1. The Reality of Mediated Reality: What’s Real and What’s Make- Believe? Success in First-Year Composition February 3, 2006 Ann Parker Southern Polytechnic State University

2. Reality? Are you Kidding Me? *What do students really “SEE?” *How does the media skew what we perceive as real? *Do students take mediated information as fact or fiction? *Where does this fit into a freshman composition class?

3. Connecting Seeing to Writing I-Search Paper Film: “The Truman Show” Traditional Library Source Two Internet sources Field Research Personal Interviews Photographs

4. Student Topics How college is portrayed in the media (fun, girls, free time) vs. the realities of being a college student Growing up as a gang member vs. media portrayals of gangs Choosing a major (job reality vs. student perceptions) Living gay vs. gays on television Teen attitudes about sex vs. media’s portrayal of teen sex Electronic reality vs. real life

5. Resources Lukkonen, Josh. “Relevancy in the Classroom: Bringing the Real World into School.” Classroom Notes Plus. Oct. 2003. 8 – 10. Macrorie, Ken. The I-Search Paper. Portsmouth: Boynton/Cook. 1988. McQuade, Donald and Christine McQuade. Seeing and Writing 3. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2005.