Writing Project 1: Exploring the Wisconsin Idea

In Sequence 1, students will practice observational, narrative, and analytical writing by writing about life as a college student and analyzing a campus event. These short assignments will build their skills in thinking critically about the connections between personal experience and wider societal contexts. For Writing Project 1, students will write a narrative essay exploring the Wisconsin Idea through historical context and personal reflection, considering their initial experiences and observations at UW-Madison. The goal is to articulate the significance of the Wisconsin Idea, understand how education influences lives beyond the classroom, and develop effective communication skills. This assignment will deepen students’ exploration of university life, its impact on their identities, and how these experiences shape their concept of the university.

Sequence 1 Learning Outcomes

• To identify, develop, describe, and discuss a concept or concepts through narrative
• To use personal observations or experiences and descriptive language rhetorically
• To evaluate narrative evidence and make decisions about how best to present it
• To practice writing as a process through planning, drafting, and revising
• To organize and develop your own ideas about a topic
• To learn to make choices for effective communication in a specific rhetorical situation
• To reflect on the writing process and explain rhetorical choices

Sequence 1 Short Assignments

Short Assignment 1: Life as a College Student

Short Assignment 2: Campus Review

Sequence 1 Writing Project/Midterm Portfolio

Writing Project 1: Conceptualizing the University Experience

Sample Midterm Portfolio Instructions

Writer’s Memo Guidelines

Additional Sequence 1 Writing Projects

Additional options for short assignments and writing projects can be found on the E100 LessonShare site (on Canvas) and/or the E100 BOX site.

Many teachers view the first sequence as an opportunity for students to work on their personal voice, and experiment with writing personal narratives. While this is often a connective approach for students new to the university, there are a number of different ways that you can incorporate these concepts of personal exploration and voice into your writing projects. In addition to the options above, you might consider some of the following suggestions.

• Ask students to engage in an autoethnography/literacy narrative of their writing, reading, education and literacy experiences. Asking them to focus on influences, or people in particular can be especially evocative. Drawing upon issues of identity and language is a connective way to get students thinking thoughtfully about their lives as writers and thinkers.
• Ask students to compose a personal essay for a school program, major, or group that they are interested in applying for. This brings to life the experience of using personal voice for a specific rhetorical purpose.
• Ask students to use their personal narrative to make an argument about something specific. Many of the suggestions above get at this concept, but one central tasks of the unit can be to use a specific event, experience, or moment to narrate a larger theme and connect with a wider audience. This moves the personal narrative beyond the confessional and refigures it as an important rhetorical tool to make an argument. For example, you can ask students to write a personal narrative history of a place or space, a family literacy history, or connect a narrative to a larger social and cultural theme or narrative.