your next essay allows you to look closely at our memoir and book-length work, asking you to consider what themes/major concepts/significant ideas interest you the most. Address what appeals to you--what you have something to say about. Each body paragraph(s) will focus on one major theme. Select at least three of the following topics and write a 3 1/2-5 page essay. You may also create your own topic but you must clear it with me first. Your task is to analyze a themes/major topic(s) in the book rather than just to describe, discussing why they are significant.
Essay Requirements:
- An informative and interesting title
- An introduction that orients your readers, providing context about your topics and the book (a concise yet thorough summary—1-2 paragraphs)
- A 2that provides a stance on the topics—the themes you’ve chosen. You might start with a dense question you’d like to investigate about Dear America—one that asks something significant about the text, why it’s important for us, others, and society. The thesis will likely be the short version answer to the question your whole paper addresses; the question will come before the thesis.)
- Topic sentences that make clear and argumentative points about themes to develop/support your thesis
- Support that’s specific and detailed and thus convincing. You should use quotations and paraphrases regularly throughout your essay. Select juicy passages to quote. Each body paragraph should have PIE. (If using outside sources, do so minimally.)
- Analysis that goes beyond the obvious, discussing what’s implied/suggested
- A thoughtful conclusion—analysis of all you have presented, final thoughts on the memoir’s significance, what you and others have discovered, overall impressions of the memoir. Was the story an important one? Did it hold your interest? Explain why or why not. Were the characters memorable to you? Why or why not? What’s your take on the author’s style? What have we learned overall? What are your final thoughts/analysis considering what you have presented?
* All papers must be typed, double-spaced, 1” margins on all sides and standard 12 pt. font
- Please use at least THREE vocabulary words (from the list for Dear America) and appositives. Please underline the appositives & vocab words.
Again, pick at least 3 themes and write at least one PIE on each theme. (Don’t worry that they won’t connect. They will in some way as they are from Vargas’ memoir.)
THEMES: (There are so many of these to choose from.):
SEPARATION: What does Vargas point out to us about families being separated, e.g Vargas and his mother? Why is this a central theme and what do you believe we learn about this after finishing the memoir? What about how Vargas keeps his second family apart from his grandparents?
HOME/HOMELESSNESS: Vargas states that his memoir is not about immigration but rather homelessness. What is his message about what makes a place home for someone? And what is he saying about the opposite—being in limbo and either choosing or not choosing to establish roots?
SURVIVAL: What is this memoir highlighting in terms of survival skills, especially for an undocumented person? What strengths does Vargas display when he navigates to survive in these waters? To what extent does his hard work assist him? And what about his ability to take the initiative in most situations? Is this admirable? How so? To what extent might his survival skills do him a disservice?
CURIOSITY: How might the theme of curiosity play out in the book? Vargas continually shows a voracious appetite for learning--pop culture, history, and so on. Why/how might that be significant?
CONFINEMENT: What about the theme of being confined or trapped? What is being said about being restricted to one country and not being able to fully move about? How would this affect someone and why might that be something to address? (35)
HIDING: What do we learn about the concept of hiding, always watching one’s back, being on guard. Why is this an idea to highlight? Does it cause a certain level of paranoia and why is that important?
CITIZENSHIP: What is Vargas saying about what it means to be an American citizen or a citizen? Why is this theme important? What is he suggesting about citizenship and what does that mean for Americans and folks around the world?
ASSIMILATION: And what is Vargas implying about what folks lose when they assimilate? When one can pass as an American does that also mean rejecting one’s other culture(s). Why does Vargas shine a light on that?
SACRIFICE: So many folks in this memoir sacrifice so much. Vargas’ mother gives up her son so she can have a better life, and her mother sacrificed her relationship with her daughter as well. What do you make of these costs? Were they worth it, or was the price too high?
LIES: Vargas has been lied to a bunch of times as a kid and then clearly we see him telling lies. What is the memoir suggested about lies? Are they justified or not? What repercussions might they have? But there is a lot truth telling here as well. Where do you see this in the book and how do you think it add or detracts from the memoir?
GENEROSITY: What does Vargas also point out about generosity and help from others in this text whom he mentions a few times? Why is he careful to lay this out carefully amongst his many themes?
INSPIRATION: What helped or inspired Vargas through these difficult years that have still not ended? What did he do, or who or what did he look towards that helped him get through?
SOCIAL MEDIA/DIGITAL SMARTS:
How does Vargas take advantage of his knowledge and experience with social media? What do you think of his initiative when it comes to this? What else does this memoir present to us in terms of activists using social media?
What else might we address?
