Weather and Society

Writing Assignments

A Weather Story

Please revise your weather story according to the comments you received on Thursday and turn in your final draft on Thursday, September 5. Your complete assignment consists of:
1. Your printed final draft
2. Your original draft with comments from your peers
3. Electronic copies of both your initial and final drafts uploaded via Moodle

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Godfrey.

Here is the original assignment:

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Write a short story (3–5 pages) that describes a time when weather affected you or your family (e.g., snow day, picnic, storms, accidents, etc.). Please follow these guidelines as you compose your story:

1. Narrate your story using the first-person point of view.
2. Explain
   1. what kind of weather plays a role in your story,
   2. why the weather played that role, and
   3. how you dealt with the consequences of the weather event.
3. Compare how your reactions may be similar or different for others who may experience a similar event by considering the response of either other individuals (e.g., the neighbors, your church, your sports team, someone far away) or large groups (e.g., a town, city, state, nation, the world). For example, I might write, "As I observed the school bus emerge through the falling snowflakes, I felt the sting of disappointment knowing that I would have to attend school after all. The school administrators may have had their own interests at heart as they made the decision to hold classes rather than announcing the twenty-seventh snow day this year." Then I would explain why I have come to this conclusion.

As always, correct spelling and grammar are expected, as well as a professional style. (Hey, u know, like, don't be doin' none of this stuff.) Please be sure to address each of the three guidelines listed above within your story. Your grade will depend upon the degree to which you meet these requirements. Write the story with the other students in this class as your intended audience. As you write, you may wish to consider in particular the list of weather influences on our society that we discussed in class.

I recommend that you have a friend read your story before you hand it in to me. In fact, I'll give you 10 extra points if you write me a one-page note telling me a) which of your friends read it, b) what he or she said about the story, and c) how you improved the story as a result of those comments. You will not receive any extra points if you did nothing to improve the story.

This assignment is due in class on Thursday, August 29. Bring a printed copy of your story to class and upload your document on Moodle.