Description: In Essay 1, you will make a specific, well thought-out argument based on a theme you observe and articulate in Ellisons Invisible Man. In class, we will practice making claims about the themes of the text and will peer review many steps along the way, so that you feel confident in your essays progression. Your goal will be to take an argumentative stance on the novel, a theme from the novel, a character from the novel, or any other significant element of the novel. Your argument should be something that not everyone would agree with, but also something that you can find support for from the text of the novel.
Audience: Your audience will be composed of your peers in this class and your instructor.
Length: The paper should be 1200 words. (Do not go over 1400 words.)
This Essay is Worth: 20 points (10% of your final grade for this class)
Be sure to include:
An argumentative, coherent thesis
An interesting title, introduction, and conclusion
Correct academic use of grammar, spelling, and punctuation
Format: Times New Roman, 12-point font, MLA citation of Invisible Man (Work Cited page and in-text citations)
Sources: Outside sources are not required, but they may help you make a cogent argument. If you do use any popular sources (online newspaper, magazine, blog) or academic sources (scholarly journal articles), be sure to cite them.
Several direct quotations from the novel that support your argument and sub-arguments.
Some questions and other ideas as jumping-off points:
What does the author (Ellison) want us to think about? How is he asking us to change our opinion about racism, about human culture, or about the value of seeing?
The unnamed narrator perceives the occurrences in his life in very unique ways. Choose one or two events and describe the difference between the narrators perception of his life and the perception of other characters, of you as a reader, or another perspective.
There are many other characters in Invisible Man besides the narrator. Explain how one of the characters journeys interacts with a theme from the book. Why is this character significant and how do they contribute to the books themes and the narrators journey?
Steps:
Complete the reading from Invisible Man. Take notes and ask questions of your peers and instructor until you understand the story.
Thinking of all the chapters we have read, make a list of possible themes in the form of a claim about the novel (you can start by thinking of them as hypotheses) that you think are interesting and can possibly be backed up by evidence from the novel.
See what evidence you can find to back up your point. Under each possible claim, make a list of evidence (passages, characters, events, and specific quotes) that back up your claim.
Choose one interesting and complex claim that has strong evidence and begin organizing your paper through clustering or outlining.
Write your full-length rough draft of your argumentative essay.
6. Engage thoughtfully in peer review (ask your peers specific questions about how you can improve your argument)
7. Submit your final draft.
Use the order calculator below and get started! Contact our live support team for any assistance or inquiry.
[order_calculator]