Putting Evidence Together with Our Interpretations

Assignment created by Justin Greene (Department of English)

Other Assignments In This Series

This assignment is the third week of a five-week series, usually used during the eighth week of the term. The Reading Spaces series is usually preceded by the Personal Narrative series and then the Rhetorical Analysis of Generative AI series.

Introduction

Now that you’ve chosen your reading space and collected visual evidence, it’s time to start drafting your photo essay. This informal assignment will help you organize your thoughts and begin the writing process.

Outcomes

Rhetorical Knowledge, Genre Conventions, Writing Processes, Multimodal Transformation

Activities

  1. Write a 750-word draft of your photo essay, incorporating at least 3 of your collected photographs with captions. This draft should include:

    • An engaging, creative title for your essay
    • An introduction that sets up your chosen reading space
    • A tentative thesis statement about the meaning of “reading” and the importance of your chosen space for reading
    • Description and analysis of at least 3 photographs, including:
      • At least 1 establishing shot of your reading space
      • At least 1 close-up shot of a specific object or detail
      • At least 1 medium shot providing context
    • 1–3 sentence captions for each photograph
    • Initial analysis of how your space and the objects within it relate to your understanding of “reading”
  2. Follow this writing advice as you draft your photo essay:
    • Focus on describing and analyzing your space and the reading activities that occur there.
    • Consider how different types of “reading” (e.g., books, digital media, environmental cues) happen in your chosen space.
    • Try to go beyond surface-level observations to provide deeper insights about your space and its significance to your reading habits.
    • This draft is a starting point. Don’t worry about perfection – the goal is to get your initial ideas down and begin structuring your essay. We’ll refine and expand this draft as we progress through the project.
  3. For your weekly submission, turn in your 750-word draft with 3 photographs and captions.
  4. Prepare for next week, when we’ll engage in peer review to help you further develop your ideas and prepare for the final 1500–2000-word essay with 6 photographs.

 

Last Updated on July 8, 2025