for this assignment you will select an article of interest from those described in the List of Approved Articles for Writing and consider an idea expressed by the author that captures your attention and speaks to your interests.

For instance, if you have an interest in technology and the Internet, you might choose an article from the list such as:

• Cathleen A. Cleaver, "The Internet: A Clear and Present Danger?," page 312.
• Elizabeth Larsen, "Surfin' the Louvre," page 156.

The List of Approved Articles for Writing contains many exciting articles that appeal to a wide range of interests, so be sure to review it thoroughly. Also take the time to browse in the textbook itself the contents of the articles that seem appealing to you before you make a choice.

Before beginning this assignment, carefully and very thoroughly read through the Paragraph Your Passion Scoring Guide. Read and comprehend all categories in the scoring guide, asking your instructor if you have any questions about any element of these criteria.

To complete this assignment:

1. Browse the articles from the List of Approved Articles for Writing. Take some time to consider the article you will use for this paragraph as well as for your assignments later in the course. Read through the list several times, noting articles of interest to you.
2. Locate the articles in your textbook that seem most interesting, skim through several articles to make an informed choice, and select an article that truly appeals to you.
3. Read your chosen article thoroughly several times, taking notes on the single most interesting idea. Do not continue to the next step until you have located an idea in one of the textbook articles that truly excites you.
4. Carefully and thoroughly review the media piece Writing Effective Paragraphs. Take your time with this resource, taking notes, repeating the resource if necessary, and letting your instructor know if you have any questions at all about it. Do not finish or submit your paragraph until you have a very clear understanding of all elements of this resource.
5. Create a document in which you compose a single, well-structured paragraph. Including a viable, attention grabbing topic sentence, 3–5 rich sentences of supporting details, and a comprehensive concluding sentence, paying close attention to grammatical correctness and transitions for good flow. This paragraph should express your passion for the topic at hand and explain how and why the topic from the article is of interest to you, employing strong detail for reader appeal.
6. Keep in mind that in this paragraph, you are not writing about the article from your textbook itself; you are writing about only the idea that interests you and explaining why and how it interests you. In this particular assignment, you are expressing yourself—your passions—not what others have to say on the topic. For example, if you were to choose Elizabeth Larsen's "Surfin' the Louvre," you would not write your paragraph about what Larsen says. Instead, you will use the concepts in the article to create your own thought in good, rich detail, perhaps writing about why access to famous art online excites you. If you have questions or need help deciding which essay from the list would be best for you, consult your instructor.
7. In creating your document, remember to include proper APA formatting: title page, 1" margins, 12-point font, headers, pagination, and double spacing. You will find detailed instruction on these items, as well as an example of an APA-formatted essay, in your textbook A Writer's Reference, in the APA section under Manuscript Format, Sample Paper. For this assignment you are not using sources, so you will not need citations and references this week. However, you are required to format your document in proper APA style.

Here is the list of approved articles:

from The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers, 11th edition.

• "Cesar Chavez Saved My Life" by Daniel "Nene" Alejandrez, page 42.
• “Why We Still Need Feminism” by Casey Cavanaugh, page 66.
• “Declaration of Sentiment and Resolutions (Seneca Falls Resolution)” by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, et al., page 76.
• "Plagiarism in America" by Dudley Erskine Devlin, page 85.
• "The Effectiveness of the Transportation Security Administration" by Tanner Fox, page 130.
• "Surfin' the Louvre" by Elizabeth Larsen, page 156.
• "How Baseball Explains Modern Racism" by David Sirota, page 185.
• "How Male and Female Students Use Language Differently" by Deborah Tannen, page 199.
• "Debt by Degrees" by James Surowiecki, page 260.
• "An Open Letter to George M. Philip, President of the State University of New York at Albany" by Gregory Petsko, page 266.
• "The Argument Culture" by Deborah Tannen, page 302.
• "The Internet: A Clear and Present Danger" by Cathleen A. Cleaver, page 312.
• "Cyberbullying" by Jennifer Holladay, page 316.
• "Bullying as True Drama" by Danah Boyd and Alice Marwick, page 320.
• "Does the Internet Make You Dumber?" by Nicholas Carr, page 330.
• "Facebook Wrestles with Free Speech and Civility" by Miguel Helft, page 322.