IAH-207-733 (W7)

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IAH 207 Safoi Babana-Hampton Summer 2020

FINAL PAPER Writing Prompt & Worksheet

YOUR ASSIGNMENT: In the final paper, per syllabus, “The students will prepare a double-spaced 4-page (minimum) final paper on a topic of their choice that combines and expands the ideas and views developed in TWO “Response to Readings” assignments (not merely repeats their content). The final paper should address a set of clearly articulated and interlinked issues/research questions inspired by class discussion and directly drawing on and engaging with critical essays and videos studied in the course. Students’ papers must make clear how they use the critical essays and video materials that we covered in this course to frame their analysis. The paper should be formatted according to the MLA style, and include a bibliography. The two-part worksheet below will be your step-by-step guide to prepare and revise your final paper. Your paper Assignment due date: August 13, by 11:59pm.

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A. Pre-Writing Steps:

1. Close and Attentive Reading 2. Find and generate ideas based on close reading

3. Brainstorm, build and expand on preliminary ideas 4. Integrated reasoning and critical thinking: identify thematic threads across

various ideas or parts of the story, connect the dots, create building blocks, and present ideas as part of one coherent unit

5. Select an appropriate title for your paper

THE TWO RESPONSE TO READINGS YOU WILL WORK ON EXPANDING FOR YOUR FINAL PAPER ARE (indicate module # of your

choice below):

#__________________________

# ______________________________

In what follows, you will apply the above 4 pre-writing steps by revising and integrating/combining the two Response to Readings of your choice from the ones that you submitted during this summer session.

• Step#1: Close and Attentive Re-Reading

Where? When? Who? What?

o The focus of your selected response to readings/videos is personal stories/life narratives that explore the course theme, by asking the following questions: what is the context/setting of these stories? where do they take place? What are the challenges or issues described? Whose perspective and voice does the story represent? What is the point of view from which it is being told, and why is that significant? Who is affected by situations or events told in the story? And how?

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o When expanding ideas presented in the required readings (the articles and critical essays) we’ve studied to structure our discussion of course materials, examine the following: What are the problems or issues that the authors examine in their articles/ essays? What are the perspectives against which they position themselves? What are the arguments that they use to support their claims or statements? Why and how is their analysis relevant to the stories we studied? Where do we see applications of their ideas in the stories we studied? What concepts or ideas are similar to the ones they discuss.

• Step #2: Find and generate ideas based on close reading/viewing

o List key words and their connotations (use as many as necessary to cover

adequately your topic)

Title of text/video #1: __________________

§ Key words (actual words used in text/video): ___________________

§ Connotations (words that are close in meaning/similar to the key words but not actually used in the text/video): ____________________________________

Title of text/video #2: __________________

§ Key words (actual words used in text/video): ___________________

§ Connotations (words that are close in meaning/similar to the key words but not actually used in the text/video): ____________________________________

Title of text/video #3: __________________

§ Key words (actual words used in text/video):

___________________ § Connotations (words that are close in meaning/similar to

the key words but not actually used in the text/video): ____________________________________

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o Connect ideas in the text/video to describe what is happening or what’s being

discussed

§ Summarize § Paraphrase § Find logical connections and patterns: cause and effect, similarities, differences,

oppositions or contrasts, main ideas, secondary ideas, what common points/ideas/points of view or important contrasts/differences can you identify across different texts/videos?

§ Step #3: Brainstorm, build on preliminary ideas, map your ideas

Use the results of Steps 1 and 2 in order to create logical connections between ideas and map your thoughts: i.e. to show progression in your analysis or how one idea leads logically to another: e.g. how a problem is solved; how a conflict is resolved; how a need is fulfilled; how ignorance leads to growth and maturity, etc.

§ Step #4: Integrated reasoning and critical thinking: identify thematic

threads across various ideas or parts of the story, connect the dots, create building blocks, and present ideas as part of one coherent unit.

§ Based on the results of Steps 1-3, begin formulating research questions: i.e.

the questions that you will critically examine and which you will be attempting to answer in your paper, based on evidence from the works that are the focus of your discussion (and that are the focus of the 3 response to readings/videos that you selected).

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§ Think of your research questions as raising key issues/problems.

Questions #1/ Issue #1 Questions #2/ Issue #2 Questions #3/ Issue #3

§ Step # 5: Select an appropriate title for your paper. Based on your work in Steps 1-4, select an appropriate title for your paper.

