Essay 2 at a Glance _
In Essay 2, we are using the concepts presented in texts to help us formulate an argument about another concept or ideas. We will continue to work on carefully reading and understanding the texts, but this time, we’ll be choosing strong, specific examples to illustrate the connections we make from a text that can help us develop and demonstrate an argument.
Main Goals for Essay 2
- Focus your essay with a strong thesis statement that makes a claim about the relationship between gender and success and provide reasons for that claim (your “because” statement).
- Provide effective and developed support for your claim by summarizing the ideas from the texts (and from previous assignments) as appropriate
- Critically analyze the ideas in the text to make a claim about the relationship between gender and success and explain this analysis to readers.
- Create organized paragraphs that focus on one main point and divide your argument into manageable chunks for your readers
Texts for Essay 2
- “I Won. I’m Sorry.” By Mariah Burton Nelson
- “The Lady Vanishes” LINK: https://www.pushkin.fm/episode/the-lady-vanishes/
- Men Explain Things to Me” by Rebecca Solnit
- You will also have to use TWO outside sources.
Essay 2 Prompt
For this assignment, you will argue the extent to which you believe gender and gender roles influences one’s ability to be successful. Using the articles about gender and gender roles, construct an argument about how you feel gender can help or inhibit (or possibly both) someone’s ability to take the steps needed for advancement. In other words, are there additional obstacles that are put on folks because of their gender\gender roles, and do these obstacles prevent them from achieving success? You will use the information in the article we read to support your argument and point of view and your research on the topic.
Your essay should:
- Include a strong thesis claim and reasons in support of this claim
- Include details, examples, and quotations from the texts to help you develop your argument.
- Talk about complexities—for example, you might think about Elizabeth Thompson’s grittiness and discuss the obstacles she faced because she was a woman. Did she need strong motivation because she was a woman and facing additional barriers, or does the fact she’s a woman factor into things at all? Make sure you use specific examples to help you support your ideas. Please note: while you are welcome to use Elizabeth Thompson as a case study, you do not necessarily need to do so unless you feel it will help further your position to do so.
- Use your critical voice to explain WHY you’ve reached your conclusions about the relationship between gender and success.
- Be written in 3rd person only.
It would be best if you wrote your essay for people who are NOT in this class and are not familiar with the readings. This means you need to summarize key ideas, define any terms that might be unfamiliar, and choose short quotations from the readings to help your reader get a sense of what the authors are talking about and how their ideas support your ideas.
THE ESSAY MUST BE FIVE TO SIX PAGES. Must use all of the readings above along with two outside sources.
Rubric
1. Draw the reader in gradually: https://www.thoughtco.com/writing-a-hook-for-your-essay-1856994 (Links to an external site.). This is how your introduction will be graded.
2. Assertion: (the “topic sentence” or main point) Assertions are like mini-thesis statements that explain what the body paragraph will be about, and make a specific point. They are not summaries or general statements. These are usually only one sentence.
3. Example: (the “concrete detail”) The example is just as it sounds. It is the evidence that you will use to support your assertion. Examples can be direct quotes or a brief paraphrase of the text you are using. Remember to always cite your sources and introduce your quotations with signal phrases, such as, “According to…” Also remember that your example cannot make your point for you, and will need to be explained.
4. Explanation: (the “commentary” or “analysis”) The explanation will show the reader how the example supports the assertion. This is your analysis. If you are using a long example, make sure to explain all of it. The explanation section should be about twice as long as your example and should make up a majority of your paragraph. This is where you argue your point in detail.
5. Significance: (the “relevance” to the paper) The significance of the paragraph explains how everything you just proved in your specific example is still related back to the overall thesis of your paper. You do not have to refer to your whole thesis, but rather the most relevant part of it. This is usually about one to two sentences.
6. The paper uses proper MLA formatting, work cited, and in-text citations.
7. Thinking: The paper stays on focus, using a clear thesis to develop an argument.
8. Proofreading: Does the author edit and revise their work?