Read Article first and write an essay.

Academic Essay

For this assignment, you will be working with one or more of the essays that we have read so far this quarter. You will learn to summarize, analyze, and integrate source material using appropriate MLA citations. The essay is designed as an opportunity for you to show your ability to compose a basic college essay.

Y

ou will write an essay in which you recognize and explain how one of the authors we have read was affected by an event that he or she wrote about. You will be focused on the identity of the writer as he or she sees himself or herself. You will need to be clear about the who/what/where/when that affected his or her identity, and what aspect of the identity was affected.

You may choose from three ways to approach this assignment:

· share 1 thing that has been extremely influential on a writer’s identity and give 3 to 5 examples of how

· share 2 to 4 things that have been extremely influential on the writer’s identity and give 1 or 2 examples for each

· share 1 thing that has been extremely influential on 2 or more writers’ identities and give 1 or 2 examples for each. NOTE: this is NOT a compare and contrast essay; you will simply show that each author was affected by the same thing.

Gritty details:

· finished product 3 full to 5 pages in length

· begin with a summary statement followed by a brief summary of the essay

· finish first paragraph with a clear thesis

· should be written in 3rd person (this means using she, he, they, the author, etc.)

· must NOT use 1st person (I, we, me, my, our, us) or 2nd person (you or your)

· should generally use present tense to refer to writing (may be exceptions)

· each paragraph should have a single, clear purpose (focus)

· paper should be cohesive—parts connect, smooth transitions

· conclusion must not simply restate thesis

· all references to text must be cited with signal phrase and parenthetical citation

· use MLA guidelines for format

The thesis and outline (informal) are due on ______ —DO NOT write paragraphs for this part; use format below!

First draft due ______ —typed, double-spaced Second draft due ______ —typed, double-spaced

Final copy due ______ —MLA format; turn in with previous copies

Sample Academic Essay Informal Outline

THESIS: Langston Hughes’s religious identity was drastically affected by his experience at his aunt’s revival.

Support 1: Hughes’s naivety was taken away through realization that no one actually “saw” Jesus.

Support 2: He saw that God was not a powerful, controlling identity (Wesley lies and isn’t struck down).

Support 3: Hughes loses faith in Christianity overall when Jesus “didn’t come to help [him].”

Support 4: