ࡱ> a eCjbjbtt $Ze=d4de:9999999,<Rk> : ::9d$@96 79 U79,5:0e:8>>89ddddTHESE ARE SAMPLE PROMPTS FOR ESSAY ASSIGNMENTS. ESSAY #1: Influences on Your Identity: Examining Our Life Experiences Unlike Jason Bourne from The Bourne films, your identity was NOT taken from you. In fact, you have many life experiences that have made you who you are todayfor better or worseno matter if you are eighteen or eighty. Weve lived with or encountered influential people in our lives, our parents, grandparents, teachers, coaches, musical artists, writers, revolutionaries, and so on who have had a serious impact on usnegative, positive, or somewhere in between. Weve experienced events as we have grown up, for example, moving to a new place, getting a job, encountering a conflict, competing on a team, or participating in a rally, that have taught us something. Maybe a certain object, like a family heirloom or favorite book has deeply affected you, to name just a few more influences. For our first essay, you will have the opportunity to explore something that has changed you, affected you deeply, impacted the direction or focus of your life, and/or made you you. Remember: with this assignment, I am trying to get to know you and your writing, so give it your best shot. Possible Topics: You definitely want to pick a topic on which you have a solid amount to write, but also remember NOT to write about your entire life. Try to stay focused on one main event, person, artifact, place, ideology, choice, others perception, etc., yet know that you may find yourself blending a couple topics that are connected and thats okay. To what extent has a political event, war or conflict affected you or your family, just as Andrew Lam writes about in Child of Two Worlds? To what extents has a person in your lifeeither close or distantmade an impression on you? (Ruins) To what extent has a trip or a new culture made a significant impact on you? (20/20 Hindsight) To what extent has a family ideology or philosophy governed and therefore changed your life? (Cultural Baggage) To what extent has a physical or other type of difference shaped the way you live and who youve become? (Mask) To what extent has a certain choice, lack of choice or a secret dictated the direction of your life? (Clothes, Son) To what extent has moving to another country, city, school left a mark on you? (A Thousand Years of Good Prayers) To what extent has an experience(s) with your race, ethnicity, gender, religion, OR socio-economic standing affected your identity? What else can we add here? Essay Requirements: Include several paragraphs about the influential experience that are specific about the experience, including appropriate background information. In order to be specific, incorporate the 5 Wsthe who, what, where, when, howso your reader can really picture what happened. Youll also want to include sensory details and/or a dialogue, or other specifics to bring your story to life.) The description of your life experience will need to be a first person narrative, and these paragraphs in your paper will need topic sentences or topical markers. Or, if you describe the experience of someone close to you, like Melissa Algranati in Being an Other, it will need to be in the third person. A discussion of what you have learned from this, in other words, your reflection on what happened then and now? What do you know more about? How has it changed you and others, and/or how have you stayed the same? What do you take away from what you describe? (This should also be several paragraphs) You should make at least TWO connections to the readings, similarities, differences, or something else. You will want to include at least TWO direct quotes in the proper format and a discussion on how/why you are using the authors words. (Well be going over this in class.) Your Essay will be evaluated on how well you include the above requirements and how you address the components of an essaythe introduction thesis, topic sentences, support, analysis, conclusion, sentence structure, grammar, proofreading. Length: 3-5 pages Essay #3: Ritual/Tradition: A (Re)defining ritual- a prescribed or established rite, ceremony, proceeding or service; code of behavior regulating social conduct. tradition- the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs by word of mouth, or by practice from generation to generation. All of us partake in some kind of ritual/tradition, whether it be a rite of passage like a Bat Mitzvah or putting on makeup, eating a holiday meal with your family, cutting down a Christmas tree, or getting married. In addition, our society/culture engages in many rituals/traditions, for example, singing the national anthem at baseball games, shooting off fireworks on the 4th of July, embalming the bodies of our dead, attending funerals, participating in graduation ceremonies, celebrating birthdays, or changing your last name after marriage. ________________________________________________________________________ Your Task for Essay #3: Define or re-define, in your own words what ritual and or tradition mean(s) to you. Choose a ritual/tradition (any act that is symbolic) that you, your family or someone you know