America Essay

n      We have read and interacted with a number of different texts that discuss or show American values.  Using at least three of the poems, one short story, one essay, one newspaper article and a text of your own choice, write an essay on what it means to be an American according the writers we read.  You may compare your own experience.  Many of us have not thought about what it means to be an American.  WE take the freedoms, the equal access to education and the crime for granted.  Is crime a result of the freedom?  People see others with wealth and then they want it?  Can we define America as one thing or many?

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n      There are two basic requirements; the rest is up to you.  Use concrete details from the pieces (three-five) with commentary to support your argument.  Your paper must in some way discuss a fundamental paradox implicit in the works we read and attempt to synthesize a collective understanding of the works you cite in your paper.

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n      There is no length requirement.  You may work in whatever mode you choose, expository, reflective, analytical, personal, narrative.  Limiting yourself to one writing mode or a way of knowing will limit your insight.  You may move from one mode to another as you see fit, if it is a logical form for the paper you’ve decided to write.

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n      It might be a good idea to write your own prompt first.  Since the assignment is deliberately general and wide open it could help if you focus your approach. 

Grading criteria

• Originality of idea
• A clear, concise, compelling introduction that hooks the reader with a powerful, sparkling and effective argument
• The ability to understand one of the many paradoxes that define the country and to see both sides of that paradox
• Language that is specific, clear and avoids generalizations
• Paragraphs that sing!!!!  A well-structured paragraph is a beauty of nature, as clear and pure as a killer whale’s cry or the howl of a spider monkey over a dense canopy of African savannah.
• Details in the from of quotes, paraphrasing and original objective observation
• Your commentary on the quotes
•  A design to the paper 6that effectively connects the body of the paper back to the introduction
• Vivid imagery in your writing-make your writing live breathe and bleed, make it come alive.

 I learned a surprising thing in writing this book. It is possible to move away from a vast, unbearable pain by delving into it deeper and deeper -- by "diving into the wreck," to borrow the perfect words from Adrienne Rich. You can look at all the parts of a terrible thing until you see that they're assemblies of smaller parts, all of which you can name, and some of which you can heal or alter, and finally the terror that seemed unbearable becomes manageable. I suppose what I am describing is the process of grief. Barbara Kingsolver

Elbow

n    Why should freewriting be so helpful if it is so easy and invites such carelessness in writing and thinking? And why does it also invite some of our best writing and thinking? First, let's look at the easiness--in comparison with the difficulty of regular writing:

   Writing is usually judged or even graded, but freewriting is not.

   Writing usually means thinking about spelling and grammar, but in freewriting you can put all that out of your mind.

   Writing is supposed to make sense, but freewriting can be incoherent or nonsensical.

All Elbow

   Writing is supposed to stay on one topic and be organized, but freewriting can jump all over the place.

   Writing is usually for an audience, but freewriting is private. Thus freewriting is even safer than speaking, since we almost never speak except when someone's listening.

   Writing is usually supposed to be more important and dignified and "better" than speech. (Why take the time to write something out unless you are going to try to get it right?) But freewriting is an invitation to let words be less important and careful than speech--and to see what you can learn from them.

What keeps you from writing?  What stops you?

Where do you write? 

How do you begin an essay?  What are the first steps in your mind?

How do you see the design of this essay?  In other words what structure will work for you?

Howling about the poets/writers

Reach deep down inside and write your emotional reaction to the poem or story.  You can comment on anything-tone, image, and intention.

The point here is not to think but to do.  Writing is an intensely physical act and you often learn what you know by doing.

Ah, Grasshopper, that is the paradox of writing.  You can’t write if you don’t know what you are going to write about but you often don’t know what you’re going to write about until you write.

Write commentary on each quote, paying attention to the language and how the words paint vivid pictures to accomplish the writer’s purpose.

Freewrite number two-Shift away from your emotional reaction to the piece and write for ten minutes.  What is the poet or writer’s intention?  What is his or her purpose with the piece?  How does he or she accomplish that purpose?  Focus on the concrete.  What is the writer’s tone?  Does it change over the course of the poem?  List six specific images (quotes) that help develop purpose and tone.

Come up with a metaphor for America.