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Essay #3: Argumentative Analysis of Multiple Texts
CONTEXT: As previously mentioned, I decided to focus on relationships throughout the duration of this class because they are something we are all acutely aware of yet may not formally examine. As we have also mentioned in class, relationships are vital to our survival whether they are friendships, partnerships, coworkers, etc., which is something we learned when working on our first essay. One of the goals for “Essay #1: Critical Summary” was to use Debra Umberson and Jennifer Karas Montez’s study, “Social Relationships and Health: A Flashpoint for Health Policy,” to develop a formal understanding of the significant impacts relationships have on our lives. As we’ve discussed in class, we all have a different understanding and evaluation of what these relationships mean to us and how we navigate through them.
ASSIGNMENT: Therefore, for this assignment, I would like you to use your understanding of relationships developed in Essay #1 (and further developed throughout the class) to make a claim about ONE of the following:
- The cultural impacts of relationships.
- The impacts of relationships on gender.
- The impact of relationships on language.
- The social impacts of relationships.
- The economic impacts of relationships.
- Then, analyze 2-3 texts covered in class to support your claim.
Requirements and Advice for Essay #3
Thesis/Focus:
- Your essay must have a strong, well-supported thesis statement, which should make a claim about ONE aspect of relationships and the impact of this aspect on relationships.
- Text options include the following:
- Umberson and Montez’s study, “Social Relationships and Health…”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3150158/
- Junot Diaz’s short story, “Drown”
https://eng1301blog.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/junot-diaz-drown.pdf
- Amy Tan’s essay, “Mother Tongue”
http://theessayexperiencefall2013.qwriting.qc.cuny.edu/files/2013/09/Mother-Tongue-by-Amy-Tan.pdf
- Cristina Henríquez’s young adult novel, The Book of Unknown Americans
- Ray Bradbury’s short story, “All Summer in a Day”
http://staff.esuhsd.org/danielle/english%20department%20lvillage/RT/Short%20Stories/All%20Summer%20in%20a%20Day.pdf
- For this essay, you are using AT LEAST 2 texts, but NO MORE THAN 4 texts, to analyze and support your claim about one aspect of relationships and its effect on relationships.
- Length / Topic Choice / Research Requirements:
- There is no outside research component for this essay.
- All of your sources, must be correctly cited, both in-text and in the Works Cited page, according to the MLA 2016 guidelines.
- Please consult Essay #2’s example on Canvas for help.
- Audience and Tone:
- Your audience is a general academic audience—therefore, formal.
o Be sure to maintain an appropriate, professional, academic tone. NOTE: This should be written in third-person. No first-person should be used in this essay.
- Structure and More…
o REMEMBER: This essay should focus more on ANALYSIS of the texts than a summary of events. So, only summarize if necessary.
- Please quote, paraphrase or summarize examples.
o For extra help, here’s a rough outline of the essay:
- Intro:
- Introduce texts
- Thesis—see above
o Supporting Paragraphs:
- Should each contain ONE main idea that supports your thesis.
- So, the “main idea” of each of your paragraphs should be limited to ONE impact the aspect you have chosen has on relationships.
- Use NO MORE THAN TWO texts to support each of the impacts you have listed.
- Conclusion
- Think about how you can expand your argument.
- What are the consequences if your readers don’t listen to you?
- Think about how you can expand your argument.