Part 4: Explaining Cultural Symbols, Traditions, and Heroes

SVSU Traditions
October 15-October 31

Essay due on Canvas: Thursday, October 31 by 11:59 p.m.

In-class peer review: Thursday, October 31
Essay grade: 50 points possible
Document design: 12 point font (Times New Roman or Calibri); 1” margins
Length: 700 words
Chapter from Choices: Chapter 6: Explaining
Associated tasks (57 points possible): Writing Activities (1-2; 4-8; 10-13); Group Activities (2-4; 6-9);
Editing Activities (1, 2)

Please note: The following description will be discussed in detail in class. It is essential that you come to
class to understand the assignment completely. Be sure to ask questions as you have them.

Writing Goals for Part 4 (from Choices pg. 133):

 Gather ideas by clustering, asking questions, and freewriting.
 Develop your ideas by using examples and process explanation.
 Practice writing introductions and conclusions, and making connections with transitions and
keywords.
 Combine sentences with conjunctive adverbs.
 Learn how to identify and correct sentence fragments.

Writing Assignment Topic (adapted from Choices pg. 148-149):

Being a part of a new community takes a little getting used to, especially when it comes to
understanding what’s important to that specific group. (Think of how awkward it is when you try to
introduce a new friend into an already existing group of friends. Perhaps you’ve even been that new
friend—there were probably inside jokes you didn’t understand!) As an SVSU Student, you are part of
the larger community of Cardinals: current students, alumni, families of students, and the surrounding
local communities. For this assignment, you’ll choose one of SVSU’s traditions or cultural events and
write a short essay (about 700 words) explaining the importance of that tradition or cultural event. Your
goal is to teach readers something about the tradition or cultural event. We’ll do research looking at old
issues of the Vanguard (which you used for Part 3), attend events, or even interview people on campus.

Some SVSU traditions include: Battle of the Valleys (past and current iterations), Dinner with 50,
Homecoming, Black@SVSU, Career Fairs, International Food Festival, Soul Food Festival. Use your
research skills from the previous assignment to search the Vanguard for other ideas!

In your essay, you’ll want to be sure to address the following questions:

1. Who participates in this tradition or cultural event?
2. What happens during the tradition or cultural event?
3. Where is this tradition or cultural event practiced?
4. When does this tradition or cultural event take place?
5. How is this tradition or cultural event celebrated?
6. Why is this tradition or cultural event important to the participants?
The associated tasks will help you share your ideas, learn to brainstorm more effectively using clustering
and freewriting, choose topics, use examples to develop your ideas, edit your sentences, and revise your
introduction and conclusion. We’ll work in-class on incorporating your responses to the above questions
into your essay.

Grading: I will use the English 080 rubric (on Canvas and attached to your syllabus) to assess your work. I
will specifically be looking for mastery of the “writing goals” listed above. We’ll review in class how to
access and address my feedback on your work. Moving forward, you will be expected to read my
comments and address these in your subsequent papers.