Connecting Real-Life Issues and Writing Courses: A Few Sample Topics for Essays and Research Papers

A great way to motivate students to conduct research and to write with true enthusiasm and passion is to let them select writing prompts that relate to everyday life and occurrences, and which give them an opportunity to express their point of view. Engaging students in issues they care about, and making sure that the topics are current and up-to-date helps writers avoid the problem of cliched responses, stale statistics, and a flat emotional appeal. Further, guiding students away from cliched, standard prompts may help eliminate copying and pasting and retrieving canned papers from repositories.

1. Human Encroachment and Animal Maulings (why are so many people mauled by bears, etc each year?)

A. Opening -- an illustrative example. Show an example. Follow with a thesis statement and overview.
B. What is going on? What is the problem? Describe it. (Use current examples, and cite sources. The examples should be real. If they are composites or hypothetical examples of what could have likely occurred, be sure to mention so.)
C. What is the extent of the problem? Provide statistics and examples. (use reliable sources, and try to obtain the original statistics, not a watered down version from an excerpt or press release)
D. What are possible explanations? Provide two sides of the story. What do you think?
E. What can be done? Describe possible solutions. What are some communities doing? Do you agree? What would you do?
F. Conclusion (more than a summary) -- Restate what you believe to be the most urgent aspects of the situation, and the most pressing moral or ethical dilemmas. Discuss what you think would be the best approach.

Brown Bears in Kamchatka

2. When Pets Become Predators: What Happens when "cute" and "exotic" pets are released into the "wild" (aka the neighborhood) by their overwhelmed owners?

A. The Nightmare Scenario -- worst case situation (!) Opening -- an illustrative example. Show an example. Follow with a thesis statement and overview.
B. What is going on? What is the problem? Describe it. (Use current examples, and cite sources. The examples should be real. If they are composites or hypothetical examples of what could have likely occurred, be sure to mention so.)
C. What is the extent of the problem? Provide statistics and examples. (use reliable sources, and try to obtain the original statistics, not a watered down version from an excerpt or press release)
D. What are possible explanations? Provide two sides of the story.
E. Common responses and solutions: what are communities doing? Do you agree? why or why not?
F. Ethical Dilemmas: What are some of the issues?
G. The Ethics of the "Easy Answer" -- is the easiest, most expedient solution the most ethical one? Why or why not?
H. What might happen in the future?
I. Conclusion (more than a summary) -- Restate what you believe to be the most urgent aspects of the situation, and the most pressing moral or ethical dilemmas. Discuss what you think would be the best approach.

Pet Boa That Swallowed the Family Cat

3. The New Homelessness in America: Mortgage Crisis Consequences on Families

A. The Faces Behind the Statistics -- Did you know...? Opening -- an illustrative example. Show an example. Follow with a thesis statement and overview.
B. What is going on? What is the problem? Describe it. (Use current examples, and cite sources. The examples should be real. If they are composites or hypothetical examples of what could have likely occurred, be sure to mention so.)
C. What is the extent of the problem? Provide statistics and examples. (use reliable sources, and try to obtain the original statistics, not a watered down version from an excerpt or press release)
D. What are possible explanations? Provide two sides of the story.
E. Common responses and solutions: what are communities doing? Do you agree? why or why not?
F. Ethical Dilemmas: What are some of the issues?
G. The Ethics of the "Easy Answer" -- is the easiest, most expedient solution the most ethical one? Why or why not?
H. What might happen in the future?
I. Conclusion (more than a summary) -- Restate what you believe to be the most urgent aspects of the situation, and the most pressing moral or ethical dilemmas. Discuss what you think would be the best approach.

The New Homeless: The Mortgage Crisis and It Human Impact

4. New Homelessness in America: The Pet Face of the Crisis (Princess Chunk, etc.)

A. "Left Behind" -- and it's not a very nice place to be... if you're a cat, dog, ferret, or iguana...
Opening -- an illustrative example. Show an example. Follow with a thesis statement and overview.
B. What is going on? What is the problem? Describe it. (Use current examples, and cite sources. The examples should be real. If they are composites or hypothetical examples of what could have likely occurred, be sure to mention so.)
C. What is the extent of the problem? Provide statistics and examples. (use reliable sources, and try to obtain the original statistics, not a watered down version from an excerpt or press release) .
D. What are possible explanations? Provide two sides of the story.
E. Common responses and solutions: what are communities doing? Do you agree? why or why not?
F. Ethical Dilemmas: What are some of the issues?
G. The Ethics of the "Easy Answer" -- is the easiest, most expedient solution the most ethical one? Why or why not?
H. What might happen in the future?
I. Conclusion (more than a summary) -- Restate what you believe to be the most urgent aspects of the situation, and the most pressing moral or ethical dilemmas. Discuss what you think would be the best approach.

Princess Chunk

San Francisco Zoo Mauling and "Endangered" (1997)

What makes some stories catch on, while others do not? How and why do certain cultural narrative ring true? This post continues the contemplation of the San Francisco Zoo's escaped tiger and the 1997 play, "Endangered." Please see Part I of this story.

Please disregard the wind noise -- a storm was coming in at Wailea Beach in Maui.

SF Zoo Mauling and a 1997 Play: Life Imitating Art

I am always amazed at the way that certain issues resurface and renew themselves in the new times, circumstances, and contexts. At the same time, it's interesting to see how life imitates art -- not just in visions of the future (science fiction) or heinous crimes (action-adventure and crime drama), but in other areas as well. In 1996, I wrote a couple of plays featuring animals. The first, Let Dogs Lie, explored the parallels between using animals to test surgical procedures for humans and relationships between people. The second, Endangered, probed the nature of being not only captive, but having one's captivity be the subject of spectacle. It, too, explored parallels between animals in captivity and people in awkward situations (families, relationships, the past).

Because of the recent mauling death of a teenager who was visiting the San Francisco Zoo, and who was mauled to death by an escaped Siberian tiger, I thought I'd take this opportunity to provide links to the play (with podcasts), together with a few thoughts.

Endangered: A play about large cats in zoos and zoo patrons. First published by Potes and Poets Press in 1997, and performed at St. Gregory's University in the spring of 1998.

Endangered: Part I
http://fringejournal.blogspot.com/2005_09_28_archive.html

Endangered: Part II
http://fringejournal.blogspot.com/2005_09_29_archive.html

Endangered: Part III
http://fringejournal.blogspot.com/2005_09_30_archive.html

Please email me (Susan Smith Nash - http://www.beyondutopia.com) if you're interested in finding out how you can obtain copies of the other play, and also license a production. My email: beyondutopia at gmail dot com

Recommended experimental poetics sites:

Tinfish

Chaxblog

Swoonrocket

Light & Dust

Small Press Traffic

Avec Books