Describe a contemporary problem and your suggestion for improving it (like “I Have a Dream,” “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” or “Marrakech”)
Using one of the essays we have read for this section as a model, choose a topic that sparks your imagination and gets your mind working. Your goal is to discover your special interests within the boundaries of the assignment.
2. Develop your thesis and write your essay. Carefully explain each point, using specific details for support and clarification whenever necessary. Your goal is to create a specific image or impression in the mind of your reader. Your goal is to write an essay in the manner of one of the essays we have read in this section. The essay could be informational, persuasive, biographical, narrative, etc. I have given some suggested topics that correspond to the essays we have just read; you may use those essays as a model for your own writing, but your essay should be your own creation based on your own perceptions and experiences rather than an analysis of the essays we read (unlike the first two essays you have written during this semester).
3. Although the content may be personal, don’t neglect the needs and expectations of your reading audience. Avoid elliptical writing by fully explaining or describing each element. Include details and descriptions to set the scenes for your readers.
4. Ask yourself, what’s the point or lesson learned? to ensure you have created a proper thesis that will guide your development. Review the essays we read to pinpoint how the authors presented their thesis where did they first suggest the thesis? How did they develop that idea? How was that idea finally reinforced or concluded?
Paper format: All final drafts of papers should be typed, double-spaced, 800 – 1200 words. I recommend that the final draft include your name, your instructor’s name, the course number, and the date on the top left of the first page, as specified in the MLA guidelines. The title of the paper should be centered just below the identifying information. The format of the paper should otherwise follow the MLA guidelines.
For each individual literary work, list the author’s name in last name, first name format, the title of the work, the translator’s name, the publisher’s name, and the date of publication:
Last name, First name. Title of Work. Translator’s name. Publisher, date. Examples are:
Donne, John. “Meditation XVII,” The Works of John Donne. vol III. Henry Alford, editor. John W. Parker, 1839.
Orwell, George. “Marrakech.” New Writing (Christmas, 1939).
Swift, Jonathan. “A Modest Proposal.” S. Harding, 1729.
Suggested Topics:
Review any of the topics below, looking for ideas that meet the requirements of point #1 above. CHOOSE ONE TOPIC ONLY.
1. Relate how something changed your perception or understanding in a fundamental or profound way (like “Marrakech”)
2. Describe a contemporary problem and your suggestion for improving it (like “I Have a Dream,” “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” or “Marrakech”)
3. Clarify or present your personal philosophy on any one given subject or theme (like “My People, “Why We Crave Horror Movies,” or Faulkner’s “Nobel Prize Winning Speech”)
