English: Analysis

ESSAY 2: Issues of the Day

Due Date:

Essay Proposal Form Due Friday July 9th via Blackboard 11:00pm

Length: 2-3 typed, double-spaced pages

Format Specifications:

Heading Example (the upper left corner of page 1): No cover sheets or inserting of heading in the header.

Student Name

ENGL 2130

Date

Essay 2

-No larger than 12-inch font and one-inch margins all around

-Third person only

-Create a title that describes the unique focus of your essay (centered at the top of page 1).

-Minimum of three (3) relevant quotes from assigned readings

-MLA format for in-text parenthetical citation and

-Include a Works Cited page

Essay Prompt (Pick one):

1) Using at least two of the assigned readings post-Emancipation and prior to 1920 (Wells-Barnett, DuBois, Washington) write an analysis on two major theme(s) expressed in the works and what these themes suggest about the state of Black America after the abolishment of slavery. How do these writers manage their audiences? Are they successful in communicating their points in relation to their audiences? 


Structural Suggestions:

Introduction- Use the introduction to grab your reader’s attention; create a sense of expectation that makes readers want to continue on to discover the insights of your analysis. In the opening paragraph, you should identify the work(s) that you are analyzing by title and author. Consider a short summary (no more than two sentences) of the work(s) and the surrounding issues. The essay should clarify the issues that will be reflected in your analysis. DO NOT us tactics like, “In this essay, I will...”  The introduction should end with a thesis statement that identifies the main purpose of your essay. 

Body- The body of the literary analysis should develop the thesis in detail by exploring three or four subtopics.  Quotes from the literary text should be used to support your claims in the body.  However, be sure to avoid writing an essay that strings together many quotations without establishing a context for what the quoted passages are designed to illustrate. 

Conclusion- The conclusion should sum up the essay without being repetitious.  In the final paragraph of the essay, you should also draw some conclusions on the overall impact of the literary work on you as a reader.  

Works cited:

Gates and Smith, Henry Louis and Valerie. The Norton Anthropology of African American Literature. 3rd Ed., Vol 1, W. W. Norton & Company, 2014.