participates in OR a ritual/tradition that our society participates in and write a 3-5 page essay that both describes and analyzes it. Also, analyze ritual/tradition as a general concept and why people invent and participate in them. ________________________________________________________________________ Questions to Consider: *How and by whom did this tradition start? *What does it symbolize to you or to the people who participate in the ritual? *What is the reasoning/philosophy behind it? If there seems to be none, explore why or why you do not know what it is. *Is it really a tradition if there is no significant reason for it? *What purposes are served by the tradition? *What impact/influence does it have on the lives and choices of those who observe it? *Have you or someone you know ever broken a familial tradition or society ritual? If so, *why, how, and what were the consequences? *Is there a certain tradition you would love to break? Why? *What elevates personal custom or habit to ritual? What makes a tradition significant? Words to the Wise: If you choose a religious ritual/tradition, be sure to analyze it using questions like the ones above. Please NO sermons. Also, make sure your ritual is not merely a habit, i.e. biting your nails. (We want to distinguish the difference between compulsive behavior and a ritual that has more significance.) Please compare the draft of your essay with "The Components of a Successful Expository Essay" handout before you hand it in. Include at least THREE noun phrase appositives in you paper. Underline them! Readings: "The Lottery" Shirley Jackson (Bedford 627), "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema" Horace Miner (Bedford 239), "Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain" Jessica Mitford (Bedford 228), "Marrying Absurd" Joan Didion (Bedford 121), "Oceana" (handout-Piercing Fans International Quarterly #47) Rough Draft/Peer Response: __________ Final Draft Due: ________________ ESSAY #4 -- Civil Disobedience: Tool for Social Change and/or Criminal Conduct? civil disobedience--the refusal to obey certain governmental laws or demands for the purpose of infuencing legislation or government policy, characterized by the employment of such nonviolent techniques as boycoting, picketing, and nonpayment of taxes. Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language. Civil Disobedience is not only a nonviolet form of direct action designed to bring attention to societal injustice but also, to many people, it is a first ammendment right of the people. When a government's laws fail to ammend societal injustice, direct action is seen as the vehicle to create change. People who engage in civil disobedience as a tool for social change can be jailed, fined, brutalized, and/or put on probation. Activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi stood firm in the face of adversity, risking jail and brutal treatment in order to change civil law. After many sacrifices by Dr. King, Gandhi, and others who willingly risked the consequences of their civil disobedience, these causes--Civil Rights in the U.S. and India's independence from England--met with success. On the other hand, some people believe that civil disobedience is dangerous, capable of leading society into revolution and violence. These people hold that activists should put their energy into changing society through legal forms of petition rather than illegal (or legal) forms of protest. ASSIGNMENT: In a four to six page essay, discuss when civil disobedience is a useful tool for social change and when it is simply criminal conduct. Use specific instances to exemplify your main point about when or whether civil disobedience can be justified. Focus on at least three specific instances and then analyze them in depth. (You may find that you think all types of c.d. are useful or you may find that none is.) STRATEGIES FOR THIS ESSAY: Begin by defining what you mean by civil disobedience (from what you've read and heard about) and include relevant background material. Other related issues you may want to address include: time-- when should one wait or not wait, justice--is it being denied?, danger-- are the risks involved with C/D too high?, the law--when should a law be broken, if ever? In choosing the specific instances you will analyze--according to the principles of C/D-- you can use instances from our readings, from what you have read about on your own (in this case make sure you have adequate written material to work with), instances from videos you view at the AV/ITV Center, or instances of which you have first hand knowledge. Be sure to cite the readings in order to strengthen and support your arguments. To write a thoughtful essay you will need to consider the arguments for and against civil disobedience. You can do this by using at least five instances of concession. Please underline them. Rough Draft Due: ____________ Final Draft Due: ____________ Readings: "Public Statement by Eight Alabama Clergymen," Letter From a Birmingham Jail" Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., "Civil Disobedience: Destroyer of Democracy" Van Dusen, "Letter to Lord Irwin" Gandhi, Newspaper articles