Tenn/English 102/spring 2012
Essay #3: The “take-away” from the 2nd half ofZeitoun
We began this semester thinking about the symbols of America, and how people feel about the
U.S. flag and “the republic for which it stands.” We read about people who unconditionally
support this flag and country, as well as people who (while they care very much about this
country!) are critical of this country’s history and/or the directions our elected leaders are
currently taking us… and so feel differently about the flag.
Dave Eggers’ bookZeitountells a story about one such American …but it’s more than just
objective reporting. Eggers clearly had several points to make about what ordinary Americans
experiencedduring Hurricane Katrina,the rolegovernment played in helping (or hurting)
Americans during this time, and the media coverageof the hurricane and its aftermath. (The
film Trouble the Water has a similar focus, although it looks at a different demographic of New
Orleans – those with far less money and resources than the Zeitoun family.)
Now that you’ve finished the book and seen the movie, consider:
What do you think about the way Hurricane Katrina was handled in 2005 and the way
the people of New Orleans were treated by the government and/or media? What
especially went wrong? Who or what is to blame?
To write a strong essay, you’llneed to integratekey portions of the book into your essay by both
paraphrasing and directly quoting (minimum of 5 direct references to the text). You may also
include examples from the movie Trouble the Water and personal experience or observation,
though as with Essay #2, your personal experiences should not take over the paper (no more
than one paragraph).
Page length: minimum of 4fullpages; no 3 ½ is not enough
Note #1: Assume that you are writing this essay for a reader who is not in our class. When
you refer to the book for the first time, introduce it by title and author. After that, you may just
say “Eggers writes” but always quote and paraphrase clearly, and cite the page number from
yourbook. Likewise, if you use the film Trouble the Water, give your reader a sense of what the
film is about in your introduction paragraph, and when you quote or paraphrase from the
movie in your body paragraphs, cite it by the director’s last name in parentheses: (Lessin and
Deal).
Note #2:Your book Zeitoun should be your primary source for this essay. You may also quote
or paraphrase fromoutside sources, but if you do so, you must be very careful toascertain their
quality,identify those sources in your essay and cite them correctly, and include a hard copy
for me when you turn in the final draft. (Outside sources are still NOT needed for this
assignment. I’m most interested in how youunderstand and respond to what Eggers is showing
us in Zeitoun.)
Tenn/English 102/spring 2012
Don’t forget to take time for ALL steps in the Writing Process:
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Brainstorm/pre-write to gather ideas
Review your text for good examples and quotes for your paper
Organize your ideas/ Outline
Draft
Get feedback
Revise
Edit/proofread for correctness
Turn it in!
How I’ll evaluate your essay:
Content:
Does your essay address the topic directly, and are your ideas supported and explained well?
Does your essay show a good understanding of the book?
Structure and Organization:
Is your essay organized and easy to follow? Is the main idea of your essay (thesis) clear? Are
your paragraphs focused? Do they flow logically so that the essay feels unified?
Language and Mechanics:
Are your sentences well-worded and structured? Is the essay relatively “clean” in terms of
spelling, punctuation, and grammar? Are your quotations and paraphrases done correctly?
 With your final draft you must include:
At least one page of brainstorming and/or outlining (pre-writing).
One rough draft (marked or unmarked)
The essay checklist from our class’peer review (filled out as completely as possible)
Your “author’s note” commenting on how this assignment went for you.
(Showing completion of all steps of the writing process counts toward your grade.)
Rough Draft Due for Peer Review: __________ (print 3 copies)
Final Draft Due: _____________