Major Essay 2

For your second unit essay you will create a Web site on a topic related to the theme of this course. You may work individually, or in groups of up to four persons.

Choosing a Topic

If your having trouble coming up with a topic, here are some suggestions. You're welcome to use any of them if you wish, or perhaps they'll give you some additional ideas. Although I will be very flexible in approving topic proposals, your topic somehow has to relate to the theme of the class. Also keep in mind that you must develop an argumentative stance toward your topic. In other words, it's not enough to just create a general information site on your topic; you must also express an opinion about the topic.

1. MYTHOLOGY AND/OR THE HERO'S JOURNEY
• Pick a Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Hindu, Celtic, or Native American myth and explore some aspect of it on your Web site.
• Urban myths.
• King Arthur: romantic myth or historical fact.
• The legend of Merlin.
• Parcifal and the Quest for the Holy Grail.
• The legend of Tristan and Isolde.
• The origins of our contemporay images of angels.
• Angels in non-Western cultures.
• The origins of our contemporary images of Satan.
• The hero's journey in a popular film or novel.


2. MYTHICAL BEASTS
• Elves and Fairies.
• Dragons and Dragonslayers.
• Unicorns.
• Sea serpents.
• Giants.
• Centaurs.


3. DREAMS AND MYSTICAL VISIONS
• Vision quests.
• Jung and the archetypes.
• What are dreams? Are dreams for real?.
• How the ancient world viewed dreams.
• Dreams that changed history.
• Australian Aboriginal "Dream Time".
• Dream symbolism.


4. ART/MUSIC/LITERATURE
   • Neolithic cave paintings.
   • Egyptian pyramids and obelisks.
   • Ancient Greek/Roman temples.
   • Mysticism in the music of Loreena McKennitt.
   • The mystical novels of Philip K. Dick.
   • The mystical poetry/paintings of William Blake.
   • Mysticism in the poetry of William Butler Yeats.
   • Mysticism and the occult in the stories/poems of Edgar Allen Poe.
   • J.R.R. Tolkein's The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit.

To view student Web pages from previous semesters, visit the "Links" section of this Web site.

Writing Requirements

At minimum your Web site must contain:

1. Two different headings of different sizes;
2. A seperate home page containing an introduction, argumentative thesis, and a menu with at least four navigational selections;
3. At least three separate Web pages linked together, one of which contains biographical info on each member of your group;
4. At least six (6) well-developed paragraphs of textual content (biographical information on your group does not count toward this requirement);
5. At least one non-text graphic element;
6. Links to at least three other relevant sites your visitors might be interested in seeing;
7. An e-mail link where visitors can contact you;
8. A link to our class Web page at <http://www.uky.edu/~aubel2/courses/eng102/myth/index.html>.

How you arrange your Web site is up to you. I'm not expecting you to create killer Web sites, but I do want your page to be informative, clean, and easy for your audience to use. We'll hold workshops on Web site layout and design at the start of the unit, and class time will be set aside for your group to work on the project. For Web page design resources visit the Links section of this Web site.

Sources: Five. Of these five sources, three must be academic library sources. Note: Sources must be listed on the Web page in which they are cited. Use MLA format to list your sources.

Audience: You can assume that the viewer of the page is an adult (but a novice computer user) who has an interest in your topic and has come to the Web site to learn more.

Topic Approval: Your group MUST have its topic approved in advance; your final essay grade will be seriously docked otherwise. For details, see below. Send your topic proposals to me via e-mail.

Objectives

This assignment will help you to:

• Learn basic Web page design techniques and principles of effective Web rhetoric.
• Learn to develop and organize an argumentative essay in a non-linear media.
• Learn to effectively integrate and cite academic sources on a Web page.
• Develop strong paragraphing skills.
• Develop the interpersonal skills necessary to plan and execute a complex project in a group environment.

Due Dates

Technical Considerations

Just like an essay created with your word processor, Web pages are created with a text editor on your personal computer. However, instead of being printed out on paper, Web pages are uploaded to a Web server, a large computer system that allows your Web page to be accessed on the World Wide Web. As a student at UK you have free access to a Web server for storing your personal Web pages. This server is called the Student WEB Server (SWEB). We will discuss Web servers in more detail during our Web design workshop, but before then you will need to activate your personal account on the SWEB server. To activate your SWEB account, point your browser to the following URL:

Then click on "Need an Account? Make yourself one!" and follow the instructions.

Preparing Your Group Proposals

Each group will be required to submit a proposal outlining the topic of your Web site and listing the members of your group and their principle responsibilities. Your topic proposal is similar to the abstract you prepared for your last unit essay. It should be no less than a paragraph in length, and should show not just that you've come up with a topic, but that you've also thought about your project in some detail.

The following is an example of a focused topic proposal, along with a brief overview of how the work will be divided among the group's members.

