Questions:
1) Many of the texts we’ve read have been works of American immigrant literature depicting the experiences of
newcomers learning to adapt to life in America. How does the text you’ve chosen portray the challenge of
assimilating in America while also trying to maintain one’s individual or cultural identity?
2) A number of our course texts explore what it means to “be American,” to be a part of a larger national culture
or identity. How does the author, speaker, or narrator of the text you’ve chosen represent the identity of an
“American”? What does it mean to be American according to this work?
3) In class, we have discussed how discrimination in America can take many forms: racial, linguistic, gender,
class-based, and religious discrimination have all been apparent in texts we’ve read. What different forms of
discrimination are portrayed in the work you have chosen, and how does the text convey or depict these
experiences to the reader ?
Some tips for developing and writing your essay:
Use your discussion forum posts, course texts, and notes to help you consider which text you want to write on
and what question or topic you want to address – it is very likely that you already have some written ideas that
can be used to help you get started with your paper.
Return to the text you’ve chosen to write on and use your close reading and analysis skills to carefully consider
how it addresses the question or topic you’ve chosen to focus on. Consider the differing interpretations readers
might have about this question or topic and weigh the evidence before coming to your own conclusions.
Be sure your essay has a thesis statement in the introductory paragraph which clearly and concisely explains
the argument you are going to make: in your interpretation, how does this text address the question asked or
the topic focused on?
In the body paragraphs of your essay, avoid summarizing the text and, instead, focus on analyzing how the text
responds to your chosen question or topic. Assume that your reader already knows what the text is about, but
is interested in hearing your analysis of specific sections of the text in order to better understand your
interpretation and conclusions.
Include evidence to support and illustrate your interpretation: provide relevant quotations from the text, and
explain to readers who may have differing interpretations how and why this evidence supports your
interpretation.