Professor Batty English 101 Progression B Essay Prompt

Progression B
Expository Essay: Things Fall Apart
Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart tells the story of an Igbo man living in what is now Nigeria
!e is a self"ma#e man of prominence within his tribe$ with several wives an# a barn full of yams
%hrough a succession of events$ inclu#ing the arrival of white missionaries$ the life of this man is
turne# upsi#e #own
%his text gives rea#ers a win#ow into the life of the Igbo people &e witness a wi#e variety of
customs within their society Although the social institutions that we have in contemporary
&estern society are somewhat #ifferent from those of the Igbo people$ we can see that they are all
in#ee# present 'amily$ government$ economics$ e#ucation$ an# religion are all invaluable parts of
a functioning society to the Igbo people (ou will nee# to write an expository essay in which you
investigate one of the social institutions #escribe# in the novel
(ou will nee# to choose a character within the novel an# create an argument about how you
believe your chosen social institution has shape# this character an# his)her i#entity !ow #oes
this institution affect how this character sees him)herself* !ow #oes this institution affect how
he)she interacts with others within society* In sum$ how #oes this institution affect the
sociali+ation an# i#entity of the character you have chosen*
Assignment ,B: Proposal
'or this assignment you nee# to state which social institution you will write about -family$
government$ economics$ e#ucation$ or religion. Briefly explain how this institutions wor/s within
the Igbo tribe %hen state which character you will write about !ow #o you thin/ this institution
affects your chosen character* %ype# 01A format$ 233 wor#s
Assignment 2B: 4ummary an# 5hetorical Analysis
%here are two parts to this text:
%he first part as/s you to summari+e the text (ou will nee# to finish the entire novel in or#er to
write this summary Explain who are the main characters$ what is the central conflict in the novel
-what is happening to the main character.$ when #oes this tape place$ where #oes it ta/e place$
Professor Batty English 101 Progression B Essay Prompt
why is the character face# with this conflict$ an# how #oes it happen* As/ing yourself these
6uestions will help you to come to the main i#ea of the text Be sure to only inclu#e the most
important #etails$ as a summary shoul# be brief
%he secon# part of the assignment as/s you to consi#er how the author ma/es his point (ou want
to begin to un#erstan# how the writer le# you to un#erstan# the essay7s i#ea 8 the one you
highlighte# in your summary Consi#er the rhetorical situation: &hat is the author7s inten#e#
purpose in writing this text* &ho is the author7s au#ience* &hy is he consi#ering this particular
au#ience* &hat genre is the author writing in* &ho is the author of this essay* 9o his beliefs)bias
show in this text* &hat /in#s of rhetorical appeal-s. is this text ma/ing* 5emember: ethos$ pathos$
an# logos &hat /in# of language #oes the author use* Is the style formal$ informal$ or aca#emic*
9oes the author use sarcasm* !umor*
4pen# about 233 wor#s summari+ing the text$ then spen# 233":33 wor#s on the rhetorical analysis
%his assignment calls for 01A #ocumentation$ which inclu#es a ;&or/s Cite#< page
Assignment :B: 4entence =utline
%he purpose of this assignment is for you to begin brainstorming an# organi+ing your i#eas Please
use roman numerals -I$ II$ III$ etc. to in#icate paragraphs$ an# letters -A$ B$ C$ etc. to in#icate
supporting i#eas$ 6uotes$ etc (our intro#uction shoul# contain your thesis statement (our
sentences #o not nee# to be very long$ nor #o they nee# to be wor#e# very elo6uently$ but they #o
nee# to be complete sentences so that I can un#erstan# what points you are trying to ma/e %his
shoul# be a fully complete# outline with #evelope# i#eas an# paragraphs It is a goo# i#ea to
inclu#e 6uotes in this outline$ so that you will /now which 6uotes to inclu#e an# where in your
final essay %his will save you time later because you will alrea#y have the s/eleton of your essay in
place %he outline will also help you to organi+e your i#eas =utline shoul# be approximately one
page in length$ type#$ 01A format
Essay B
Write an expository, thesis-driven essay, in which you explore how a specific social
institution among the Igbo tribe affects the socialization and identity of a chosen character
in Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart
!esearch: (ou are not re6uire# to #o a##itional research for this essay> however$ you may #o so
(ou will also nee# to inclu#e 6uotes from the novel
1. (ou "#$% inclu#e a progression pac&et that inclu#es all three preliminary assignments
attache# to the essay 'ou cannot earn higher than a ( on the essay if you do not
include all three assignments in your pac&et
2 %opic 4election: %he stu#ent has selecte# one specific social institution an# #iscusse# in
#etail how this institution has affecte# one specific character
: %itle: %he title shoul# be both creative an# informative
? %hesis: %he essay ma/es a clear statement about how the chosen social institution has
affecte# the chosen character
5. 9evelopment)4upport: I#eas are fully #evelope# &riter uses at least one of the assigned
texts
@ Persuasiveness: %he argument is reasonable an# potentially convincing to the rea#er
Professor Batty English 101 Progression B Essay Prompt
A Content: %he paper shows that the writer clearly un#erstan#s his)her topic an# can explain
it to an intelligent but uninforme# au#ience %he paper stays on topic throughout
B =rgani+ation: %he i#eas appear in a logical or#er> the paper uses transitions to move from
one i#ea to the next
C 4pelling)Drammar)0echanics: %he paper is virtually free of spelling$ grammar$ or
mechanical errors
10. Page 1ength: %he paper is at least :"? complete pages long )apers less than * complete
pages will not earn a grade higher than a (
,, 01A Citation: %he paper uses 01A style citation for 6uotes$ paraphrases$ summaries$ an# a
&or/s Cite# page
,2 01A 'ormatting: %he paper uses 01A formatting$ inclu#ing ,2 point %imes New 5oman
font$ #ouble spacing$ one inch margins$ etc -4ee your han#boo/ for a sample paper.