Title: _____________________________________

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B. Revising your paper: Steps

1. Focus/thesis 2. Structure and organization

3. Development 4. Analysis

5. Mechanics 6. Format 7. Outline

In the first half of this workshop, our objective was to (1) generate thoughts and brainstorm ideas based on the TWO response-to-readings you chose for your final paper and organize them into categories (2) identify dominant themes, views and patterns of meaning that emerge from looking at the content of the 2-response-to-readings, and (3) recognize potential links among them that can be formed to create a tentative outline. In this second workshop, you will apply the steps outlined in the checklist for revising your first draft to refine the ideas you brainstormed in the first half of this workshop, and to produce an improved draft:

1. The scope of your paper: Did you clearly identify the works/films that will be the focus of

your final paper, based on the 2 response-to-readings of your choice, as per the first workshop guide?

2. Thesis or focus: § Does the paper have a central thesis? Can you, if asked, offer a one-sentence

explanation or summary of what the paper is about? § What is a thesis: “A short statement, usually one sentence, that summarizes the main

point or claim of an essay, research paper, and is developed, supported, and explained in the text by means of examples and evidence” (Dictionary definition)

§ How to write a strong and effective thesis: o A strong thesis statement gives direction to the paper. It also functions to inform

your readers of what you will discuss in the body of the o paper. All paragraphs of the essay should explain, support, or argue with your

thesis. o A strong thesis statement requires proof; it is not merely a statement of fact.

You should support your thesis statement with detailed supporting evidence. o Sometimes it is useful to mention your supporting points in your thesis, to make

your claims convincing and justified.

3. Structure & Organization:

• Does the paper progress in an organized, logical way? • Go through the paper and jot down notes on the topics of the various paragraphs. Look at

this list and see if you can think of a better organization.

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• Make a brief outline. Does the organization make sense? Should any part be moved to another part?

• Are there clear logical transitions between paragraphs and ideas? For more on improving transitions and transitional devices, refer to the guide: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/574/01/

4. Development & Analysis:

• Are there places in the paper where more details, examples, or specifics are needed? • Do any paragraphs seem much shorter and in need of more material than others? • Do paragraphs contain unnecessary repetitions of ideas and words that do not contribute

to the progression of your analysis?

5. Mechanics: Sentence structure, punctuation, word choice, spelling:

• Does your paper use colloquial expressions or expressions from spoken English? What can you do to ensure it is written in an academic style not a spoken English style.

• Are all proper nouns of works, authors, places, wars correctly spelled? • Read the paper aloud watching and listening for anything that sounds incorrect. • Ask yourself why you put punctuation marks in certain places. • Sentences fragments: does your paper have sentence fragments or run-on sentences that

stand in the way of clearly communicating your ideas with authority? For more on how to avoid sentence fragments, refer to the guide: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/620/01/

• Clarity, concision, and internal sentence coherence (e.g. do your sentences move from the general to specific points; they have logical connectors and other appropriate grammatical choices; they successfully articulate the central point). For more on improving sentence clarity, refer to the guide: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/600/01/ and https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/711/01/

6. Format: Does your paper observe a consistent formatting style (such as the MLA or Chicago style) to present titles of works/films/articles and cited or consulted bibliographical resources?

7. Outline: § Have you applied steps from workshop #1 to identify clearly articulated research

questions around which to frame your paper and develop the central thesis? Consider using references to specific turning points and episodes from the works that you chose to focus on in the final paper, and that trigger important questions or developments, or quotes by authors studied or characters featured in films, as a source to frame your broad topic, and around which you will formulate your 3 interlinked and clearly defined MAJOR research questions, required in your first task.

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§ The 3 interlinked research questions/issues/problems you are asked to formulate are intended to break down the topic and thesis of your choice into clearly defined steps/parts: i.e. into sub-questions, or sub-areas of analysis that allow you to lead your analysis with depth and with sufficient development.

EXAMPLE:

Topic/thesis: Global warming is the most pressing challenge facing the world today.

Three research questions/issues (to develop the topic above):

1. Why is global warming the most pressing challenge facing the world today? What are the risks it poses to the environment and human life? ==> what is the evidence supporting my claim here?

2. Which populations are most affected and directly impacted by the risks of global warming? ==> what is the evidence supporting my claim here?

3. How is global warming addressed by governments, international NGOs and activists around the world today? what are the proposed solutions? are they effective? ==> what is the evidence supporting my claim here?