Essay #5 (Our Final): My Year of Meats For this assignment, you will be participating in a group presentation that will both inform our class about an aspect of the novel and help you write your essay. You will be choosing a topic that interests you and using the text and other sources to back up the claims you make. The Presentation: Your group will need a minimum of two members and a maximum of five. You will have class time to begin preparing your presentation (time during both class meetings this week), and then youll have to arrange how you will complete the rest. You will need to use visual tools and/or other means to convey your ideas, i.e. overheads, video clips, poster boards, music. You will also need to provide a quiz of some sort (related to your topic) for your classmates that you will score and then give to me to record; it should only take 10-15 minutes. The quiz can be a traditional quiz or something less traditional. The point of it is, however, to see what your classmates know and to get them warmed up for your presentation. The audience will then ask at least one question about the presentation and make at least one comment before we move to the next set of presenters. Your presentations should be 25-30 minutes including the quiz. Weyour classmates and Iencourage the use of humor, creativity, and thoughtfulness, as we will be having three presentations per class session next week! Possible Topics: The Power and Purpose of the Media What does this novel suggest about the mediaits power, its pervasiveness? Whats being said here about the benefits of the media, primarily television? Whats being said about commercial sponsorship and what messages the media sends out? How are these messages helpful? Harmful? Is it perpetuating global miscommunication? Is it helping to turn culture into commerce? Is this something we should be striving towards? What else can you come up with on this topic? Please provide plenty of textual support for your replies. The Pillow Book and its Significance How does the use of this eighth-century Japanese court diaries enrich (or take away) from our novel? How is Ozekis use of montage in this novel effective? What does it suggest? Please look closely at several excerpts from The Pillow Book and describe and analyze them for their significance in the novel. Also, provide some background on The Pillow Book and its author. What else can you come up with on this topic? Please provide plenty of textual support for your replies. Cultural Misunderstandings What cultural, ethnic, and gender misunderstandings does Ozeki present to us here? Why does she bring these to light? Whats accurate and inaccurate about them? How did these stereotypes come to life? Why do they still exist? Whats/whos perpetuating them? How can we dismantle them? What else can you come up with on this topic? Please provide plenty of textual support for your replies. The Meat Industry What have we learned about the meat industry from this novelDES, factory farming, and so on? (This should only be a brief review.) Please try to add to Ozekis research by adding what has changed or not changed since this novel was published. What does this suggest about our government? Capitalism? Corporate America? What does Jane think of all this and of eating meat? Should we eat meat? What recommendations do you have for the meat industry? What else can you come up with on this topic? Please provide plenty of textual support for your replies. Hybridization, Race Issues What is this novel saying about race through what the characters say and do? We know that Jane has a certain take. She claims, towards the beginning of the novel, that: All over the world, native species are migrating, if not disappearing, and in the next millennium the idea of an indigenous person or plant or culture will just seem quaint. So what is she saying? And what do you think of this? Is this a step in theright direction? Is this consistent with what other characters or even what Ozeki is saying? Is this the message we need on cultural diversity? Why or why not? 6. Truth, Authenticity, Denial #10 from the discussion questions at the back of the novel Whatever You Want to Add There are some great questions at the end of the book. Youll need to get my approval before going ahead with this option, however. ___________________________________________________________________ The Essay: Possible Topics: The ones we will address for the presentations as outlined above. Essay Requirements: An introduction that provides context on the novel and topic A thesis that provides a stance on the topic Topic sentences that bring up provocative points Support thats specific and thus convincing Analysis that goes beyond the obvious Vocabularyat least three new words from the novel that are new for you. Well be generating a list in class. A thought-provoking conclusion Final Notes: It will be due on the day of our final _____________. It will be an out-of-class essay. It must be typed, double-spaced, and four to six pages. If you want your essay or grade sent to you, please provide a SASE with the final essay. y  @AG@15 *!1!k!r!!!!!!" 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