New York Times Informal Assignment
Read one or more issues of The New York Times during the 7 days prior to your presentation. Select one article that pertains to urban architecture, urban planning, or urban life. Write a 1 or 2 page paper explaining the article's relevance to the course and outlining its arguments. Express your opinion about the facts and issues reported. Bring the article and essay to class. Present a summary and your opinions on the subject (not to exceed 10 minutes). Each student will present one article over the course of the semester. We will determine a schedule at the beginning of the course. You may also elect to submit and present additional summaries of relevant Times articles in order to practice your writing and presentation skills and to improve your grade.

Informal Assignment 1
In Piecework Pete Hamill describes personal experiences of life in New York City. His nostalgic tone displays his preference for the New York of his youth and distaste for the state of the city today. Using Hamill's essay as a model, write about one specific experience you have had in a city to make a larger point about cities in general. See related reading.
Length: 600-850 words

Informal Assignment 2
After reading chapter 1 in Kevin Lynch's Good City Form, choose one or two of his ideas, conclusions or statements about cities that you find compelling or thought-provoking. Jot down your own responses and opinions about these issues. Write a paper that articulates your position and/or examines a related question of your own. Remember, every academic paper, no matter how "informal," must have a thesis and supporting evidence. As always, edit and proofread carefully.
Length: 800-1200 words

Informal Assignment 3
Read over Formal Assignment 1 and begin thinking about how to answer the question: In your opinion, what is a successful city? Spend 45 minutes to an hour jotting down your initial thoughts and observations with pen and paper. Be as informal and chaotic as you wish. Bring your notes to class.
Length: n/a

Informal Assignment 4
On Tuesday, we looked at several essays that won Mandell Essay Awards. Select one essay and write a paper that explores its strengths. Your response should be divided into at least two categories, such as argument and sentence structure, creativity and organization, or introduction and analysis. These are only suggestions; you can write about any of these, or you can select a new category. Need I say it? Edit & proofread!
Length: 800-1200 words

Informal Assignment 5
Scavenger hunt - in-class hand out.

Informal Assignment 6
This activity is designed to allow to be creative while at the same time letting you distance yourself from "bad writing" by parodying it. Hopefully this assignment will be an "exorcism" of sorts! You may either chose to parody any of the assignments we've had so far for class (except the scavenger hunt), or you may pick an entirely new topic. Do not use your past assignments as templates. Start with a blank document and write a bad essay from scratch. Before you begin, spend at least 15 minutes thinking about what bad writing is. Make a list; you might divide it into categories such as mechanics, grammar, evidence, and argument. Make sure your paper is rife with a variety of grammatical, mechanical, organizational and rhetorical problems.
Length: 800-1200 words

Informal assignment 7
So, you've been working diligently in the library collecting research materials and sources, right? I know you're wondering, "What should I do with this extensive bibliography I've compiled and all the detailed notes I've taken?" Here's your answer!
Annotate a bibliography of the sources you intend to use for your research paper. The bibliography should conform to the guidelines given in the Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. After each bibliographic title, write a short paragraph describing the basic content and arguments. Include two sentences explaining how the text is relevant to your research and how you intend to use it. I do not want a summary of the text; instead I want you to point out the central argument and discuss provocative, revealing and problematic style, evidence or content-related issues. The bibliography should include at least one primary source and a minimum of four secondary sources. The secondary sources should include at least one scholarly journal article (for example, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, American Institute of Architects Journal, Architectural History, Architectura. If you are unsure whether a journal is "scholarly enough," please contact me via email or ask me in class). For a good example of an annotated bibliography, visit this web site.
Should you edit & proofread? But of course!
Length: Each entry should be 250 - 400 words.

Informal Assignment 8
After reading chapter 16 in John Rep's The Making of Urban America, choose one or two of his ideas, conclusions or statements that you find compelling or thought-provoking. Jot down your own responses and opinions about these issues. Write a paper that articulates your position and/or examines a related question of your own. Remember, every academic paper, no matter how "informal," must have a thesis and supporting evidence. As always, edit and proofread carefully.
Length: 800-1200 words

Informal Assignment 9
Write a respnse paper to chapter 8 of The Park and the People.
Then what? Edit & proofread!
Length: 800-1200 words

Informal 10
Write a response paper to Robert Butler's "The City as Liberating Space."
Last time! Edit & proofread!
Length: 800-1200 words