Rough draft of at least 3 pages, typed, due:
Final draft due:
Responding to Dear America, Notes of an Undocumented Citizen, Essay # 3
Assignment:
Our next essay allows you to look closely at our memoir and book-length work, asking you to consider what themes/major concepts/significant ideas interest you the most. Address what appeals to you--what you have something to say about. Each body paragraph(s) will focus on one major theme. Select at least three of the following topics and write a 3½ - 5 page essay. You may also create your own topic but you must clear it with me first. Your task is to analyze a theme(s)/major topic(s) in the book rather than just to describe, discussing why they are significant.
Essay Requirements:
Ø An informative and interesting title
Ø An introduction that orients your readers, providing context about your topics and the book (a concise yet thorough summary—1-2 paragraphs)
Ø A thesis that provides a stance on the topics—the themes you’ve chosen. You might start with a dense question you’d like to investigate about Dear America—one that asks something significant about the text, why it’s important for us, others, and society. The thesis will likely be the short version answer to the question your whole paper addresses; the question will come before the thesis.)
Ø Topic sentences that make clear and argumentative points about themes to develop/support your thesis
Ø Support that’s specific and detailed and thus convincing. You should use quotations and paraphrases regularly throughout your essay. Select juicy passages to quote. Each body paragraph should have PIE. (If using outside sources, do so minimally.)
Ø Analysis that goes beyond the obvious, discussing what’s implied/suggested
Ø A thoughtful conclusion—analysis of all you have presented, final thoughts on the memoir’s significance, what you and others have discovered, overall impressions of the memoir. Was the story an important one? Did it hold your interest? Explain why or why not. Were the characters memorable to you? Why or why not? What’s your take on the author’s style? What have we learned overall? What are your final thoughts/analysis considering what you have presented?
· All papers must be typed, double-spaced, 1” margins on all sides and standard 12 pt. font
· Please use at least THREE vocabulary words (from the Dear America vocab list) and appositives. Please underline both the appositives and the vocabulary words.
· Also use joining words to make longer sentences: coordinators and subordinators. Underline at least 3 in your essay.
Again, pick at least 3 themes and write at least one PIE on each theme. (Don’t worry that they won’t connect. They will in some way as they are from Vargas’ memoir.)
THEMES: (There are so many of these to choose from.):
SEPARATION: What does Vargas point out to us about families being separated, e.g Vargas and his mother? Why is this a central theme and what do you believe we learn about this after finishing the memoir? What about how Vargas keeps his second family apart from his grandparents?
HOME/HOMELESSNESS: Vargas states that his memoir is not about immigration but rather homelessness. What is his message about what makes a place home for someone? And what is he saying about the opposite—being in limbo and either choosing or not choosing to establish roots?
SURVIVAL: What is this memoir highlighting in terms of survival skills, especially for an undocumented person? What strengths does Vargas display when he navigates to survive in these waters? To what extent does his hard work assist him? And what about his ability to take the initiative in most situations? Is this admirable? How so? To what extent might his survival skills do him a disservice?
CURIOSITY: How might the theme of curiosity play out in the book? Vargas continually shows a voracious appetite for learning--pop culture, history, and so on. Why/how might that be significant?
CONFINEMENT: What about the theme of being confined or trapped? What is being said about being restricted to one country and not being able to fully move about? How would this affect someone and why might that be something to address? (35)
HIDING: What do we learn about the concept of hiding, always watching one’s back, being on guard. Why is this an idea to highlight? Does it cause a certain level of paranoia and why is that important?
CITIZENSHIP: What is Vargas saying about what it means to be an American citizen or a citizen? Why is this theme important? What is he suggesting about citizenship and what does that mean for Americans and folks around the world?
ASSIMILATION: And what is Vargas implying about what folks lose when they assimilate? When one can pass as an American does that also mean rejecting one’s other culture(s). Why does Vargas shine a light on that?
SACRIFICE: So many folks in this memoir sacrifice so much. Vargas’ mother gives up her son so she can have a better life, and her mother sacrificed her relationship with her daughter as well. What do you make of these costs? Were they worth it, or was the price too high?
LIES: Vargas has been lied to a bunch of times as a kid and then clearly we see him telling lies. What is the memoir suggested about lies? Are they justified or not? What repercussions might they have? But there is a lot truth telling here as well. Where do you see this in the book and how do you think it add or detracts from the memoir?
GENEROSITY: What does Vargas also point out about generosity and help from others in this text whom he mentions a few times? Why is he careful to lay this out carefully amongst his many themes?
INSPIRATION: What helped or inspired Vargas through these difficult years that have still not ended? What did he do, or who or what did he look towards that helped him get through?
SOCIAL MEDIA/DIGITAL SMARTS:
How does Vargas take advantage of his knowledge and experience with social media? What do you think of his initiative when it comes to this? What else does this memoir present to us in terms of activists using social media?
What else might we address?
Rough draft of at least 3 pages, typed, due: _______________
Final draft due: ________________________
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