Submit Rough Draft on Canvas by due date on course schedule → (worth 8 points of the 80-pts total)Submit Final Draft by due date on course schedule → (worth 67 points of the 80-pts total)✓ Remaining 5 points = peer-review activity
Assignment & Purpose:Assignment: Your task for Essay 1 is to write an 800-word essay where you answer the following questions,ultimately making a claim about the ways language is linked to identity:How is language linked or connected to YOUR identity/identities? – OR — How does language define,shape, or project your identity/identities? AND → How do YOUR experiences, histories, andbackgrounds with language illustrate these connections?
>Keep in mind that just like the literacy narratives we read for class, the experiences with language and literacyfrom your past that you choose to discuss in essay 1 can be positive experiences or negative/unpleasantexperiences (feeling like an “outsider”, for example → just keep in mind that your peers/I will read theseessays, so only share what you feel comfortable sharing). The goal is to reflect on your language histories andexperiences as you come to an understanding of the role that language(s) and literacy have played in your life.> Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to allow you to examine the ways that language is tied towho you are as an individual/person, to allow you to examine the important role that language alreadyplays in your life, and to express yourself about the role language plays in your life. Further, thisassignment gives you the space to practice supporting your claims (your thesis statement, for example)with evidence (personal experience & one unit 1 reading), an important part of developing writtenarguments.> Audience: Because part of the purpose of writing a personal narrative (like a literacy narrative) isexpressing yourself to readers who you might have never met/have never met you (recall how Tan &Malcolm X partly shape their writing for this type of audience), make sure you include specific detailsand vivid examples to really immerse your audience in the scenes, experiences, and actions takingplace.> Sources: You will use personal experience, and one reading from unit 1 to support your claims(Erdrich, Eble, Tamasi & Antieau, Tan, Malcolm X, Alexie, Gee). When you incorporate your readingfrom unit 1, you are required to connect a concept/idea from your chosen reading to your ownpersonal experiences. Some concepts/ideas that we have discussed are: literacy, homelanguages/mother tongues, liberation/freedom, empowerment, opportunity, power, identity, & accessetc
- Criteria & Requirements:> Your essay should have a clear thesis statement that makes a claim about the way language isconnected or linked to your identity(ies). Essentially, the thesis statement answers the questions in thered box above.> The thesis statement should be the last sentence in your introduction, and every body paragraphshould connect to this thesis statement, support this thesis statement, develop this thesisstatement, and/or illustrate this thesis statement.> Paragraphs should have strong topic sentences that: make clear sub-claims, support the thesisstatement, and organize the body paragraphs.> Your essay should include specific details/evidence that support your claims. That means vivid,descriptive details of the experiences you choose to discuss.> Your essay needs to incorporate one reading from unit 1 where you connect a concept/idea from thatreading to your personal experiences.> This assignment should be 800 words in-length> Clear and correct quotation, diction, punctuation, and grammar (proofread/edit before submitting).> MLA format (typed, double-spaced, size 12 font, 1-inch margins Times New Roman/Arial).> Remember, this assignment is autobiographical—it is about you, so it is completely okay to use “I” inthis essay ONLY.Disclaimer: Please remember that these essays will be read by your peers/me. Therefore, you absolutely donot have to share any personal experiences that are traumatic or that you just do not feel comfortablesharing.
