This document provides instructions for English Composition students regarding their first writing assignment. It discusses logistical details like the syllabus being available on Blackboard and the due date and location for the first essay. It then gives details about Essay #1, which is a 3-4 page textual analysis essay where students must analyze a main theme in one of three assigned texts and write an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion following a standard essay format. The document provides guidance on writing each component of the essay and examples of thesis statements students could develop based on claims made in the assigned texts.

1. English Composition
Prof. Michael Broder
BMCC | ENG 201 | Fall 2018
Tu,Th 8–9:40 AM | 808 Fiterman
Sep. 13, 2018

2. Today we will be talking mostly about your first
writing assignment.
First, some logistical notes.

3. • Your syllabus is now up on Blackboard
• PowerPoint presentations from previous
classes are up on Blackboard
• This PowerPoint presentation is up on
Blackboard—it includes detailed instructions
for your first writing assignment
• Future PowerPoints will go up on Blackboard
before class or within a day after class

4. Your first writing assignment is due in class on Sept. 20.
NOTE that Sept. 20 is the next time we meet.
NOTE that on Sept. 20 we are meeting in Room S410M for a
library instruction session.
DO NOT COME TO THIS ROOM ON 9/20; GO
DIRECTLY TO ROOM S410M

5. Everything you need to know about your first
writing assignment

6. Essay #1: Textual Analysis Essay
You will develop an original thesis focused on
analyzing a main theme or motif in one
assigned reading. 3–4 pages (750–1000 words)

7. Essay #1: More detailed instructions
You have to write a 3–4 page essay (750–1000
words) in which you discuss a main theme in one
of the texts we have read for class. In your essay,
you have to
• State your thesis
• Argue your thesis by making claims
• Support your claims with evidence from the text
• Write a conclusion

8. Choose from one of these texts:
• Robert Leonard, “Why Rural America Voted
for Trump”
• Barack Obama, “Howard University
Commencement Speech”
• Michelle Alexander, “The New Jim Crow”

9. Use the standard 5-paragraph essay format
1. Introductory paragraph
2. Body paragraph #1
3. Body paragraph #2
4. Body paragraph #3
5. Concluding paragraph
We’ll come back to each of these one at a time.

10. Introductory paragraph
• Indicate which text you are writing about
– Identify the text by title, author, and source
– Summarize the text briefly
• State your thesis
We’ll come back to each of these points later.

11. Body paragraphs
• Topic sentence making a claim
• Evidence supporting your claim
We’ll come back to each of these points later.

12. Concluding paragraph
• Reiterate the text you are writing about
• Restate your thesis
• Summarize your argument
– Briefly restate the claims you made
– Briefly reiterate the evidence you provided
• Close with something new; for example
– A “who cares?” statement
– A “so what?” statement
We’ll come back to each of these points later.

13. Let’s start with...
Introductory paragraph

14. Identify the text by title, author, and source
“Why Rural America Voted for Trump” is an
opinion piece by Robert Leonard that originally
appeared in The New York Times on January 5,
2017.
You can find this information at the bottom of
the first page of the reading in your textbook
(p. 279).

15. Identify the text by title, author, and source
Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United
States from 2009–2017, delivered the
commencement speech at Howard University
on May 7, 2016.
You can find this information at the bottom of
the first page of the reading in your textbook
(p. 296.)

16. Identify the text by title, author, and source
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of
Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander, was
published in 2010. For class, we read an excerpt
from the book’s introduction.
You can find this information at the bottom of
the first page of the reading in your textbook
(p. 230).

17. Summarize the text briefly

18. Some tips for summarizing
• Underline the thesis statement and all topic sentences
– This will give you an outline of the essay you are
summarizing
• Write a draft summary by paraphrasing the thesis
statement and topic sentences
– Use your judgment; sometimes you may need to look
further than the first sentence to get the gist of a
paragraph (the first sentence is not ALWAYS the topic
sentence)
• Revise your draft iteratively (repeatedly) until you are
satisfied that it is complete, correct, and of an
appropriate length (about 150 to 250 words

19. Let’s practice summarizing!
Write–Pair–Revise–Share
1. Spend 3 minutes writing a summary of “The
New Jim Crow” (pp. 230–247)
2. Pair with a partner and share what you have
written
3. Working together, revise your summaries by
incorporating each other’s ideas

20. Let’s practice summarizing!
What did you come up with?

21. Next...
State your thesis

22. What is a thesis?
(What do you think it is?)

23. Thesis
A controversial position or point of view stated
clearly, and argued using claims supported by
evidence

24. Recap: Main Features of a Thesis
1. Position or point of view
2. Controversial—meaning somebody could
disagree with it
3. Stated clearly
4. Argued using claims
5. Claims must be supported by evidence

25. What kind of thesis do you need for this
particular assignment?

26. Since this is a textual analysis assignment, your
thesis has to be related to the text you choose
to write about.

27. Specifically, the assignment asks you to analyze
“a main theme” of one of the assigned readings.

28. What does “a main theme” mean?
(What do you think it means?)

29. A main theme is a claim or belief or assertion
that the author makes and that is an important
part of the author’s argument in the essay.
It could be the author’s thesis or one of the
author’s claims used to argue the thesis.

