in understanding what academic honesty entails, please see:  http://www.montclair.edu/writing/firstyearwriting/academicintegrity.html

Further Instructions:

1. Bring a hard copy of your essay (and the readings) to your first writing class. 
2. Save a copy of your essay in an electronic form and place that you can access once classes begin because you will be continuing to revise your essay after the first day of class. In college writing classes students are regularly asked to revise their essays, often several times.
3. Students who are interested in receiving feedback on their essays-in-progress are encouraged to visit the Center for Writing Excellence, open all January and during the spring semester. Please see the website for hours and to make an appointment: http://www.montclair.edu/cwe/.

Access this assignment as DOC or PDF

Updated 3 Jan 2012