"Segmented" Object Essay

Last class we read most of John McPhee's "The Search for Marvin Gardens" . We'll finish the essay today and discuss the different sections of McPhee's essay. What do they include? How do they fit together?  Some of the topics they include are:

• The history of Atlantic City
• The history of Monopoly
• The rules of Monopoly
• The current set of games being played
• Past games played between the same people
• The state of Atlantic City today
• The uniqueness of Marvin Gardens - the one location not in Atlantic City

Now it is your turn to write a similarly structured essay (but not nearly as long, unless you are feeling ambitious!). 

1. Look back at the list of objects we made on Monday. In case you weren't here or didn't write down the prompts, I asked you to list objects in these categories:
1. Objects you carry with you
2. Objects that represent your childhood
3. Objects that represent you in middle school
4. Objects that represent who you are now
5. Objects given to you by other people / handed down
6. Objects associated with a tradition / holiday / legacy
7. Object you most desire
2. Choose one of these to use as your focus
3. Do some research about your object - who invented / created it? who makes / produces it? A few quick Google / Wikipedia searches can tell you a lot! Save this information - you will use it for some of your writing.
4. You will be writing an essay in a similar format as McPhee's - I'll call it a "segmented essay."
1. Your essay will have at least 7 sections. 
2. Each one needs to be at least three sentences long, although they might not be in the form of traditional sentences (it could be a list, etc.). 
5. Here are some suggestions for sections, based on the list at the top of the page - the ones McPhee used in his essay
1. A section on the history of your object
2. A section on the history of an area / event / person related to your objecct
3. How you use your chosen object / its purpose / the rules behind it
4. What role the object plays in your life now / what it meant in the past
5. A detailed description of your object
6. A look at how your object was made / produced
7. A sense of the future of your object
6. You do not need to use all of these suggestions or keep them in the same order - feel free to expand / explore!
7. Don't worry at this point about how all of the pieces fit together. You could even treat each one as a separate piece of writing.
8. We'll start the work today in class. You will have all of class tomorrow (Friday) to continue to work on it.
9. When you are finished, please upload your work to turnitin.com