Popular Culture: Shaping and Reflecting Who We Are,” by Billy Wilson
Week 5 Assignment 1
From your course textbook, Ticket to Write, read the following chapters:
- “Popular Culture: Shaping and Reflecting Who We Are,” by Billy Wilson
- “Willie, My Thirteen-Year-Old Teacher,” by Scott Leopold.
The Hook Do you like to fish? If so, you probably know the importance of using the right kind of hook or bait if you want to catch a particular fish. Similarly, your opening to your essay needs to “catch” your readers’ attention long enough so that the next lines can “reel them in.”
Consider using one of these techniques in your revised narrative essay: a focusing question, some dialogue, or a short scene. Here’s an opener that uses a scene to interest the reader in the topic of single parenthood:
“Mom, please! All the kids at school have one. Do you want me to be a social outcast?” My son glared at me and slouched against the row of gleaming cell phones, as other customers shot disapproving glances my way. Did they think I was an ogre for not indulging him or a permissive parent for allowing him to speak to me like that? Ah, parenthood… Whatever made me think I could raise a child to adulthood? And now I was facing the frightening prospect on my own.
Discussion: Notice that both of this week’s readings start off with engaging openings.
- Which one of the readings did you prefer? Why?
- How did Wilson or Leopold hook you as a reader?
- How will you revise your narrative essay to hook your reader?
Example End References
Leopold, S. (2013). Willie, my thirteen-year-old teacher. In S. S. Thurman, & W. L. Gary, Jr. (Eds.), Ticket to write: Writing skills for success. [Vital Source Bookshelf] (p. 134-137). Retrieved from myeclassonline.com
Wilson, B. (2013). Popular culture: Shaping and reflecting who we are. In S. S. Thurman, & W. L. Gary, Jr. (Eds.), Ticket to write: Writing skills for success. [Vital Source Bookshelf] (pp. 624-626). Retrieved from myeclassonline.com