Writing About the Polar Regions



by

Mark Hoskisson



Introduction

You should now be familiar with many aspects of how people perceive and communicate about the arctic and antarctic regions. You should also have a sense of your own perceptions, developed over the course of your readings, responses, and group discussions. You are ready to go on to the final phase of this unit. By synthesizing the information you have gathered up to this point and combining it with a scenario from your imagination, you will produce your own creative writing project around the theme of the polar regions.

The Task

Your assignment this week is to use the research from the past two weeks to write about your own perceptions and feelings about the polar regions. You will write several short essays based on reflections of your personal experiences, then produce an original work of creative writing. You will then refine this work through writer's workshops with classmates, ultimately producing a polished final copy.


Resources

For help with making your writing flow better click here.
This website will take you to your choice of websites about writing style.
Writer's Resources This site provides interesting links to many aspect of writing.
More Writing tips
Tips on building character, plot and setting
Poetry writing tips
Journal writing tips.

The Process

Step 1

You will brainstorm on each of the prompts below. Think about adventures you have had or times you explored a place you had never been before when responding to the prompts. The prompts are followed by a set of questions you should use in your prewriting to develop ideas and details for an essay.

1) Describe a time when you were lost or completely disoriented.
What details can you use to describe the situation and environment?
Were you alone?
When did you first realize that you were lost?
What was your first reaction?
How did you feel? Were you afraid?
How did you manage to "find" your way back? Did someone help you?
Did you recognize any landmarks or tools to help you?
What did you learn about yourself during this experience?

2) Describe the coldest you have ever been in your life.
What details can you use to describe the situation and environment?
What made it different than other times you have been cold?
Were you afraid?
Did you lose any feeling in your limbs?
Could you see your breath?
What was the weather like?
How long did you stay in this environment before you could warm yourself?
How did you warm yourself finally?
What did you learn about yourself during this experience?

3) Describe the lonliest experience you have ever had.
What details can you use to describe the situation and environment?
Were you afraid?
What's the difference between being alone and being lonely?
What made you feel so lonely that was different from other times you felt alone?
How long did this experience of feeling lonely last?
What did you learn about yourself during this experience?

4) Describe a time when you believed there were things around you that weren't really there.
What details can you use to describe the situation and environment?
what did you think you saw?
Was it dark or light? Were you tired?
Did your misperception result in any unusual behavior?
How do you account for your misperceptions?
How did you realize you were mistaken or hallucinating?
Did this experience change the way you view other perceptions you have?

Step 2

Choose one of the above prompts (or combine two or more) and write a rough draft of at least two pages to share with a writer's workshop group comprised of 4-5 other classmates. Using the "How to hold a writer's workshop" page, share your essays and comment on each other's work. Go back and revise your essay into a final draft, taking into account the suggestions of your group.

Need some tips on writing? Check out the Paradigm On-line Writing Assistant

Step 3

Now it is time to create an original piece of writing from one of the following assignments:

1) Imagine you are on a journey to one of the poles. Keep a journal that begins with a brief description of where you are going, whether you are alone or with others, what equiptment you are bringing, and the reason for your journey. Then make dated journal entries describing your ordeals, including the sights, sensory details, and emotions you experience along the way. 2) Write a short story themed around the polar regions. This may be a science fiction fantasy, a story about a journey, or an account of life in the a polar environment. Concentrate on incorporating accurate, vivid details of the environments your characters encounter, as well as insights into their personal thoughts and emotions. Think about what experiences your characters will have, how the story will develop, and, ultimately, how it will end.

3) Write a series of three or four shorter poems or one longer (three pages or more) poem that deal with images and emotions you associate with the polar regions. Concentrate on the details you have discovered in the previous weeks from both your individual and group work. Try to keep your poem tight and fresh by carefully choosing your words and eliminating those that are unnecessary or disrupt the flow of your poem. Read your poem out loud to yourself and listen for the way words sound together. Does the way the poem sounds and reads convey the tone you want?

If you need help with some aspect of your writing, check out the websites listed above under "Resources."

Step 4

Divide into writer's workshop groups again and workshop your creative writing following the same guidelines as before. After making notes of your classmates suggestions, write and turn in a final draft of your work.


Evaluation

Your grade for the week will be based on the following criteria:

1) The overall quality of the writing assignments based on prewriting, rough draft, and final product. Though the main emphasis will be on content (descriptiion, detail, word choice, structure and organization), grammatical and mechanical errors will be taken into account as well.

2) Participation in writer's workshop groups. This will include whether you were engaged in evaluating other group members' writng and making useful suggestions, as well as listening to and considering the suggestions they make about your work. This will be determined partially by the teacher and partially by how other members of your group feel about your contribution to all group activities.


Conclusion

This unit has taken you from learning about writers' perceptions, to developing your own ideas and language to communicate a personal view of the polar regions. If successful, you will have gained knowledge, not only about the physical properties of Arctic and Antarctic, but, more importantly, the role they have played in human thought and imagination throughout time. Hopefully, this knowledge will leave you with a deeper understanding of how the polar environments represent a connection, both externally and internally, to your world.




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