New Notebook Prompts

As we move into the second quarter, you will be developing your own "information plus" essay--a personal essay that incorporates research and conveys information along with personal narrative and reflection. Sarah Vowell's "What I See When I Look at the Face on the $20 Bill" will be our first example of an essay in this category, and starting with today's reading there are a new set of nightly notebook questions:

1.   Identify at least three different kinds of information in this essay, noting where you find each (either by page number, paragraph number, or first few words of the paragraph) and giving each kind of information a label (memory, learned and retained info, scholarly research, popular cultural/casual research, primary source research, interview, personal experience, etc.). Feel free to make up a label if you need to.

2. Comment on whether its information elements work to make the essay stronger or more compelling. (For example: Does the information in this essay seem useful and necessary? Is it incorporated smoothly, in a way that feels organic, or does they essay seem to have noticeable shifts? Does the blend of information and personal elements––narrative, reflection, memory, etc.––seem satisfying and well balanced?)

3. Choose one of the following:

1. Identify your favorite sentence (by quotation and page number) and briefly articulate one or two things you think make the sentence strong.

2. Describe the voice of the writer in some specific detail. How do you feel about this writer’s voice?