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SSCI 315 – Death, Dying and Bereavement Writing Assignment #2 Professor Matthew P. Binkewicz, MA, FT WRITING ASSIGNMENT #2 TOPIC: Write a Eulogy for a Friend or Family Member (Worth 35% of Course Grade). DO NOT WRITE YOUR OWN EULOGY. PREPARING TO WRITE: 1) If you do not have a friend or family member who has passed away to compose this eulogy for, then please write this eulogy referring to yourself – what would you want someone to say about YOU? 2) Review this information, your Paper Grading Rubric and the syllabus information in Brightspace. 3) Read Chapters 1, 2 and 3 in the class textbook. 4) Read eulogies you can find online to acquaint yourself with as many examples as possible. 5) Watch the video in Brightspace featuring Melissa Manchester from the SUNY Canton Writing Center and Kaitlyn Patenaude from the Southworth Library on how to cite and reference and how to find legitimate research resources. NOTE: This video is slightly dated in that APA has been updated to version 7. Please refer to the Purdue OWL link in Brightspace or ask the Writing Center about version 7. 6) Consider meeting with someone from the Writing Center with writing, citations, and references. DUE DATE: 11:59 pm EDT on Wednesday, October 4, 2023. LENGTH AND FORMAT: • APA format only, with title page, 1” margins all around, double-spacing, and reference page. See Purdue OWL website or consult with the Writing Center for samples and assistance. • 3 pages maximum, NOT including the title page or reference page. Please be concise and not exceed the 3 pages or the entire assignment may be rejected. Quality is more important than quantity! CITATIONS AND REFERENCES: 1 Any source that you use that you did not create (including our course textbook) is required to be cited and referenced. The course textbook is considered an academic source and should be cited and referenced in APA as a book. From the textbook, you could refer to some aspect of grief and loss or how a funeral/memorial service can begin the journey of grief through mourning-the public expression of grief and loss. Please do NOT simply repeat what you may have used in the obituary assignment. This assignment is different! For this assignment, you are required to use: • Minimum of two (2) sources cited and referenced in APA, with one source being our course textbook. • In APA, remember that the reference page is on a new page following the end of your paper. • Every citation you use in each assignment must have full referencing information in the reference page. If you read something but did not cite it in the assignment, it does NOT get referenced. If you DID cite something in your assignment, you MUST reference it. • You must use Grammarly.com. It is free and available at the Canton Library page. Do not turn in an error-filled assignment. • GRAMMAR, PUNCTUATION, SPELLING ARE IMPORTANT. HOW TO SUBMIT: Upload your assignment in the drop box in the Brightspace Assignment Folder. GUIDELINES: What is a eulogy? A eulogy is a speech in praise of a person who has recently died. The word derives from the Greek “eulogia,” roughly translated as good words of praise. It is helpful to remember the reason for the eulogy. You are paying homage to the deceased, acknowledging the importance of a unique life, and capturing some of the memories left behind. If you prepare the eulogy with this in mind and you deliver it with honesty, love, and respect, you can’t go wrong. 1. How to Proceed with this Assignment The most memorable eulogies paint a portrait of a complete life. To do justice and honor someone’s life in a short time, you need to include the following: 2 • Highlights: Major accomplishments and significant events. • Attributes: What was the person like? • Memories: Special moments that give insight and evoke emotion. As you are preparing the eulogy, keep in mind that you may be dealing with your own grief so that the process may become emotional. If you need to, take a break to let yourself work through your feelings. You’ll be able to get back to it once you have caught your breath. During each step of the process, you might make note of where you can place a citation that captures your feelings, explains grief and loss or highlights an important theory in bereavement. Spend time with family and friends sharing stories, telling tales, and reflecting on the life of the deceased. Ask questions so that you get a full picture of the person’s life—from the happy to the funny, to the unusual. Jot down key highlights that might give you inspiration as you begin to write. Write down your impressions and stories that might work well for the occasion. Note what was important to the deceased. How did they like to spend time? Did they have hobbies? Did they have special interests? Was there music that was special, food, or certain activities? Don’t leave anything out. Right now, you are just trying to capture ideas, memories, and perspectives. 2. Develop a Theme Start thinking about how the various stories might fit together. Keep the personality of the deceased in mind. There are a variety of themes that may begin to surface. Often times, a eulogy will contain a blending of themes. For example, you might start out by reflecting on some of the serious passions that were important to the person you are eulogizing and then work in some humorous stories. Or you might choose to set the eulogy up by asking a question or telling one particular story that you think sums up the life of the person you are writing about. The overriding theme will tie your eulogy together. 3. Create an Outline Begin to organize your thoughts. Creating a written outline can be helpful in organizing what you will say. Popular ways to organize a eulogy include chronological or reverse chronological, by topic (perhaps three or four important points), or by the overriding theme. For example, there may be a quote, scripture, poem, or song lyric that you feel sums up the person’s life. 3 Remember that the written eulogy you submit must have at least two (2) sources cited and referenced and one must be from the textbook. 4. Start Writing With your outline at the ready, you are prepared to start writing. The important thing is to get started. It doesn’t have to be perfect. You’ll refine and edit later. Remember that this is an assignment, not a tweet or text to your friends. Editing your eulogy is very important. Once you have a completed draft, read your work out loud. That will give you a feel for how the eulogy will flow and how it will sound when you deliver it. Add, delete, rearrange the wording as you go along. Feedback is important. Share an edited draft with a trusted friend or family member to get feedback and suggestions. Edit the eulogy to reflect the comments made by others. 5. Reflection If you have composed this eulogy for yourself because you did not have a friend or family member to eulogize, what are your additional thoughts and feelings now that you have done both the obituary and eulogy for yourself? 6. Simple Do’s and Don’ts Do discuss how the deceased affected your own life in a positive way, as well as how his/her death has affected you. Be honest about your feelings. Don’t use this as a chance to settle an old score. If you have a history with the deceased that you can’t overcome, then it is better you chose another person to eulogize. Do include one or two stories about the deceased. A humorous story to start the eulogy will help people remember the happiness of the deceased’s life. Don’t focus on how hard it will be to deliver the eulogy. Your audience will be sympathetic and understand if you become emotional. If there’s a chance it might be too much for you, have a backup on hand to deliver the eulogy. Do view the eulogy as a professional written work. Keep in mind that this is a graded assignment and requires proper grammar, spelling, punctuation, and usage. Do include other close friends and family in the process through brainstorming, sharing stories, helping set the tone, and helping refine and polish your final draft. 4
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