Engh 101
Fall 2011
Paper on Tesla's Most Important Invention (or Inventions)
For Thurs Oct 27th, write a 2-3 page draft of a paper (typed and double spaced) on what you consider Tesla's most important invention or inventions, the methods he used to develop them, and the personal and/or professional qualities that contributed to his successes and/or failures. Describe the problem the invention(s) addressed and/or the need it met, the alternatives available at the time (if any), the basic design of the device, and why Tesla's was (or was not) the best solution to the problem. Then make a detailed argument for why the invention(s) you chose was (and remains?) important. Here you may want to contrast an early and a later invention and compare different kinds of importance (marketability vs. open ended scientific inquiry, for example). A discussion of who Tesla was working with (Peck and Brown, Westinghouse, etc.) is probably also relevant to this question. Make sure to cite sources including Jonnes and Carlson. You will exchange papers in class on Oct 27th and use an editing sheet tied to the paper's grading rubric to guide your comments.
A revised paper is due on Tues Nov 1st. If you see a LLC tutor (make appointments at the Writing Center webpage) and include a detailed statement of what you went over during your session and what you changed as a result of the feedback you received, you can turn in the paper at the beginning of our last Cinema and Supper on Fri Nov 11th. The paper should be 3-4 pages (typed and double spaced), make substantial use of credible sources and include both in-text cites and a works cited page. Your tutoring appointment must take place by Nov 10th, so make sure to schedule it ahead of time. See the schedule sheet for instructions on availability and making an appointment. Include a visit verification form signed by the tutor, a typed statement of what you went over at the session and what you changed as you worked on the paper, and all earlier drafts and editing sheets. Put the revised paper on top and use a staple, clip or folder to secure the portfolio.
Make sure you read Nikola Tesla and the Business of Invention or watch Tesla in New York (You Tube 7:30 min-) before you write your draft. You will need to study and cite these and other sources--in addition to Jonnes--in your revised paper. See the listing for Oct 18-20 on the syllabus, including the interview Tesla and Innovation. To cite Carlson's lecture (Madrid), follow the model at http://dianahacker for lectures but add "Web" for the online source; for the On Point interview, follow the Hacker model for radio interview but also add "Web" for online access. For Tesla Master of Lightning, follow the model for Radio or Television program but add VHS.
This is a challenging assignment because it requires you to come up with an argument that allows you to talk about a number of related issues in a coherent way. Many of you will choose to write on one of Tesla’s early inventions, which were successfully built and marketed because of his partnerships (first with Peck and Brown and then with George Westinghouse), and one of his later inventions or speculations (remote control, particle beam weapons, radio and high frequency electronics more generally). One way of tying these together in a coherent essay is to contrast inventions from early on (like the AC motor), where Peck and Brown and/or Westinghouse’s practicality made up for Tesla’s limitations, and inventions/concepts/speculations from later in his career where Tesla suffered from the absence of a partner like Westinghouse and scattered his work and/or was too far ahead of his time. On this point, some of you want to argue that Tesla’s later inventions were of the greatest importance in spite of his practical difficulties because they stimulated others to continue working in the field on the problems Tesla had identified and opened up new lines of inquiry that later bore fruit.
You need to write in a professionally credible way but explain all technical points so that non-professionals like myself can understand what you are talking about. Coherence, thesis development, paragraph organization/transitions, and effective use of evidence are all key things I will be looking for in your finished essay. To see how your paper should look, check the sample papers in your spiral bound writing handbook on pp. 151-154. The online version of Hacker's Research and Documentation Online is at http://dianahacker.com/resdoc/ For MLA, click on Humanities, Documenting Sources and Sample Papers. For CSE (Biology and other Sciences) click on Sciences, Documenting Sources and Sample Papers. This site is at the top of the list of online Resources on the syllabus along with Diana Hacker’s online exercises.
Jonnes doesn’t cover everything Tesla did and we’ve only read part of the text but you can look up subjects in the index to find other material you can use. Because we are so used to computers and databases we often forget that the book is a sophisticated information management technology with several ways to find things. Pages in Jonnes you should study carefully include 93-97 (AC motor), 106-107 (Tesla and DC), 110 (Tesla and Edison's different methods), 154-160 (Tesla's 1888 AIEE lecture), 162 (patent purchase), 180-182 (Westinghouse engineers and Tesla), and 354-367 (Tesla's later work).
In looking at your drafts this semester, the tutors and I have seen several common problems. Make sure to think about whether any of these points apply to your paper.
Thesis: does your thesis correlate with the assignment prompt? Are any parts of the assignment are left unaddressed?
Arguments: have you written what amounts to a biography and not set out and developed an argument. This problem can arise when your drafts lack strong, coherent theses you set out near the beginning and that you consistently develop and support.
Punctuation: have you omitted commas after introductory phrases and when subordinating phrases and misused semi-colons? You all probably need to review Hacker on punctuation (and look over my comments in this area on your last paper)
Organization: Do you have very long paragraphs in which you try and tackle too many ideas at once? This makes your writing unclear and your paragraphs lose focus.
Remember that I took notes on problems in you last paper and tied my grammatical corrections to specific pages in Hacker’s Pocket Style Manual. You will need to review Hacker carefully since your grade will reflect whether you improve in the areas I noted. Also remember that some of you may have an expectation from high school that you should have a one sentence thesis and a five paragraph essay, an assumption that will make the assignment much harder to do successfully.