Expository Diagnostic (Writing about a Favored Store/Eatery)

Use the rest of the class to write about one of the following topics. You can also polish this piece. Remember, what you develop in this assignment becomes your Expository Essay Final Draft, so work diligently on it.

In general, choosing a more specific place will probably be more helpful (e.g. Sephora or MAC versus all of Ala Moana). Also, choosing a store or eatery you are more familiar with might be easier than one that you do not frequent/have never been to. As much as possible, be careful about making a bland report. You are trying to balance a report with what you FEEL about your topic as well. I refuse to read a simple report ripped from Wikipedia about the history of your store—I want a blend of public and private knowledge for your topic.


As usual, please be mindful of the following:

 Develop the material using invention strategies like listing, brainstorming, or outlining.
 Compose a strong, limited topic sentence without plagiarizing the topic prompt. Make the topic sentence the first sentence in your paragraph
 Write a rough draft that arranges your supporting material in an effective pattern and ends with a clincher sentence.
 Be specific. When appropriate, use examples such as names, dates, or locations. Vivify using details, if possible.
 Use clear transitions between structural elements.

(please keep in mind that this is ONLY a rough idea, not even a complete draft; as such, you shouldn't get stressed-out about whether or not your topic will be successful, especially at this early stage)

Primary Topics:

Write in the voice of a place or space in Waikīkī that experiences tension (environmental, physical, interpersonal, cultural, etc.) or that seems threatened in some way. (CREATIVE WRITING)

OR

Write a standard topic proposal in which you might focus your ideas in a more scholarly fashion about a place in Waikīkī that experiences tension (environmental, physical, interpersonal, cultural, etc.) or that seems threatened in some way. In this case, you would write in a standardized essay-based format. Please refer to the student-learning outcomes below to see what this option entails. (ACADEMIC WRITING)

Secondary Topics:

Place Suggestions
"My Shopping Expedition": After you have gone on a field trip to your favorite store at one of the local malls (or mall on the mainland or around the globe), identify the core vibe that that store possesses. What are the expository, descriptive, and narrative elements that give that store that vibe?
"My Favorite Eatery": After you have gone on a field trip to a specific eatery of your choice, identify the core vibe that that location possesses. Attempt to distinguish between past and present. What are the expository, descriptive, and narrative elements that give that place a particular vibe? You do not need to treat this assignment as a Restaurant Review in which you give a final verdict, but that's entirely up to you.
"My Hated Store/Hated Eatery": Sometimes, the exact opposite or negative feeling regarding a corporation or restaurant can be just as powerful. After you have done some field research at a reviled store or eatery, you may choose to identify the core NEGATIVE vibe that the store/eatery possesses. What are the expository, descriptive, and narrative elements that make you despise that place?

 

Tertiary Topics:

The following are alternative topics that students have also selected in the past. These should be considered ABSOLUTELY LAST RESORT topics, meaning that you should ideally choose from the three topics above. If you choose these ALTERNATIVE TOPICS, my expectation is that you will fully conference with me verbally, in-person, your rationale as to why your topic selection satisfies assignment parameters.

 1. Where are you originally from? What do you feel about this place and why do you feel that way?
 2. What is the one place that most "defines" who you are (ethnically, culturally) or who you want to be? Why is this place so integral to your character?
 3. What is a place that you are mildly familiar with, but wouldn't mind finding out more? Why are you interested in that place?
  5. What is the spookiest place you have ever been, and what makes it frightening? Try to be descriptive.
 6. Come up with a topic of your own, keeping in mind that you should be writing about a place that can actually be visited (e.g. Utopia, Brigadoon, the land of disco monkeys will not be acceptable). In previous semesters, some students have chosen interesting fictional places, or even thought about their MySpace page as a "virtual" place where they enjoy themselves.