Preparation for Midterm
“What’s Wrong With Cinderella?”
Preparing to Discuss the Reading: Some
Basic Assumptions About Gender and
Identity
• There is a difference between gender and sex.
– Sex is biological. (It’s about parts.)
– Gender is socially constructed. This means that
society has created ideas about what is
“masculine” or what is “feminine” that have
nothing to do with biology.
• Advertisements and pop culture take part in
the construction of gender and use it to sell
products. Let’s think of some examples.
“What’s Wrong with Cinderella?”
• This essay is written by a mother who is
consciously trying to avoid having gender norms
she sees as harmful forced onto her daughter.
• Why is this mother, Peggy Orenstein, concerned
about her daughter’s interest in princesses (and
the trend overall)? What reasons does she give
for this concern?
• What is the debate about the princess trend?
How does Orenstein place herself in relationship
to other voices in the discussion?
“What’s Wrong with Cinderella?”
• Notice how Orenstein has a complicated stance here.
– She concedes that the princess trend might be a “sign of
progress,”
– She mentions that little girls haven’t “drunk the Kool-Aid” and
play basketball in their fancy dresses.
– She struggles with whether she is sending her daughter a
message that being a girl is bad by being anti-princess.
• Notice that she also interviews several people who are
knowledgeable about various areas that relate to her topic
and then responds to her sources with her own ideas.
• What conclusions does Orenstein eventually come to? How
does she stake out her stance in this complex debate?
Where do you stand?
Expectations for Midterm
• A strong thesis that is supported by the body of the
essay.
• At least one quotation from “What’s Wrong With
Cinderella?” with a proper MLA in-text citation. (No
Works Cited page will be required.) You may, if you
wish, quote other essays we have read from Pop
Perspectives or printed from the course website.
• Strong body paragraphs that thoughtfully answer the
question and support the thesis.
• Identify yourself by student number, NOT YOUR NAME.
Why is In-Class Writing Important?
• Writing in-class is a skill that will serve you well as you
take more advanced college classes. Professors in
these classes will use in-class writing to measure what
you have learned, and they will expect that you already
know how to write and organize an essay.
• In-class writing requires you to do these things:
– Show that you understand the topic that you are writing
about thoroughly. This includes concepts/ideas as well as
facts like names, dates, and places.
– Present your thoughts on the topic in a unified, organized
way in a short amount of time.
In-Class Writing Tips
• Step one: Read the prompt carefully.
– Underline key words.
– Figure out what kind of response the question is looking
for.
– Make sure you give the correct type of response.
• Step two: Plan.
– Writing down ideas/things to cover may help you to
remember them later.
– Don't spend too much time on this step (no more than a
minute or two), but write down your thesis (Your main
idea) somewhere in your outline.
– Also include main ideas and a several supporting
ideas/phrases for each body paragraph.
In-Class Writing Tips
• Step three: Write.
– Make sure that you are following any special directions like
using pen/pencil or skipping lines. Pace yourself. Keep an eye
on the clock and don’t allow any one section to take too much
of your time.
– Spend the most time on the body of your essay, not introducing
or planning or writing your conclusion.
– Make sure that each paragraph has a good topic sentence that
will help keep you on track for that paragraph.
• Step four: Check.
– If you have time left over, take the opportunity to go back and
look for grammar and spelling errors, or for places where you
might need to add clarification.
– Also, remember to write legibly.
Using Quotes in In-Class Writing
• For your midterm, you will be required to quote
an essay that we read, and you will need to
know…
– Every quote you use must have quote marks around it.
– Every quote should be introduced with your own
words.
– Every quote must be connected to a sentence you
wrote. (Remember the quote sandwich method.)
– You should say the last name of the author that the
quote came from, either when you introduce it or in
parentheses after the quote.
– If you know what page number the quote came from,
you should put it in parentheses after the quote.
Example of how to use a quote in an
in-class essay:
• This is a quotation from an essay called “Just
Walk on By” in which the author talks about
how people react to him, a black man, in
public.
• Example: Brent Staples shows the difference
between the dangerous man the woman
thinks he is and the thoughtful person he
actually is when he says, "I was surprised,
embarrassed, and dismayed all at once. Her
flight made me feel like an accomplice in
tyranny" (211). Staples is not a tyrant himself,
but because of the image of black men that
exists in many people's minds, he is feared just
as much as if he was.
This part sets up the
quote, uses author’s
first and last name.
Notice that the quote
is connected to a
sentence in the
student essay.
Last name is used
to refer to the
author a second
time. Quote is
explained further.
Remember to bring…
•
•
•
•
Your textbook/copies of readings
Large blue book and pens/pencils
Notes on readings
A dictionary (no internet will be allowed on
final)
• A print card if you plan to use a printer