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World Literature: Storybook Introduction

In the past couple of weeks, you have done a lot of brainstorming about your Storybook project. Now you are ready to write the first draft of your Introduction. This week, you will write your draft and send it to the instructor. Then, next week, you will revise the Introduction and publish it online.

STEP ONE: Reading (20 minutes minimum). Depending on your topic, you should be using a single online source for your project in this class. If you are not 100% sure about the source you are using, contact the instructor before you proceed with this assignment. Then, you need to spent at least 20 minutes reading the book that you are using as your source. If you are not feeling comfortable working with your source material, now is the time to find another source! You need to make sure you understand the stories in your source, and that you are going to feel comfortable retelling the stories in your own words.

STEP TWO: Target two stories. When you are done reading, you should have targeted two stories that you are pretty sure you want to include in your Storybook. You can change your mind later if you want - but in order to proceed with this assignment, you need to have two stories selected. Your Storybook will ultimately contain four stories, and if you feel to choose tentatively all four stories now, please feel free to do that. You will find the rest of this assignment much easier to do if you have four stories in mind from the start.

STEP THREE: Decide on your storytelling strategy . Based on the brainstorming assignment you did last week, you need to have a plan in mind for how you will tell the stories in your Storybook. If you have come up with a totally new idea that was not included in the brainstorming assignment you did for Week 3, check with the instructor first to make sure your new strategy is going to work.

STEP FOUR: Research your topic (20 minutes minimum). You need to spend at least 20 minutes during some additional research on your topic. Just what kind of research you do will depend on your topic. The online book you are using as your source may have valuable information, and you might also do some research about the author of the book. You can do research about the geographical region(s) where your stories come from, or the historical period. You can do research about any specialized vocabulary associated with your topic. Do not assume you already know everything you need to know about your topic! There is always something new to learn - and you need to spend some time this week learning new things about your topic. If you are not sure how to do research on your topic, contact the instructor for some advice BEFORE you proceed with this assignment.

• Bibliography. If the information you are going to use forms part of "general knowledge" (something you can look up in an encyclopedia such as Wikipedia, or a dictionary), then you do not need to include any Bibliography information. If, however, you are using specialized information, then you do need to provide Bibliography information in the Introduction. Please review the notes about Bibliography to make sure you collect the necessary information.
• Tip: Save useful websites as favorites. As you do research for your Storybook, you may find some websites that will be useful later on, even if you are not going to use them for the Introduction. To make sure you can find them again, you should save all the useful websites as favorites in your browser. Most web browsers let you sort your favorites into folders, so you can create a folder for all the webpages you have bookmarked for your Storybook (source material, images, etc.).

STEP FIVE: Write your Introduction. You need to tell us about your topic, as well as introducing us to the stories you have tentatively chosen and your storytelling plan. You might also want to tell us something about the source you are using. This part of your Introduction needs to be 400-800 words long. You should prepare this document as you would a formal paper, making sure you spellcheck your work and proofread carefully. You need to format the Introduction in paragraphs, with each paragraph containing one main idea, with clear transitions from paragraph to paragraph. If you need some help, the tutors at the OU Writing Center on campus are a great resource!

• IMPORTANT: Use Composer to do this assignment. Next week, you will be publishing the Introduction online. So, it makes sense to write the Introduction in Composer now, saving the file in the webpage folder on your computer, and then publishing it next week, after you have revised it based on the instructor's comments and feedback.
• Be creative! Yes, you can be creative with the Introduction - just because it contains information, it doesn't have to be written in impersonal academic prose. For example, you can choose to write the Introduction already in the voice of the storyteller you will be using. In a Storybook with legends that involve roses, you could have a rose bush begin the Introduction. "Greetings, O human! As you can see, I'm a rose bush. It's true: a talking rose bush. Normally, I keep quiet, very quiet, but today, for some reason, I am inspired to tell you some stories about the role that roses have played in the world of human love stories. Ah, love... tell me: have you ever been in love?" (and so on).

OPTIONAL: Start your frametale. If you have a frametale, you can choose to start it here, in the Introduction. You can introduce us to the setting of your frametale, to the characters - and you can even get the action going. It all depends on what frametale you have chosen. If you choose to include part of the frametale in the Introduction, please do not exceed 1000 words total for the Introduction (400-800 words for the main part of the Introduction, plus whatever frametale material you choose to add). Here are some examples of Storybook Introductions where the frametale begins in the Introduction - although these are Introductions from the final versions of Storybooks; so don't be intimidated that they are much more complete than the draft of the Introduction you will be writing for this assignment.

When you are done, cut-and-paste the Introduction from Composer into an email, and send the Introduction to the instructor, with the Subject Line World Lit Storybook Introduction.