Midterm Exam Essay Question On The Harlem Renaissance 1000 Words Due 11/9/20 @ 5PM EST! 27HRS!!!

ENGL 268: Harlem Renaissance

Midterm Review for Fall 2020

Format:

· On Monday November 2, 2020, I will post the midterm exam question. This is not a timed exam. This will allow more time for you to write a thorough essay.

· You will answer the question in essay format. You must upload your essay to Blackboard by Monday November 9, 2020 at 11:59pm. You can take as much time as you want to craft your essay, as long as you upload it before the deadline passes.   

· You will earn an automatic 0 if you submit a blank essay or if I cannot open your attachment. Do not ask me to reset your score. Do not email me your essays – submit them through Blackboard.

· You must answer the essay question that you see on your screen. You will not receive credit for ignoring the question or writing about something unrelated to the topic.

· This essay should be in standard, academic format with a strong introduction, supporting body paragraphs, and a thought-provoking conclusion (see the rubric on page three).

· There are also no new readings, coffee shop posts, or lecture questions due until the midterm period has commenced.

· Because this is an online class, you can use notes, and I recommend that you have the texts with you so you can use specific quotations in your essays. This midterm will be relatively easy to complete if you’ve been keeping up with the readings and my lectures.

· You are creating an argumentative, thesis-based essay. Your essay should move beyond summarization. Use the course texts to support, not overpower, your own argument.

· As stated on the syllabus, do not copy and paste information from essay creation sites, help sites, or other cheating sites. Doing so counts as plagiarism, and you will automatically fail the course.

· You are required to use MLA to cite every primary and secondary source you use.

To prepare for the midterm essay, study the following things:

· Connections between texts

· Think about themes across texts and how they relate to each other.

· In addition to thinking about the connections between essays, think about how an essay and a poem may relate to each other (for example, what are some commonalities between McKay’s “The Lynching” and Nella Larsen’s Passing? W.E.B. Du Bois’ “Criteria for Negro Art”? How does Larsen’s novella help us understand McKay’s poem?).

· An intersectional approach to studying the Harlem Renaissance

· Many of my lectures focused on examining the Harlem Renaissance from an intersectional approach. Despite the common impression that the Harlem Renaissance is an African American movement, the Harlem Renaissance was complicated by issues of gender, nationality, sexuality, ethnicity, and other identity categories.

· A contemporary issue that relates to the Harlem Renaissance

· This is a common thread in my lectures and in the coffee shop posts. Think about how the Harlem Renaissance relates to contemporary issues, such as gentrification, black identity, police brutality, etc. Many issues that Harlem Renaissance writers wrote about are still prominent topics in our contemporary time period.

You can reference the following texts in your essays:

· David Levering Lewis’ “Introduction” to The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader

· Claude McKay’s “If We Must Die”

· Claude McKay’s “The Lynching”

· Claude McKay’s “Harlem Shadows”

· Jessie Fauset’s “Dead Fires”

· Alice Dunbar Nelson’s “Sonnet”

· James Weldon Johnson’s “O Black and Unknown Bards”

· Countee Cullen’s “Heritage”

· Alain Locke’s “The New Negro”

· Parts 1 and 2 of Nella Larsen’s Passing

Harlem Renaissance Midterm Exam Rubric

	Exceeds Expectations (9-10)	Meets Expectations (7-8)	Approaching Expectations (5-6)	Does Not Meet Expectations (1-4)	Unacceptable or Incomplete (0)
Introduction: Contains an introduction that provides a hook and meaningful context to set up the thesis statement
Thesis Statement: Contains a clearly articulated and persuasive thesis statement
Analysis: Moves beyond basic summarization to analyze specific aspects of the text
Examples: Supports the analysis with persuasive and accurate examples
Organization: Structures essay in an effective, logical, and clear manner
Topic Selection: Creates an essay that stays on topic and answers the essay prompt
Conclusion: Effectively leaves the reader with “food for thought”
Audience: Uses a formal tone that is appropriate for an academic audience
Citation: Essay uses proper MLA format
Grammar and Syntax: Essay is grammatically correct with clear and concise syntax

Score: _______/100

Dr. Horton’s Comments: