2011 Physics 280 Extra-Credit Essay Opportunity A (ECEO-A)

To qualify for this extra credit, you must attend Session One of the "Atomic Light in the Public Light" lecture and screening series. The first session is titled "The Mushroom Cloud & the Cinematic Imaginary" and will be at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, February 15th, at the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities, 805 West Pennsylvania Avenue, Urbana, IL. Click here for additional information.

This series is part of the Collaborative Research Projects Initiative of the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities and has additional support from the Program in Arms Control, Disarmament, and International Security (ACDIS), the Illinois Informatics Institute, and the College of Fine and Applied Arts. This session will have a panel discussion.

In order for us to be able to accept and grade your essay, you must sign the special sign-in sheet that will be at the back of the lecture room.

After attending this event, you must submit a report that summarizes it and assesses it critically. You will submit only one version (extra-credit essays are not revised).

Your report must be at least 1.5 pages but no more than 2.0 pages in length.

Your report should have the following structure:

• A brief introductory paragraph that explains what the event was about.
• One or two paragraphs that summarize the information and arguments presented by the speaker and the panel.
• One or two paragraphs that critically evaluate the information and arguments presented by the speaker and the panel.
• One or two paragraphs that mention information or arguments you found interesting or important and explain why they were interesting or important to you. Which information and arguments did you find persuasive? Unpersuasive?
• A closing paragraph that summarizes your main conclusion about the subject of the lecture.

Assume your audience is a typical University of Illinois student, but not a student in Physics 280. Begin each paragraph with a strong topic sentence and omit any information that is not essential for addressing the points listed above. Make your paragraphs clear, concise, and to the point. Avoid repetition and unnecessary words, especially adjectives and adverbs, and use active voice.

The Student Handbook provides complete guidance on how to format and submit an extra-credit essay and how the score you earn on an extra-credit essay is counted in computing your total course score. Be sure to review the writing assignment submission checklist in the Handbook before you turn in your essay!

In order to receive credit for your report, you must place it in the 280 Homework Box by 1:50 p.m. on Thursday, February 24th.