Analytical Essay
Due in class on Wednesday, June 6, 100 points
Three to Five Pages, Printed Out and Stapled
You have the choice of either writing this essay or doing the video oral history project with members of your research group.
If you choose to write this essay you will relate one or more course texts to a topic that you have developed in this class. I will give you feedback and specific instructions for your topic, and you should do background research for your topic that you will share with your research group.
Here is an example essay topic. In the excerpt from America is in the Heart in the course reader Carlos Bulosan refers to a specific case, Roldan v United States. This case, as far as I know, does not exist, but a case named Roldan v Los Angeles County seems to match the case described in the novel. This case has historical significance because it is an example of an anti-miscegenation law. There is information on this case in Wikipedia, and there is a more general article about anti-miscegenation laws in Wikipedia that references this case.
An essay about this topic would consist of just a few headings, each consisting of a few paragraphs:
- The significance of Roldan v United States in America is in the Heart.
- Roldan v Los Angeles as an example of an anti-miscegenation law that affected Asian Americans.
- The historical shifts in anti-miscegenation laws in the US up to the present.
- The historical and current significance of anti-miscegenation laws and the regulation of family and sexuality in the US.
Remember that this is a formal, academic essay and that you are writing for an academic audience. Here are things I will pay attention to as I read your paper:
- Introduction, conclusion, and overall unity and coherence of the paper
- Clearly identifiable thesis
- Paragraphs with transitions
- Grammar and mechanics
- Citations
- 12pt font, double-spaced, 1 to 1.25" margins, 3-5 pages, stapled