Proposal
Philip K. Dick was a prolific writer of extraordinary intensity. Following a series of bizarre mystical experiences in 1974 in which he felt that God (or extraterrestrials) began revealing the secrets of the universe to him, Dick turned to Gnostic philosophy as the best representation of his changing perceptions of the world. This philosophy is brilliantly expressed in Dick's last novels, the mystical and autobiographical "Valis" trilogy. Our group is going to develop a Web site that examines the Gnostic allegory and themes of these mystical novels, and explores their roots in Dick's personal experiences.

Group
1. Gloria Knudson: Gloria is our group's coordinator. She is also our group's strongest writer, and will be responsible for editing each team member's contribution so that it integrates together and speaks with a unified "voice." Her primary research responsibility is Dick's personal life, in particular his mystical experiences.
2. Nicholas Brady: Nicholas will research non-internet sources of criticism relating to Dick's Valis novels. He will also have primary responsibility for creating the Web page.
3. Ferris Freemont: Ferris will research Gnosticism.
4. Linda Fox: Linda will research Internet sources relating to Dick's life and works. As an artist, she also will be responsible for obtaining graphics for the Web site, and will help Nicholas in the site's design.

Each group's topic must be unique. In other words, no two groups may work on the same or similar topics. If your group submits a topic proposal that is similar to another's, the group that sent their proposal first will be awarded the topic.

Once your topic is approved, I will ask you to post your proposal to the course listserv so that everyone will get an idea of what everyone else is doing.

Grading Criteria

Invention (50%)

• Are the textual components of your essay clearly written and effective in presenting the topic? Have you meet the assignment's length requirements?
• Have you used the required outside sources, and when using these sources, do you express their concepts fairly and accurately? NOTE: Failure to meet research requirements may result in an 'E' for the essay. Have you integrated quotes smoothly? If you are paraphrasing, do you use your own words yet still remain faithful to the author's original meaning? Have you documented your sources using MLA style on the Web page in which they are cited?
• Have you corrected any grammar, spelling, or punctuation errors?
• Have you included relevant links to other sites of interest?
• Is the project in your own words?
• Are there substantial changes between the final version and the draft of the Web page?

Organization (25%)

• Do you have an introductory page in which you provide an overview of you topic?
• Are your Web pages linked in a logical way that makes sense to your reader?
• Are your paragraphs focused and well developed? Have you revised for clarity and worked on eliminating wordy, unclear, and/or repetitive areas in your Web page? Have you included transitional words between sentences to make your ideas flow more smoothly?

Style (25%)

• Have you used graphics that are appropriate to your topic?
• Have you effectively integrated the graphical and textual elements of your page?
• Have you made effective use of headings?

Other Considerations

Except for extenuating circumstances, each Web page will be graded as a single project with all members of the group receiving the same grade. Whether you choose to work with others or not is up to you. If you do not, you will be considered a "group" of one, and you are responsible for the same activities as the other groups.

Remember, meeting the assignment's minimum criteria will insure that you get a 'C'. If you want or expect a higher grade you'll have to put in the extra effort. Links to each group's Web page will be posted to the People section of this Web page. Look at what your classmates are doing and you'll see what you're up against.

Working in Groups

As part of your topic proposal, each group should state each group member's duties on the project. All of you may decide to do everything together, or you may decide to break up the work, making certain members responsible for research, others for writing, and so on.

As you chose your groups, here are some things to consider:

• Choose your partners very carefully--you are stuck with them. If they don't do their job, you will have to pick up the slack because it's your grade that's at stake, too. Don't be afraid to say "no" to someone you think will be dead weight--if you don't, you will regret it later.
• As the point above makes clear, you should use caution in your choice of group members; if I had to choose, I'd pick people who come to class regularly, turn things in on time, are responsible, do careful work, etc. I'd also pick people who have differing strengths. Maybe you know someone who is good at organization, another who is a good researcher, someone who is a good writer, and you are good at editing and proofreading--a group like this would probably have a nice mix of strengths.
• Keep in touch with your group. Whether or not your group does well will probably have as much to do with organization and orchestration of meetings as with doing the actual work. And the dynamics of each group will be unique--some of you may prefer to meet regularly, while others of you may do almost everything by e-mail. In any event, it's important that you keep each other updated as to your progress. If someone is having difficulties, it's better to find out early while there's still time plan, than to find out at the last minute when the project is due. How you organize your responsibilities is up to you; however, groups that appoint a coordinator -- someone to keep track of everyone else's progress -- generally do better than those that don't.

If you run into group problems, I will be glad to help in any way that I can by giving suggestions and so on. However, what you make of your group is up to you. I will be available for consultation throughout the process, but I will mostly just stay out of the way and let you figure out your own group's dynamics. As will be true of your future employers, I'm not really concerned with how many hours you put in or how many times you meet--I will be evaluating you on the final product. Therefore, I'm giving you a good deal of freedom during this unit. Take advantage of it and show me what you can do when let loose!