Observing: the writing process

Assignment for observing

Do a piece of writing in which you observe a specific person, place, object, or event. Your goal is to show how specific, observed details create dominant ideas about the person, place, object, or event. Your ini¬tial purpose is to use your writing to help you observe, discover, and learn about your subject; your final purpose will be to show your reader what you have seen and learned.

Important: Repeated observation is essential. Choose some limited subject (a person or small group of people, a specific place, a single object or animal, or a recurring event) that you can reobserve over a period of several days during your writing process.