Debate of the Decline in Leisure Reading

1. Project Description ENG 110 Objective Audience Purpose Voice Writing Process Lessons Learned Debate of the Decline in Leisure Reading Amanda Bittner Major: International Studies Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA ENG 110 Instructor: Dr. Pope-Ruark

2. Project Description • Task: • Investigate an issue related to our class book theme: “Social Interactions in a Technological Generation: Social, Personal, Professional, Global” • Report on this issue to the Fellows program and argue its relevance to the program’s future Project DescriptionENG 110 ObjectiveAudiencePurposeVoiceWriting ProcessLessons Learned

3. ENG 110 Objective • A more sophisticated understanding of the relationship of purpose, audience, and voice, and an awareness that writing expectations and conventions vary within the academy and in professional and public discourse Project DescriptionENG 110 ObjectiveAudiencePurposeVoiceWriting ProcessLessons Learned

4. Audience • For this assignment, hypothetically the directors of the Elon College Fellows program were my audience. I had to present an issue that was both important and relevant to the program—one that would affect either current or incoming students, or both. I chose to address the decline in leisure readingamong adolescents in my generation and what this phenomenon suggests for the future of the Elon College Fellows Program. • In order to successfully engage my audience in my work, as I wrote I aimed to maintain a formal, academic tone and utilize valid, reputable sources to support my points. Project DescriptionENG 110 ObjectiveAudiencePurposeVoiceWriting ProcessLessons Learned

5. Project DescriptionENG 110 ObjectiveAudiencePurposeVoiceWriting ProcessLessons Learned Purpose • The objective of the assignment was not to argue one side of the issue; rather, it was to offer the reader an absolute understanding of the two main opinions of this debate, prove that a valid argument surrounding this issue exists, and propose its overall relevance to the Fellows program. With this purpose in mind, in my paper I strived to investigate the benefits of leisure reading, determine the main cause of its decline, as well as thoroughly explain each side of the argument. • Online activity was found to be the main perpetrator in the decrease of pleasure reading among students. As a result, I centered my paper on arguments of whether leisure reading or Internet activity is more beneficial for students. vs.

6. voice • In addressing the directors of the Elon College Fellows program, clearly a formal academic tone must be maintained. Not only does this include usage of adequate vocabulary and clear organization of thoughts, but it also involves correct citations and utilization of sufficient, knowledgeable sources. • During my work on this project, I tried my best to keep these important points in mind in order to maintain a voice appropriate for my audience. Project DescriptionENG 110 Objective AudiencePurposeVoice Writing ProcessLessons Learned

7. Writing process • The challenges I faced in this assignment mostly occurred in the drafting stages. First, we had great freedom in choosing our topic for this project. This was difficult for me, because I am accustomed to writing papers that are a reaction to a reading or a specific prompt given by the professor. • I had to conduct several brainstorming exercises to arrive at my current thesis, a process of which I am not used to. Additionally, after arriving at my thesis, I was faced with the challenge of what to address in my project and how to go about organizing it. • High school certainly trained me to write five paragraph essays no matter the topic. As I progress through college writing, I am slowly learning other methods of organization so that my papers are more fitting for the topic I am addressing and also easier on the eyes of the reader. Project DescriptionENG 110 ObjectiveAudiencePurposeVoiceWriting ProcessLessons Learned

8. Lessons learned • Upon completing this assignment, I certainly learned about the decline in leisure reading among students my age and the benefits and detriments of this trend. I also learned about my own writing process and how truly important it is to keep the audience in mind when writing a paper. Before this assignment, I never really conducted brainstorming activities on my own in preparation for an assignment; rather, I would just sit down and begin writing. • Also, this was the first time I kept the reader in mind all throughout the paper so that everything I put forth served as useful information for the audience. Without at doubt, this assignment opened my eyes to the important steps I had been skipping in the past when it comes to good writing. Project DescriptionENG 110 ObjectiveAudiencePurposeVoiceWriting ProcessLessons Learned