Analyzing a Place Worksheet

Your Place: Sun Devil Canyon

What are the intended functions of the place?                      

To provide a serene resting area for any persons that wish to reside there. With the great shade coverage and relative silence, it is the optimal place for any person study enthusiast.

What overt messages does the place send (i.e., openly communicated through signs)?

There is a sign that says Sun Devil Canyon communicating the area. There is a parking pay booth that has signs communicating where to pay if you parked in the Fulton Parking lot. Furthermore, there are signs that say not to allow golf carts to drive through.

What covert messages does the place send (i.e., hidden messages)?

Some covert messages that it sends is that ASU has so much money that they can build rest areas that are beautiful and decorated. Giving a sense of financial power. Furthermore, there is a hidden message that ASU strives to be a more calm and peaceful campus as reflected by the peaceful area of the Sun Devil Canyon.

Have previous users left traces behind in the place?

There are at times quite a bit of trash that has been left on the ground. Furthermore, there are a few bikes left there and some broken dismantle bikes that have been left from a horrible prank.

Has the place been re-appropriated (i.e., beyond its original functions)?

A few trees and plants have been added, but nothing more.

What social or cultural customs did you observe (i.e., rules governing appropriate behavior)?

There are signs for no golf carts to be allowed in the area, and there are mettle pieces that have been bolted to the edge of a concrete wall preventing the social customs of skateboarders.

Who has access to the place?  Are there insiders and outsiders?

Everyone has accesses, students and civilians.

Who owns the place?

ASU owns it.

What is the place’s value (i.e., monetary or otherwise)?

 It is valued as very beautiful area to hold group activities and study. For example, during parents weekend, there was a free breakfast there for families.

Source: Jett Cattani

Source: Jett Cattani

Are there official representations of the place (i.e., online, in promotional materials)?  Do they accurately capture the place as you experienced it?

There is a quick remark about it on the ASU website. Link http://www.asu.edu/tour/tempe/cam.html

Is the place in transition, a changing place?

There is not current transition.

What conflicts or tensions are there in the place?

None

What is the place’s history?  Do you see evidence of the past there in the present?

I have no information other than it used to be an empty plot of land before they built upon.

How does this place differentiate itself from other places?  What other places is it similar to, but how is it different from those places?

It differentiates itself greatly with other places due to its beautiful water fall centerpiece. Some similar places to it would be the areas around the area of the ASU welcome sign on University and facing College Ave.

What questions do you have about your place?

Was there always a parking lot built behind it?

Key Features / Profiles (taken from the Norton Field Guide (Goggin and Bullock) Chapter 16, pages 165-166)

An interesting subject.  What is unusual about your place?  Alternatively, is there something ordinary about it that you can show in an intriguing way?

It has a beautiful water fall art piece that is pretty usual for campus. What is ordinary about it the landscaping, but what is unusual about it the type of plats such as the Asian bamboo and banana tree that gives it a Zen feeling.

Any necessary background.  What background information will you need to include about the place in order to situate readers?

I would reveal that it is on the ASU campus and it is located behind the Fulton Center on the corner of University and College Ave. Furthermore, I would reveal that many students frequent the area to study and homeless people eat and rest there.

An interesting angle.  Rather than trying to tell readers everything about the place, what angle(s) might you use?

I would give the angle of looking down the canyon while standing near the waterfall. It sums up the most important aspects of the area.

A firsthand account.  Did you interact with people in the place or participate in some way?  What experiences did you have there that you can write about using “I”?  (Yes, first person point of view is encouraged, especially for this paper.)

I once paid for parking at the pay booth in the area. There was nothing to participate in the area except for walking and sitting in the area.

Engaging details.  What specific information must you include in your description of the place?  What potential does your place have for the use of sensory images, figurative language, dialogue, anecdotes, and showing rather than telling?  What do you want the dominant impression to be?

I would include information of the landscaper or the artist that created the waterfall. There is much potential for imagery such as naming the types of plants, the design or color of the area, and describing what signs say in the area. Furthermore, there is definitely symbolism that can be found within the color and materials used by the area

Generating Ideas and Text (taken from the Norton Field Guide (Goggin and Bullock) Chapter 16, pages 168-169)

Explore what you already know about your subject.  Why do you find this place interesting?  What did you already know about it?

I find the area intriguing because it is really different from other areas of the campus, and it has a beautiful waterfall that cannot be found anywhere else. I knew about the waterfall before observing it.

If you’re planning to interview someone, prepare questions.  What would you like to ask someone in the place in order to better understand it?

I would ask who the architect or landscaper and the reason for building.

Do additional research.  Does your place have an online component?  How else might you gather additional research?

There is no direct online component to the place, all I found was a quick reference to it on the ASU website.

Analyze your findings.  What patterns, images, or recurring ideas or phrases did you use to describe your place?  What contrasts or discrepancies do you see?

I used the pattern of finding symbolism within the color of plants and the objects and structures around the area. Furthermore, I found much contrast between the nature and the modern structures and I even found a style of trying to mesh nature and modern structure together.

Come up with an angle.  What is most memorable about your subject?  What most interests you?  What will interest your audience?

The most memorable aspect of the area is definitely the waterfall centerpiece. Why was this area built is what interests me the most.  What will interest the audience will be the symbolism of the colors and the types of materials used in the area.