Short Essay
Due: Wednesday, April 1

The first part of our course has been dedicated to an analysis of poetry from different eras and different parts of the world. Poets have shared their fears, love, sadness, joy, or anxiety with readers they would never meet, and their words have resonated with us in different ways.

Choose one of the assigned poems that has impressed you the most, BUT that we have NOT fully discussed in class. Analyze it in detail, making sure to discuss all the aspects of poetry we have explored in class (see the documents titled Poetry Analysis).

Audience:
Write this paper for a group of friends who have not read the same texts as you have, but who are interested in the same topic.

Format:
Your essay should:
have a clear introduction, at least 5 body paragraphs, and a conclusion;
have a clear thesis;
develop only ONE idea in each body paragraph;
use Times New Roman size 12, have 1 inch margins, be double spaced, and use left alignment;
use MLA style for citations (see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ for further information);
have your name, course title and section, and date at the top left corner of your paper.

Your essay should be at least 3 pages long but no more than 5 pages long.

Expectations and grading criteria:
For this assignment, you will need to demonstrate that: you can identify a clear theme for the poem and develop it in a coherent argument; you can isolate at least three specific and appropriate moments of the poem that can support your argument; you can discuss those moments in some detail and in relation to the theme of the poem; you can explain why and how each moment supports your argument; you can connect these moments to each other into a coherent whole.

Plagiarism Policy
Plagiarism is the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one’s own original work, as by not crediting the author (www.dictionary.reference.com).  Any act of plagiarism will be punished according to the CUNY policy for academic integrity, which can be found at http://www.kbcc.cuny.edu/studentaffairs/student_conduct/Pages/academic_integrity.aspx

Note: Your essay should discuss the following in relation to the poem:
subject
theme
tone
speaker
setting (spatial and temporal)
signification of particular words/phrases: denotation and connotation// ambiguity
Your essay should also refer to at least three of the following in relation to the theme of the poem:
signification of syntax: emphasis//repetition//inversions
figures of speech: metaphor/simile/analogy/metonymy/synecdoche/symbols
sounds of poetry: meter (regular vs. free verse)//caesura//enjambment
form of poem: narrative//dramatic//discursive//descriptive//reflective
external form: rhyme//alliteration/blank verse//villanelle//sonnet//haiku

For example, you can use emphasis, free verse, and alliteration=3 elements. ( You do NOT have to use 3 elements from each category).

Please, underline all these elements as you discuss them in your essay. For example, Shakespeare uses the metaphor eye of heaven in order to suggest that.

Please, first read the sample I uploaded to Essays in order to see what I am looking for. You can ask me questions via the Discussion board or during our time on Blackboard Collaborate.

Instructions: Please compare and contrast the Johnsons “What is a ‘System of Privileg”  and Fuentes From the Myth of Race essays. May use either point-by-point or block comparison format. Please use the MLA Essay Template and include works cited page.

Essay Question: To begin the essay discuss how each authors’ methods by which racial stereotypes and privilege are reinforced and how they can be re-examined. Based on the evidence in these texts and perhaps your personal experience, what can you conclude about changing — or unchanging–concepts or race in the United States? Decide which author, Fuentes or Johnson, presents his arguments in a fair and truthful manner (ethos) and discuss why or how he accomplishes it.

The essay will need to include

Introduction one or two sentences that take the reader from the big picture to the specific topic. Students introduce the authors and the titles of the essays.
Thesis statement (multi-part). Tell the reader what the topic is, why it should be discussed, and how it is important to them. PLEASE UNDERLINE THE THESIS.
At examples of support/reasons that support the thesis.
Transitional paragraphs, sentences, and words to make the essay flow.
Conclusion restate the thesis and recap the support.
Thesis: I believe that Fuentes and Johnson (make OR do not make) compelling arguments about racial stereotypes and privilege are reinforced and how they can be re-examined. The most compelling argument comes from the author (Fuentes OR Johnson) because he presents  ______________ and shows that he (demonstrates OR does not demonstrate) ethos because __________________. After reading these essays, I conclude that the concepts of race are (changing OR unchanging) in the United States.

  I. Introduction

A. Introductory sentence take the reader from the general to the specific and introduce the authors and the titles of the essays.

B. Thesis

II. Discuss the most influential argument that each author makes about racial stereotypes and privilege and how they are reinforced and how they can be re-examined.

A. Summarize the main claims and minor claims of each argument. Then discuss the strongest evidence presented to refute the opposition and strengthen their argument in each essay.

1. Fuentes

2. Johnson

B. Decide which author presents the best argument and who presents his arguments in a fair and truthful manner (ethos) and discuss how he accomplishes this.

1. Fuentes

2. Johnson

C. Discuss whether you think the concepts of race are changing or unchanging in the United States.

III. Conclusion

A. Briefly recap the main ideas

B. Discuss why your stand on the arguments is significant (Why should we care?).