30. How do you find the main themes in an essay?
(How do you think you can find them?)

31. Since all of our authors took ENG 101, they all
know how to use thesis statements and topic
sentences.
😏

32. Thesis statements and topic sentences are good
places to look for main themes.
Also be on the lookout for ideas, opinions, and
factual statements used as evidence or to
advance the argument—these can also provide
themes that you can respond to in your essay.

33. Let’s practice looking for main themes!
Write–Pair–Revise–Share
1. Spend 3 minutes looking for a main theme
or idea in “Why Rural America Voted for
Trump” (pp. 279–284)
2. Pair with a partner and share what you have
found
3. Give each other feedback, and revise your
theme or idea based on that feedback.

34. Let’s practice looking for main themes!
What did you come up with?

35. Let’s look as some other examples...

36. Examples
Michelle Alexander:
Mass incarceration is a system that oppresses African Americans in
much the same way that Jim Crow and slavery did in previous
generations.
Robert Leonard:
Conservative rural Republicans and liberal urban Democrats live in
different social and cultural worlds with different basic values.
Barack Obama:
America is better today than it was in 1983, when Barack Obama
graduated from college.

37. So what do you do once you have chosen a
main theme or idea to work with?

38. You have to turn it into a thesis statement.

39. For this assignment, Michelle Alexander,
Robert Leonard, and Barack Obama are doing a
lot of the work for you.
(What do you think I mean by that?)

40. These are ALREADY thesis statements
Michelle Alexander:
Mass incarceration is a system that oppresses African Americans in much the
same way that Jim Crow and slavery did in previous generations.
clearly stated position with which somebody could disagree
Robert Leonard:
Conservative rural Republicans and liberal urban Democrats live in different
social and cultural worlds with different basic values.
clearly stated position with which somebody could disagree
Barack Obama:
America is better today than it was in 1983, when Barack Obama graduated
from college.
clearly stated position with which somebody could disagree

41. So where do you come in?
(What do you think the answer might be?)

42. You can state whether you agree or disagree
with the author’s thesis or claim.

43. State whether you agree or disagree with the author’s
thesis or claim.
I agree / disagree with Michelle Alexander’s claim that
I agree / disagree with Robert Leonard’s view that
I agree / disagree with Barack Obama’s belief that
USEFUL SYNONYMS:
claim, view, belief, assertion, contention

44. Okay, now it’s your turn.

45. Let’s practice writing thesis statements!
Write–Pair–Revise–Share
1. Go back to your list of main ideas from “Why
Rural America Voted for Trump” (pp. 279–
284)
2. Turn one of them into a thesis statement using
the I agree / I disagree formulation
3. Pair with a partner, and share what you have
written
4. Give each other feedback, and revise your
thesis statements based on that feedback.

46. Let’s practice writing thesis statements!
What did you come up with?

47. For this assignment, you may use one of the
following claims as the basis for your thesis
Michelle Alexander:
Mass incarceration is a system that oppresses African Americans in
much the same way that Jim Crow and slavery did in previous
generations.
Robert Leonard:
Conservative rural Republicans and liberal urban Democrats live in
different social and cultural worlds with different basic values.
Barack Obama:
America is better today than it was in 1983, when Barack Obama
graduated from college.

48. More specifically, for your essay, you can
choose to agree or disagree with one of the
following statements:

49. Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow
In The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander argues that
mass incarceration is a system of social control that
serves to oppress African Americans in much the same
was as slavery and Jim Crow did in past generations.
Agree or disagree

50. Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow
In The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander argues that mass
incarceration is a system of social control that serves to
oppress African Americans in much the same was as
slavery and Jim Crow did in past generations.
Agree or disagree
I agree / I disagree with Michelle Alexander’s claim that
mass incarceration is a system of social control that serves
to oppress African Americans in much the same was as
slavery and Jim Crow did in past generations.

51. Robert Leonard: “Why Rural America
Voted for Trump”
In “Why Rural America Voted for Trump,” Robert
Leonard claims that rural conservative Republicans
and urban liberal Democrats live in different
philosophical worlds with different basic values.
Agree or disagree

52. Robert Leonard: “Why Rural America
Voted for Trump”
In “Why Rural America Voted for Trump,” Robert
Leonard claims that rural conservative Republicans
and urban liberal Democrats live in different
philosophical worlds with different basic values.
Agree or disagree
I agree / I disagree with Robert Leonard’s claim that
conservative rural Republicans and liberal urban
Democrats live in different worlds with different basic
values.

