Paper Three

900-1100 words

Written in class 11/3

 "We think with our eyes" (238): this quote from Beckwith characterizes much of what we've been talking about lately in CRTW.  To it, we might add the idea that we can "fake it til we are it."  In this paper, you will need to do a little research and come up with an opinionated thesis statement about the ways in which we are affected by design and/or nonverbal communication.

First, rewatch the two Ted Talks I'll send you through the listserv, Emily Pilloton's "Teaching for change" and Amy Cuddy's "Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are."  Look back through some of your favorite examples from Beckwith.  Then decide on one, specific product, design, or other form of nonverbal communication that you want to investigate further.

Buliding on these ideas about nonverbal communication and/or design, think about places in your own field or a hobby you have, or an interest you love spending time on where a biological connection between what we see, or the posture that we adopt, and our physcial well-being might be made.  Do some prewriting using the elements and standards, some of which will later show up in your paper.

Next, narrow your stance; consider the evidence and take a stance about the importance or lack of importance of making decisions about design/what we take in through our eyes/our physical stance and our emotional and/or physical well-being.  Back up this stance with examples from real life, from your research into your field/interest/hobby, from the book, and/or form the Ted Talks.  You will need to use at least one source in this paper to back up your opinions and can use more.  Make sure you come in with the MLA works cited entries for your sources.

Your paper should have an introduction with a thesis statement, a body where you analyze examples and address a weak point (see Nosich), and a conclusion that answers the big "So what?"

You may bring one page of notes, two-sided, which can include complete sentences ONLY IF THEY ARE FROM YOUR SOURCES and should also include your thoughts, written in non-complete sentences.