CSULB Engaging the Senses: Expresso Impresso Cafe Discussion

Silent Observation (500+ words): Choose a place on campus (quad, coffee place, Japanese garden, pyramid, gym, library, classroom, etc.) or off campus (park, beach, coffee place, game arcade, etc.) and spend at least 30 minutes there. If nothing happens, change places. Be specific in your descriptions. Your reader wants to see and feel what you did.

Do not talk to anyone. Act as if you were a fly on the wall.

Your goal is to put together a story about what happens during your observation period. Embed in the story the name, location, and date of your observation as part of the narrative. The information you collect should come from your five senses (seeing, hearing, touching, tasting and smelling). Observe what happens (people, pets/animals/insects, objects, environment, the weather, colors, sounds, smells, fragments of dialogue/conversations on the phone, etc.) and take notes. Try to focus on a couple of people that are in action. Make them visible by describing them. Listen to what they say to each other or what people say on their mobile phone. Take pictures discretely so you can review details when you write. Describe what you observed in free style but using a logical narrative with scene setting and characters (people, pets, etc.). Be truthful. Use strong verbs instead of the verbs to be and to have (look at list of strong verbs below). Write in third person. If you need to refer to yourself, mention ‘the reporter’ not more than once. This is not a cold, technical report; it’s a literary exercise where you demonstrate how you used your senses. Grammar counts. Be factual, relevant and interesting.