CLA 1001 Assignments

Cultural Event Response Paper
0-3 points
due November 10th
3 pages minimum

Attend a cultural event on campus (music, drama, lecture, or something like that). Write a 3-page paper that explains what the event was, when it took place and where. Would you recommend this event to a friend (or enemy)? Explain the appeal or the lack thereof.

Major Exploration Report
0-10 points
reports due on November 3rd.
3 pages minimum

Choose a potential major at UMD. Write a 3-page overview of the requirements for the major, career possibilities resulting from it and advantages and disadvantages associated with choosing this major.

Major Exploration Presentation
0-5 points
presentations begin on October 27th
approximately 5 minutes

Use this presentation to present information about the major that you are writing about for the major exploration report. You may use this time to argue in favor of or in opposition to a particular major at UMD. You may also choose to collaborate with classmates on this presentation. A group can incorporate a debate about the merits of a particular major into its presentation, or it can compare related majors from different group members. Of course, the more people there are in the group, the more time I expect the presentation to take.

In-Class Debate
0-5 points
debates begin on November 3rd
debate times depend on number of participants and overall interest in the activity

Members of each debate team work together to craft arguments for and against particular policies at UMD or in the larger university community. Teams then argue their respective cases in front of the class, and the class then votes on which side it found more persuasive.

Possible topics include: humanities vs. sciences, state-support of public universities, continued implementation of the Learning Communities at UMD, and other topics that the class thinks up.

Section 10 Website
0-10 points
to be completed by December 8th
150 words, one picture, and one link per student in each group

Okay, so what would you tell next year's incoming students if you could tell them anything? This is your chance to send them a message about what to expect and how to get by in their first semester at UMD. This project will become part of the CLA1001, Section 10 web page and should remain visible to the public for quite a while.

Students may work individually or in groups.

I will allocate time in class for groups to plan and write submissions to the web page and hold one or two classes in computer labs to facilitate this project.

Students may use this project to discuss anything about UMD including the Learning Community program. What appears on the final webpage is subject to my approval, of course, but I will post pretty much anything within reason. I will not approve of the posting of material that could lead to lawsuits or offend community standards.

Groups can submit web-pages fulfilling the above requirements on a disk or as an e-mail attachment. I will schedule at least one class in a computer lab to go ever the basics of Dreamweaver or Adobe Page Mill and to give groups a chance to complete the project, if necessary.

Opinion Piece
0-20 points
Due December 5th
Students must consult with me by November 8th to use this assignment to get points.
7 page
7 sources (3 of which may be online sources)

Assignment guidelines available upon request.