WS 266: Handout for first essay assignment
Please write a 3-4 page paper on the question below.
Your essay should double-spaced, with 12 point font and no more than 1″ margins; it must include a Works Cited page (aka a bibliography) which uses MLA formatting for Works Cited.
The Works Cited follows the 3-4 pages of text) it doesn’t count towards the 3-4 page requirement).
For guidelines on how to format a Works Cited, please see the MLA guidelines here (and pay particular attention to how you cite an article that is part of an anthology or collection, which all of our RCG readings are):
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/05/ and also here https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/06/
This essay should be uploaded to BB, using the TurnItIn link I have set up in the folder for this assignment, by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 20th.
Use the link in the First Assignment folder that says “First Essay Assignment” to upload your essay. Please email me if you have any questions or run into problems.
Writing Objectives (or, the rules for the road, when it comes to essay writing for this course)
Please be sure that your essay includes a thesis (a main argument or statement of opinion) in the introductory paragraph.
The introduction should also include the main points (at least three!) that you’re going to develop in the body of the essay (so, it has a sort of “road map” of the main points that you’re going to cover).
Each of those main points should be supported and developed using quotations or examples from the readings.
Essays should be a minimum of five paragraphs, including the introduction and conclusion, but your essay can certainly include more body paragraphs.
This essay will be graded on its clarity, its arguments and its organization.
I will look for a thesis statement in the introduction, a topic sentence in every paragraph and a strong conclusion that draws on the points you present in the body.
The conclusion should be a separate paragraph that restates the thesis and drives your main arguments home.
Be sure to cite ALL of your primary and secondary sources and to use the correct MLA format for the Works Cited list (the bibliography) on an additional page at the end of your essay.
In the paragraphs in the body of the essay, after you give me the topic sentence (the main point or idea of the paragraph) then flesh out that idea by offering reasons, examples, supporting quotations from the lecture or readings, etc.
Each paragraph should contain information and evidence that supports your idea.
You will use examples and quotations from the readings (your sources).
Be sure to cite ALL of your primary and secondary sources and to use the correct MLA format for the Works Cited list (the bibliography) on an additional page at the end of your essay (that Works Cited page comes in addition to the 3-4 pages of the essay itself).
So every time you have a quotation or example from the readings, follow that with a citation that shows me where you got that information.
For a short essay, you don’t need to give citations in footnotes or endnotes, but can simply include a parenthetical citation.
If you’re not sure how to use MLA formatting, you can find an easy guide for it online. The guide for how to format the Works Cited (bibliography) is here: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/05/
Their guide for how to format parenthetical citations (where you show me the source you used for the quotation or example you gave in the paper) is here: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02/ Be sure to include a citation (inside parentheses as shown in this online guide) for EVERY quotation you use in the paper, and for any specific examples, statistics/numbers, etc.
Be sure to build your answer using evidence (material from both the lectures and reading assignments) to support a thesis, or argument, which should be presented at the beginning of the essay. Be careful also to keep careful control over your grammar and choice of language.
Essay Topic
The goal of this assignment is for you to evaluate the sources used by writers, and to analyze whether those sources are appropriate to answer the questions that the writer is asking in his/her article.
For this essay, choose four of the readings assigned in Race, Class and Gender for this course and discuss the sources of information on which the authors draw to reach their conclusions.
Are they making an argument based on qualitative or quantitative information?
Do they perform close analytical readings of texts? Do they cite studies that include many people? Have they used more personal writing or memoir?
Now that you have identified their sources, think about what kinds of questions are they trying to answer.
Were the sources useful or convincing in terms of answering those questions? If not, what sorts of sources do you think that the author should have used?
And finally, in your essay, discuss how the authors have used gender, race and class as categories of analysis. If you want, you could compare these readings to the sorts of readings you’ve had in other classes: how do they differ?
Do use specific examples and quotations from the readings, and include the readings you discuss in your Works Cited list (the essay must have a Works Cited list or bibliography at the end—that page is in addition to the 3-4 pages of text you’ll be writing).
Please use MLA formatting for both the Works Cited and for your citations within the paper; you should use parenthetical citations whenever you quote a reading or use a specific example from a reading. You can find a webpage to explain how to use MLA formatting for parenthetical in-text citations here:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02/ (how to create in-text citations)
Answer Preview:
There is not a society in the world today that can claim homogeneity, communities have become so diverse genetically and otherwise.
Whereas it is widely stated that there is strength in diversity, the reality on the ground is entirely different.
This is even more evident in the current situation in which America finds itself.
With the inauguration of Trump as the new American president, a lot of questions come to the fore.
How a man who ran such a divisive campaign could get elected is one of the biggest questions with some sub-questions under it.
Word Count: 1404