Set #3 Freewrite: Observation and Description Exercise: One Hour of Uninterrupted Listening (250-500 words)

PART 1: Gathering Your Materials
The first part of this assignment involves your "research" for the essay--gathering the content for writing your brief descriptive piece. Select a place of your choice and try to make yourself invisible and listen, as the fly on the wall, for one hour total. The object is to NOT mutli-task. Just listen.

You may note down some of your impressions on paper so that you can recall them when you write this short essay--besides that, you should not be doing anything else, playing to music, studying for a quiz, sitting at your desk at work, driving, etc.
It is important that you go somewhere to observer where you are 1) not in control of the sound environment and 2) are very unlikely to be interrupted. You should go somewhere to listen and observe without being noticed and without doing any other tasks. Various public spaces work: the mall, a busy restaurant (or even a not-busy one), a park, a grocery story with a cafe, a corner of the library, the waiting room at a car repair shop, etc. Your imagination is the only limitation on what you choose. It's usually not a good idea to sit in your own room or office to do this--the temptation to control your own sound environment and to be distracted by other tasks is too great.

When you first begin, certain sounds (or the lack of sounds) will be the most obvious. As you sink into your task, observing and becoming aware of your surroundings, new sounds will reveal themselves to you. Jot down notes about the sounds and the source of the sounds to help you when you write your essay.

Many of us seldom stop to focus on just a single thing for an entire hour, to focus and observer in this manner--so this assignment can be very challenging. Commit yourself to it. Then, if you wish, jot down what you observe about your mind and body adjusting to the task as you also observe your external sound environment.

PART 2: Write Your Story
Now that you've completed Part 1, write the story of your experience. Note where you went, what time of day it was, and so on. Put together your notes and tell, with vivid and lively expression, about your experience. What did you hear, and what did you learn about yourself and how you interact with the world? Provide evidence from your experiences during the observation to support your points.

During a two hour gap between classes, I went to an area on the second floor of the SUB II building. The place I chose was far down the end of the hall. There is a circular burgundy colored couch that has a wooly feeling and texture. In the center of the circular couch is a circular structure encasing plants. To the left I see an elevator. To the right, I see a door leading to another room. Directly behind me, I see a large window. It was a little past noon, so the sun was shining strongly. Even though it was cold outside, the sunlight coming through the window heated up my head and upper back. In the beginning I was sitting properly on the couch, but after an hour I was leaning back as far as I could with my legs outstretched. Although there was not much activity in the area, some people would occasionally pass by and use the elevator. I think they were mostly employees from the restaurant located directly beneath the floor I was staying on. They would come through with carts of food or cleaning materials. The elevator ascending and descending sounded like the subway. I came to realize that they both have similar jobs. They take people from one destination to another at a faster rate than walking. Both make a noise when opening and closing. Both make repetitive trips from point A to point B.