Background: Rather than arguing in favor of the cultural myth that occupational, financial, or social success is directly associated with a Bachelor's Degree, Murray chooses to identify and provide ample reasons for students to reconsider going to college for a four year degree. He explains that many students do not need a degree, and he claims that the decision to go to college is most frequently grounded in misaligned ambitions.
You have all made the choice to pursue your B.A., and some of you have claimed that you plan on going further still, to obtain a PhD. I don't want to question your motives for getting a degree and suggest that you drop out of school. However, for this project, you're going to help me understand you are intrinsic or extrinsic motivations for getting a degree by writing a literacy narrative.
Assignment: Respond to Murray's essay by telling the story of your choosing to be a college student. Remember to highlight 2-3 "big moments" in your life as you talk about your influences, motives, and goals.
Requirements:
? Descriptive language and meaningful examples
? MLA page settings
? Purposeful use of Murray's work
? 3-4 pages
Terms: The literacy narrative genre's central purpose is to enable writers to tell the story of their learning a new skill or constructing beliefs. Some "moves" this genre employs are: introducing and providing a clear explanation of the writer's belief or skill, using chronological organization to create a timeline of their development, selecting and presenting vivid examples along the writer's timeline, making sure that readers understand when the writer had their "Ah-ha!" moment, and explaining how the writer plans to use or develop their skill or belief in the future.