Paper Prompt #1
Closely read and compare two sources from the syllabus. One of the sources must precede the Civil War. The other source must follow Reconstruction. In your analysis of each source, employ
W. E. B. Du Bois’s concepts of “the veil,” “double consciousness,” and “second sight.”
What does your comparison of these two sources reveal about the history of white supremacy and anti-Blackness in the United States?
Answer this question by analyzing the author’s literary and rhetorical techniques as well as his or her proposals, interventions, assumptions, etc.
Guidelines for Effective Analytical Writing and
Argumentation
1.)
Give your essay a short title that will help your reader remember its main argument.
Begin your introductory paragraph with a brief “hook” that will entice your reader. (Perhaps briefly describe a controversy that you will resolve, or briefly narrate an anecdote that you will train your reader to interpret.)
3.)
After you entice your reader with your essay’s topic, pose the question that your essay will answer.
4.)
Before you answer your main question, summarize your evidence and describe your method of analysis.
5.)
Conclude your introductory paragraph with a single sentence that concisely and precisely articulates your answer to the essay’s main question. Make your essay worth your reader’s time and effort by offering a debatable yet provable answer. (Do NOT offer an obvious answer.)
6.1
Begin each body paragraph with an idea that requires proof. (Do
NOT begin your body paragraphs with statements of fact.)
Order your paragraphs to make the main movements of your argument easier for your reader to follow and assess. Use transitional words and phrases in your topic and concluding sentences to help.
Introduce your quotes sufficiently so that they will make sense to a reader unfamiliar with your source. Integrate your quotes smoothly into your sentences. (Do NOT force a quote to stand as its own sentence.)
- ) Choose your verbs wisely. Note that I have not written the following sentences: “Your verbs should be chosen wisely,” or “Verbs are important.” Emphasize the power of people, ideas, systems, language, etc. by making them the subjects of your sentences. Select verbs that precisely convey these subjects’ actions. (Do NOT use the passive voice.)
- ) Conclude your essay by suggesting some of the ideas that proceed from its main argument. Assume that you have persuaded your reader.
What subsequent inferences do you think s/he should make? What new questions should s/he try to answer? Your concluding paragraph should briefly build on your main argument, not recapitulate it. (Do NOT spend your concluding paragraph summarizing your argument.)