Making a coherent and compelling argument is an important skill, and something that will be important whether
you choose to study further or to seek employment. The goal of this assignment is to test both your general
language skills, your reading comprehension, and your ability to develop and structure an argument for a
specific point.
Please stay in touch during the writing process: we are here to help.
Required Reading:
Pick and Mix 2: How to write an argumentative text
Pick and Mix 2: How to write a discursive essay
Pick and Mix 2: How to write a book analysis
The Lone Ranger and Tonto fistfight in heaven
What To Write
Your task is to identify the central theme of The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven and write an essay
arguing for the point. You will need to make references to at least three stories to properly convince the reader
that your idea is relevant for the entire collection.
Basically; what are the stories trying to say and why do you think so?
Remember, the reader is not interested in whathappens in the story, but whyit happens. Of course, you need
to remind them about what happens, but it’s not necessary to explain in detail.
Remember: The theme cannot be a single word or phrase, like ‘family’, ‘tradition’, or ‘alcoholism’. In the first
paragraph you have to specify what the story is trying to say about something. For example: “Alcoholism is a
symptom of the Indian’s disenfranchisement” or “The only people who break away from their past are those
who choose to change”.
Also: We are not interested in your opinion . The goal is to analyse the text, not to say what you think about the
text.
Some examples to think further on:
- Personal relationships are affected by external factors. The people in the stories are explicitly and implicitly
affected by their roles as members of a minority group. Explore how personal relationships are affected by life
as a Native American in the USA. - The parent determines the life of the child. The relationship between parent and child is ever present in the
stories you have read. Explore how the actions of parents mold the personality and actions of children. - Change comes from within. The stories present a people who has been treated very poorly over a very long
period of time. Explore how the characters in the story are affected by this fact, and how they choose to relate
to it.
How to write
The text should follow the format of a Five Paragraph Essay (it cancontain more or fewer paragraphs if that
works better, it’s just a name) and must be Argumentative.
The text should be 600 to 1000 words long.
The language should be formal and impersonal. This means that you are to avoid contractions (write “do not”
rather than “don’t”), you should avoid speech-like constructions (Ya dig, pup?) and you should minimize
elements of your own emotions and personality (Don’t write ‘The characters make me sad’, write ‘The story is
quite sad, something shown…’).