Assignments for Essays #3 and #4

Essays #3 and #4

The last two essays for the course will act as one, long research project. The assignment for essay #4 is below, and essay #3 will act as a proposal for essay #4.


Essay #4: Informed Critique on an Element of American Culture (6-8 pages)


This essay will require you to critique a specific element of American culture. You will also be required to do some research, incorporating at least five outside sources into your writing. You might, for instance, want to assess the treatment of “The American Dream” in The Simpsons, or how religion overlaps politics and government, or how obsession with celebrities takes the place of other knowledge. Whatever you choose, just be sure to write about a topic that you are interested in or curious about. Then, use specific examples to support your critique.

Remember, when critiquing something you are showing a very detailed and specific understanding, and working toward a careful explanation that deeply considers the details of your subject. Also, critiquing does not necessarily mean to cast something in a negative light. The goal of the research is to discover what others before you have said about your given subject, come to your own conclusions, and add your voice to the conversation. When considering audience, keep in mind that you are writing for readers outside of our classroom community. What would an intelligent, concerned American citizen need to know about your subject in order to take an informed stance? This essay will also require MLA formatting.
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Now that you know the prompt we are working toward, we will begin essay #3, a proposal. Below, I've outlined what each draft for essay #3 should contain and what form it should take.

Draft 1 of Essay #3: Generating an Inquiry

Step One (1/2 page list): This is an invitation to ramble. Start writing down a half-page of questions that you wonder about American culture. They might be questions about your chosen line of work, an artwork or artist you admire, your dreams for yourself, your inner life, your family, some person, some issue, some scientific question. Some examples might include: Why do American prisons hold the highest number of people in the world? How has Tupac Shakur influenced hip hop? How does the American dream support the lifestyle of the blue collar worker? What role does immigration have on the economy? What is the United States' relationship with the other Americas? Where does American art stand in relationship to the world? As you can see, many of these questions take on a movement from "local" to "global" issues. This is something to think about as you draft these questions.

Generate about a half page’s worth of questions, and then pick one or two questions that you really wonder about.

Step Two (2 or 4 paragraphs): Once you have a couple of questions that you really wonder about, write a paragraph (or two paragraphs, if you have two questions) exploring why it matters to you or anyone else what the answer(s) to this question might be. Write at least one paragraph explaining why you personally are interested in the question, and then write at least a paragraph explaining how the question might affect persons besides yourself. What might you find out in the course of engaging your question(s) that could matter to someone besides yourself?

Step Three (3 or 6 paragraphs): For one or both of your questions, write everything you already know or suspect; recall and write down everything you have already seen or heard about that relates even slightly; retell in brief things you’ve already encountered about it in movies, television shows, books, songs, or art; and then offer several possible answers for the question (even if you have to imagine them or make them up). Spend at least three paragraphs on this step.

Step Four (7 interview questions): Imagine you are going to interview 5 people to find out their reactions to and/or ideas about your question. Who do you know that you could ask? Write down their names. (They can be friends, family, and co-workers.) Who else could you imagine asking, even if you don’t know them? (Any celebrities, or people no longer living?) Write down at least seven questions that you could use in an interview format to explore your central question.

Step Five (List at least 10): What types of books, newspaper articles, songs, magazines, radio shows, movies, t.v. shows, church materials, publicity materials, brochures, advertisements, community organizations, or public people might have something to say about your question? List as many as you can think of. (Example: If someone were to ask “Why have so many successful celebrities—Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, James Dean, Kurt Cobain, etcetera—killed themselves?” they might list as possible sources of information or thought about the issue such items as newspaper articles about the various deaths, autobiographies or biographies of the famous people, books about suicide, books about depression, books about drug abuse, a public suicide hotline, psychiatrists, movies or songs by the deceased persons, interviews with the deceased persons, brochures about suicide/depression/drug abuse, bio-pics or mini-series, and so on.) List at least ten. If possible, say which of these you’d be most curious to look at, and why you think that this source/these sources might be particularly illuminating or fascinating.

Step Six (List at least 10): Write down as many “sub-questions” or “related questions” as you can think of. (Example: What would make a celebrity hate their life? What would make a celebrity depressed? Why would suicide be attractive to a person? What do psychiatrists have to say about suicide? What do clergy persons say about suicide? Are drugs often related to suicide? Is there a certain age range or other risk factors associated with suicide? How could a person find a way out of depression or despair?) List at least ten.

Step Seven (variable): Write down any additional thoughts or ideas you have had about your question in the course of completing this assignment.

Step Eight (1 paragraph or more): Say what you think would be hard about trying to deal with this question. Keep in mind that “dealing with a question” doesn’t necessarily mean finding an answer to it, but maybe finding several answers, or just speculating, or even imagining possible answers. Write at least a paragraph.

Step Nine (1 paragraph or more): Say—perhaps for the second time—what would be interesting and worthwhile about engaging this question. Write at least a paragraph. After writing your entire first draft, this last part re-centers your ideas in the context of what you've thought about.

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Draft 2 of Essay #3 (minimum of 2 pages)

In this draft, you will organize and synthesize your ideas from draft 1 into a proposal. It should answer the following questions:

Introduction: Include focused idea (beginning of a thesis)
Why does this topic matter to you? To your audience? What is important about it?
What sub-questions will you explore?
What is your stance on the topic? Will your critique be in support of, against, or indifferent to the issues highlighted in your topic?
What kinds of sources do you expect to use?

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Draft 3 of Essay #3 (minimum of 1.5 pages)

Works cited page using MLA format
Minimum 1 source

After writing your proposal, you have a BIG research question. The purpose of Draft 3 is to explore a small piece of it. Choose one of your smaller questions, and make that the title of this essay. This is your starting point.

From there, dive into your research. What type of information should you find to answer this smaller question? Are there multiple questions beneath it as well? The goal is to learn more and hopefully be inspired and energized by surprises along the way. Don't be afraid to use yourself in the essay. Include your ideas and experiences and begin to establish whatever presence you'd like to have in your research.

This "segment" of your longer essay should include the focusing idea for your paper and at least one source. Take the time to converse with this other voice. State what you agree with, what you disagree with. Begin to develop your stance on any issues, and from there, begin composing your thesis. Though this is the final segment of Essay #3, it will act more like a beginning draft for Essay #4.