Gender Essay

1,300-1,500 words

Overview

For this assignment, you will read an assigned reading then respond with an argumentative essay that uses good paragraph organization and evidence to help you prove your points.

Prompt:

Carefully re-read the article by Adichie.
Choose one question below to answer in your thesis and paper.

· How do harmful assumptions about gender make life difficult for women?

· How do harmful assumptions about gender make life difficult for men?

· How can men take more responsibility for accepting and promoting harmful assumptions about gender?

· How can women take more responsibility for accepting and promoting harmful assumptions about gender?

· How can parents raise their children so they grow up without believing harmful assumptions about gender?

· How does feminism benefit both men and women?

Organization requirements:

1. Introduction

Begin your paper with an introductory paragraph. The intro should give your reader an indication of what the paper topic is and gradually become more specific leading up to the thesis, which will be the last sentence of the intro. 

· There must only be one paragraph of introduction.

· Do not include any quotes or summary of the article in your introductory paragraph (From Adiche or anything else). This is not a “summary and response paper”; it’s an argument paper about gender that uses a source as evidence in the body of the paper.

· The thesis should be a direct response to the prompt question. 

0. Body

The body is the largest and most important part of the paper. Most of the grade is focused on this part. 

· Develop 3-4 claims that support your thesis. These claims will be the topic sentences for your body paragraphs. Begin each body paragraph with a topic sentence. 

· You must write 3-4 body paragraphs to support your thesis (no more and no less). Each paragraph should be around the same length. All together the paper must be 1,300-1,500 words, which means the paragraphs will need to be around a page in length.

· In each body paragraph, use evidence to support your claim. Include at least one quote or paraphrase from Adichie per body paragraph as evidence. You may use a quote or paraphrase or rely on personally observed examples or experiences as additional evidence. Each paragraph will have multiple pieces of evidence that will each need to be explained in terms of how the evidence supports or proves the claim.

· Use signal phrases and parenthetical citations any time you quote or paraphrase a source.

· Do not include quotes, paraphrase or summary from any source other than the assigned article by Adichie.

0. Conclusion

End your essay with a concluding paragraph. The conclusion should emphasize your main ideas and leave your readers with a final thought about why your thesis and topic are significant. There should only be one paragraph of conclusion.

0. A Works Cited Page

A Works cited page is a list of sources that you cited in your paper. The list is in a separate page at the end of your paper document. We will discuss how to format this in class. This is required for all papers in English 101 and most other courses. In our class, I will supply the citations you should add to your Works cited. Copy and paste this citation onto your paper’s works cited page. It should be the only source on your work cited for this paper.

Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. “We Should All Be Feminists.” Course pack for English 101: Composition, compiled by Erica Chu, Aug. 2022, Truman College, pp. 1-10.