Professor Ula English 101 Spring 2020

Essay #1 Prompt

“The Other Side Is Not Dumb”
“Why America is Self-Segregating”
“The New Jim Crow”
“Minority Student Clubs: Segregation or Integration?” “Why Rural America Voted for Trump”
“Blaxicans and Other Re-invented Americans”
“Black Men and Public Space”

Choose TWO of the articles from They Say, I Say from the list above and the Supplemental Readings from CANVAS, and then write an essay in which you discuss who the authors are writing for. In other words, who are the authors’ intended audience and how specifically do the authors attempt to reach his/her audience through writing? Are the authors speaking directly to millennials? Baby Boomers? Gen X’ers? What context clues in the text speak to the authors’ target audience?

Your essay must conform to MLA guidelines and must include the following: I. Introduction:

• Hook
• Quotation from prompt and brief explanation of its significance
• Introduction of texts and authors
• Thesis statement that presents an argument
• Choose which text & argumentation model offers the most successful and effective
  argument

II. Body Paragraphs that discuss the texts Individually:

• Topic sentence
• Brief explanation of text being discussed
• Introduction of a quotation / evidence
• Quotation / evidence
• Explanation of quotation / evidence
• Transitional phrase

III. Comparison & Contrast Body Paragraph:

• Topic sentence
• Direct comparison and contrast of how your two chosen texts differ in their approach to
  reaching their respective target audiences.
• Evidence / quotations to support comparison and contrast
• Explicitly choose which text presents the most effective argument and WHY

IV. Conclusion:
• Briefly summarize the main ideas you have discussed in the essay.

• Revisit the thesis statement
• Provide a personal anecdote or connection to the texts; some sort of insight you have
  gained based upon your experience of supporting the argument you are making in this essay.
  *NOTE: At this stage in your writing career, you have moved far beyond the 5-paragraph essay model. Your essay needs to successfully PROVE the CLAIM you make in your thesis statement. Remember to re-visit the central idea of your thesis statement in each body paragraph.