Topic Guidelines: Metaphors in
Professional Fields
GUIDELINES: This essay is an
examination
of metaphor use by both laypeople and by members of a
major
field (ex. IFSM, HESP, CMSI).
AUDIENCE: Educated laypeople,
managers/executives/department
heads at your job, professor(s) in academic departments
FORMAT: The following
information
should be included in the paper (it is up to you to decide how to
organize
this information):
- a paragraph or audience
analysis form explaining
who your audience is and what the audience knows and needs to know
about
writing in your field
- information about the field you were
assigned,
concentrating
on the way language is used. How much information you include about
that
field depends on your audience.
- a definition of metaphor. Cite
the
source
used for the definition.
- three examples of common or everyday
metaphors,
explaining what the metaphor means and how it is used. ex.
raining cats and dogs doesn't mean that animals literally fall from the
sky. The metaphor is used to explain the force of the
precipitation.
(You may not use this metaphor (or any of the others from the
Powerpoint
lecture) for your examples.
- a minimum of three examples of
fieldmetaphors. Your discussion should contain an
explanation
of the metaphor's origin, meaning, purpose, appropriateness, and
problems/difficulties
(if applicable). Address issues such as whether the metaphor is a help
or a hindrance to understanding the concept it describes.
- a conclusion which summarizes the
result
of
your discussion--should these metaphors continue to be used or should
they be eliminated?
- a works cited page for all material
taken from print and online sources
MECHANICS: Write the essay using
formal
standard English. Contractions are acceptable; slang and colloquial
expressions
are not. Each section of the report should have headings. Using
two levels of headings is optional.
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