Gender and migration in Kincaid’s Lucy

PART TWO: WINTER TERM ESSAY You will write a 1500-2000 word essay (7-8 pages) that develops the ideas in your proposal and addresses your TA’s feedback. The essay should be organized around a clear and focused thesis statement. You discuss your chosen course text through textual analysis and draw upon and substantially engage with at least 2 scholarly sources from beyond the course material to develop and complicate your analysis of the chosen text. We will discuss strategies for integrating source material into your essay in lectures and tutorials. Please double-space your essay, number your pages, use one-inch margins, 12-point font, and include a cover page. Citations should follow MLA format. POSSIBLE ESSAY TOPICS Gender and migration in Kincaid’s Lucy Language, voice and art in Kincaid’s Lucy Legacies of colonialism in Kincaid’s Lucy “Illegal” migrants in Dirty, Pretty Things The global city in Dirty, Pretty Things Undocumented farm workers in Return to Sender Friendship across differences in Lucy or Return to Sender Any other topic related to Lucy; Dirty, Pretty Things, or Return to Sender An essay topic of your choice on a creative text (film, novel, poetry, and/or music) about a diasporic experience. The text need not be covered in our class but should be a humanities-type text and not social science research. Criteria of Evaluation for Essay CONTENT * Essay answers assignment question * Comprehension of relevant theories/concepts from the course; clear understanding of how to use the theories/concepts to analyze/explain your subject * Critical thinking about the concepts; some level of abstract thought * Development of a coherent argument that supports thesis throughout the essay and is consistent, logical, coherent, and persuasive; argument distinguishes between major and subordinate points * Develops argument through analysis and interpretation of relevant evidence from the texts THESIS FOCUS * Introduction includes a concise, clear statement that formulates your central argument STRUCTURE * Introduction: presents your topic and thesis * Body of Essay: coherent organization of ideas; continuity and logical transitions between paragraphs * Paragraphs: each paragraph deals with only one idea or point; clear identification of theme of paragraph in a topic sentence; develops evidence to support your argument; links to the thesis GRAMMAR, STYLE, MECHANICS * Clarity and readability * Spelling, punctuation, proper referencing, proofreading