Assignment #1: What Lying Means To Me

Essay 1 – The Lies We Live

“We lie. We all do. We exaggerate, we minimize, we avoid confrontation, we spare people’s feelings, we conveniently forget, we keep secrets, we justify lying to the big-guy institutions. Like most people, I indulge in small falsehoods and still think of myself as an honest person. Sure I lie, but it doesn’t hurt anything. Or does it?” -- Stephanie Ericsson in “The Ways We Lie”

Write an essay of 4-5 pages using Stephanie Ericsson’s article, “The Way We Lie.” 

Ericsson breaks down lies into 10 separate categories. Your assignment is to do this: 

1. Based on Ericsson’s thinking, summarize the role lies play in our daily lives. You must personalize this, so that there is evidence you speak at least from some experience.
2.  Think of several of Ericsson's categories, and find one kind of lie you think plays a constructive role, one which plays a destructive role, and one which many people think is bad but which you yourself think is a good one to have available.
3.  Then you should think about lying in your own life: What lies do you rely on? Are the lies you tell harmful to others even if they serve your own ends? Do you try not to lie? What people or institutions taught you how to look at lying? Do you now or have you ever struggled not to lie? Could you make it through a week without telling a lie? What is the biggest lie you ever told? Why did you tell it? Have you ever regretted telling a lie?

To earn a passing grade, your essay should include:

1. A title!
2. An introduction that identifies your article and sets up your argument about the article.
3. A thesis that evaluates what you want to say in your essay.
4. Effectively organized paragraphs with strong topic sentences and transitions.
5. Examples from the article (summaries and paraphrases in your own words and sentence structure, as well as some brief, correctly integrated direct quotations).
6. A conclusion that provides closure to the essay and considers the implications of the argument. Remember that in your essay YOU MUST reference Ericsson's article at leasts once.
7. Consistent, correct use of MLA style, including
1. Proper MLA in-text citations for all paraphrases and direct quotations from the article.
2. A Works Cited page in correct MLA format (which does NOT count towards your page minimum) since you will be quoting from your article (see pp. 387-96). Your only source will be your article. No other research is allowed. 
8. Adherence to the conventions of standard written English.

Prewriting:

1. Read the article over carefully a few times. 
2. Freewrite on your thoughts.  Be specific.
3. Write a possible thesis statement for your essay.

Due Dates: 

Prewriting (5 points): Thursday, 9/25 - To receive full credit, you must bring your prewriting to class and participate in the prewriting/outline workshop. No credit for late prewriting!

Rough Draft (5 points): Thursday, 10/2 - Your rough draft must be typed and double-spaced (Be sure to save it somewhere you can easily find it. If you don’t have your own computer, email it to yourself!).  To receive full credit, you must bring your draft to class and participate in the draft workshop. No credit for late drafts!

Final Draft (90 points): A paper copy due in class Thursday, 10/9 and uploaded to Turnitin.com before class. Please put your final draft in this order: (1) clean, revised draft of your essay, (2) rough draft with peer comments on it, (3) the peer review sheets your group gave you, and (4) your prewriting. Please do not put your paper in any kind of folder. A corner staple will be fine. 

Before you turn in your essay, you will be given 5-10 minutes to write a brief cover letter for your paper (you may prepare your cover letter in advance, if you wish). In your cover letter, you should reflect on your writing process and identify what you were trying to achieve with your essay, what you feel you did well, and/or what you had trouble with.  A