Narrative Essay–
In class this week, you watched Trevor Noah: African American. After watching his comedy special, it becomes obvious that throughout the course of your life you have been in environments where persons were not of the same race or ethnicity as yourself. Therefore, your task is to write a three-page essay about a particular situation from your life where you’ve been impacted by race relations or where you’ve been made aware of racial tensions or differences that existed (and may still exist). You need to explain what happened, why you think it happened, how it affected your life, and what you learned (if anything), or what you would do differently if given the same opportunity. Answering these questions should help you to create a strong, developable, and provable thesis. Lastly, whether echoed throughout your essay or in your last paragraph, your current view on race relations should be explained.
Supports for completing your narrative essay: Examples of A-, B, and C+ papers; video on how to write a narrative essay
Compare and Contrast Essay–
Your task is to write a three-page, double spaced compare and contrast essay comparing and contrasting where and how you grew up (city, town, village, country, etc.,) with Riot Baby’s protagonists, Ella and Kev’s, lived experiences of growing up in South Central and Harlem. Your essay must include at least two parenthetical citations. Your parenthetical citations will contain direct quotes from Riot Baby. In comparing and contrasting your experiences to Ella and Kev’s, you must reveal where you grew up, and how did the different environments that you, Ella, and Kev grew up in shaped each person’s identity, and (most importantly) what did you learn, what was revealed, or what new insight did you gain, from comparing and contrasting Ella and Kev’s life to your own? Specifically, what did you learn about race, class, justice, education, identity, or anything any power-related theme or construction you may want to explore.? For example, did you learn that the parallels in between Blackness and Womaness reveal that neither group is consistently in positions of power, the intersectionality of being Black and a woman exposes Black women to oppression that isn’t experienced by most women or Black men, or the differences reveal sexism is more systemic or oppressive than racism, or …? These are just a few examples to help you critically compare and contrast your and Ella and Kev’s environments and the impacts they had on lived experiences. In revealing the similarities and differences, please remember to not just merely state what is the same and what is different, for doing so does not display your critical thinking abilities. Also, DO NOT write anything to the effect of, “Our lives are similar in some ways yet different in others.” Yes, almost any two things in life are similar in some ways yet different in others. However, what do these similarities and/or differences reveal that is new or interesting to the reader? Answering this last question will help you develop an effective thesis statement. Please feel free to see me if you want help.
Supports for completing your compare and contrast essay: How to write a compare and contrast essay; an example of an A compare and contrast essay; and video on how to write a compare and contrast essay.
Analysis Essay–
During class this week, I introduced, discussed, and reviewed Akwaeke Emizi’s, Pet. Black Mirrors Now, you need to choose a quotation(s) or a point of emphasis from the text, and you need to analyze a quote(s) or point of emphasis in an attempt to prove something new or interesting to me (the reader) in a three-page essay (four including your works cited page). For example, analyze the constructions of Angels that you’re exposed to in Pet and “Ezekiel’s Burning Wheel” to reveal what good is, or analyze how Jam’s, Pet’s, and Redemption’s gender construction impacts their material experiences and what are the implications of their experiences. These examples should help you in developing an effective and developable thesis statement. Please feel free to contact me if you want help.
Supports for completing your analysis essay: Example of framing an analysis essay; an example of analyzing a quote in an analysis essay; video on how to write an analysis essay.
Argument Essay–
Your task is to write a FOUR-page argument essay in response to PET. You must choose to address a theme raised in the work in your argument, as we already discussed and practiced in class. The following question may help you frame your argument and create an effective thesis statement: What themes have developed? How can these themes be approached to frame an argument? How does Emezi operationalize the relationship between the characters Jam and Redemption? In other words, what does the author use Jam’s and Redemption’s relationship as a vehicle for? What does Emezi potentially reveal about mixed-gender relationships? How does this work model intimate relationships? How is emotional intelligence modeled in this work? These examples should help you in writing a substantive argument paper. Finally, you should really think about historicizing your paper. Please feel free to contact me if you want help.
Supports for completing your argument essay: How to write an argument essay; an example of framing and historicizing an argument essay;
Research Paper–
Your task is to write a six to eight-page research paper (seven to nine pages including your Works Cited page) on the topic that we’ve previously agreed on. Moreover, I MUST approve your thesis statement or research question before you start your assignment.
Supports for research paper: Help with ideas for framing your research paper through a social justice or critical theory lens; an example of an A research paper; video on how to write a research paper; and video on how to properly cite a research paper in APA format.
Final Exam–
The final exam will be provided at the end of the semester, but it will be based upon our class reading: the Healers War and the Orange Tree.
Discussion Question Responses–
Please make sure to post your weekly responses in the assignment Dropbox in your ENG 101 Blackboard Course Shell. Your responses are to be from 100-350 words long. PLEASE DO NOT EXCEED TWO PAGES. Your responses are an exercise is practicing pith. In other words, I’m asking you to say as much as possible by using as few words as possible. Doing so will help you produce substantive, incisive writing. Your responses are due weekly by Monday at 9:59 am.