53. Barack Obama, Howard University
Commencement Speech
In his Howard University commencement speech,
Barack Obama asserts that America is better today
than it was in 1983, when Barack Obama graduated
from college.
Agree or disagree

54. Barack Obama, Howard University
Commencement Speech
In his Howard University commencement speech,
Barack Obama asserts that America is better today
than it was in 1983, when Barack Obama graduated
from college.
Agree or disagree
I agree / I disagree with Barack Obama’s claim that
America is better today than it was in 1983.

55. You can use a different claim
• If you prefer, you can use another statement
from one of the texts we have read, and choose
to agree or disagree with that statement, and use
that as the thesis for your essay.
• However, if you do so, I cannot guarantee you
will end up with an acceptable thesis statement
• If you use one of the three I have suggested, you
stand a much better change of developing a
good thesis statement, which gives you a better
chance of writing a good essay overall

56. Moving right along...
Body paragraphs

57. Remember—topical paragraphs include...
• A topic sentence making a claim
• Evidence supporting your claim
NOTE: For this assignment, your evidence
needs to come from the text you are writing
about.

58. But what if I disagree?
It may seem difficult (or impossible) to use
evidence from the text to support your claims if
you choose a thesis in which you DISAGREE
with a main theme of the text.
But you can do it!
(See next slide)

59. But what if I disagree?
Something like this happened in class when we were discussing The
New Jim Crow.
The author, Michelle Alexander, cites numbers showing how the
prison population in the United States has grown 6-7 times in the past
30 years.
But some students in the class disagreed with the connection Dr.
Alexander makes between the increased prison population and racism
against African Americans
Those students said that people were not sentenced to prison because
of their race, but rather because they were found guilty of committing
a crime
That’s a good example of how you can cite evidence from the text to
support a claim that the author makes with which you DISAGREE

60. Let’s practice writing topical paragraphs!
I agree with Barack Obama’s assertion that America is
better today than it was in 1983.
Write–Pair–Revise–Share
1. Using the example above, write a topic sentence that
makes a claim
2. Write another sentence that supports the claim with
evidence from the text
3. Pair with a partner, and share what you have written
4. Give each other feedback, and revise your work
based on that feedback.

61. Let’s practice writing topical paragraphs!
What did you come up with?

62. Now onto...
Concluding paragraph

63. Remember—your concluding paragraph should...
• Reiterate the text you are writing about
• Restate your thesis
• Summarize your argument
– Briefly restate the claims you made
– Briefly reiterate the evidence you provided
• Close with something new; for example
– A “who cares?” statement
– A “so what?” statement

64. Reiterate the text you are writing about and
restate your thesis
Despite what Michelle Alexander claims in The New Jim Crow, I
do not agree that mass incarceration oppresses African
Americans much as slavery and Jim Crow did in previous eras.
As Robert Leonard states in his essay, “Why Rural America
Voted for Trump,” I agree that conservative rural Republicans
and liberal urban Democrats have fundamentally different
values and views of the world.
I disagree that American is better today than in 1983, despite
the assertion that Barack Obama makes in his Howard
University commencement speech.

65. Briefly restate your claims and
reiterate your evidence
I claim that . We see evidence of this
in the fact that . In addition, I state that
, an assertion supported by the fact
that . Finally, I note that . This
is demonstrated by .

66. Close with something new, such as a “who
cares?” statement or a “so what?” statement
X group of people should care about the impact of mass
incarceration on African Americans, because of Y
(reason).
The voting patterns of rural and urban Americans is an
important issue for X group of people, because Y
(reason).
The quality of life in the United States now, as compared
to 1983, is important to X group of people because it
impacts Y (reason).

67. Some final notes

68. Formatting Requirements
• Font: Times New Roman, 12 point
• Double spaced
• Margins: 1 inch on top, bottom, left, and right
• Heading located at the top left corner of the
page should contain:
– Your full name
– CUNY ID number
– Course number and section: ENG 101.0825
• Pages should be stapled together or fastened together
with a paper clip or binder clip

70. Your first writing assignment is due in class on Sept. 20.
NOTE that Sept. 20 is the next time we meet.
NOTE that on Sept. 20 we are meeting in Room S410M for a
library instruction session.
DO NOT COME TO THIS ROOM ON 9/20; GO
DIRECTLY TO ROOM S410M

71. English Composition
Prof. Michael Broder
BMCC | ENG 201 | Fall 2018
Tu,Th 8–9:40 AM | 808 Fiterman
Sep. 13, 2018