English 102: Spring 2014
Tenenbaum
Analysis Essay #2
Schedule and Due Dates
Wed 5/14: Bring Crescent to class.
Thu 5/15: Due: Reader Response #7, to pages 15-71 (on paper)
Mon 5/19: Due: Reader Response #8, to pages 72-170 (on paper)
Fri 5/23:
Due: Reader Response #9, to pages 171-259 (on paper)
Mon 5/26: Memorial Day Holiday.
Tue 5/27: Due: Reader Response #10, to pages 260-395 (on paper)
Thu 5/29: Due: Thesis worksheet.
Fri 5/30:
Due: Thesis sentences for Analysis Essay 2. Last day to withdraw.
Mon 6/2: Meet in Library Classroom: Introduction to the databases. You must have a NetID.
Please come prepared with your NetID so that you can log into the campus
computers.
Fri 6/6:
Due: Analysis Essay 2 in writing groups. Bring 3 copies.
Mon 6/9: Due: Analysis Essay 2 due. (online submission)
Instructions for the Reader Responses to Crescent have been provided separately.
Analysis Essay #2: Crescent
Length: About 5 pages, or 1250 words. This is a general guideline. If your essay is very much
shorter than 5 pages, your thesis might not be focused or complex enough, or you might not
have gathered enough evidence, or you might not have explained your ideas enough. If your
essay is much longer than 5 pages, it’s likely that your sentences waste words and require
editing. So yes, aim for about 5 pages, but beyond that, aim to discuss an interesting idea
clearly and fully.
Required sources: This essay must refer to two sources. One of the sources, the main source,
will be
 Crescent, by Diana Abu-Jaber.
Your second source will be
 A scholarly or popular article about anything in the book you might need to know more
about in order to understand the book and develop your thesis more deeply. For
example, you could look up something about the history of Iraq, about American
involvement in Iraq in 1999, when the book takes place; about what may have been
going on there when Han was a young man and left the country; about one of the foods
in the book; about Arabic storytelling; about the Beduins; or about whatever else you
think might enhance your understanding of the book.
Your second source should be relevant to your essay’s purpose, and should be important for
your own and your readers’ understanding.
Do not include more sources than these two. You might indeed need to look up a lot of things
for background information in order to understand the book, but that does not mean they will
be specifically relevant to your own thesis and essay.
The Audience: The members of our class, including the instructor, and anyone else who has
read Crescent—people who are familiar with the book but might be interpreting it in a different
way or looking at it from a different angle.
The Assignment: Write an essay which sets forth a thesis about Crescent, and which explores
and defends this thesis. Several possible topics are listed below, and your essay will make a
claim (thesis) about one of these topics or another that we come up with in class. Your essay
support the claim using evidence and analysis of the book.
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A theme in the book: This approach would explore one of the “threads,” or themes that
you were following in your notes, showing how the theme develops in the book and
supporting a thesis about what the book says about this theme.
A character in the book. This paper will support a thesis about one of the characters.
This paper could consider the following questions: Has the character changed? What
does the character represent? How does the character interact with another character
in the book? What theme or issues might the relationship illustrate? What purpose does
the character serve in the book?
A pair of characters in the book: This paper could consider the parallels between two
characters, thinking about what the contrasts or similarities say about any of the themes
of the book; or it could consider how the characters help each other change or grow, or
even prevent each other from changing and growing.
Food as shown in the book. This essay will support a thesis about how food is used or
what it means in the book. This paper could consider the following questions: What
does food mean in this book? How does food reveal character?
The three topics above are not exclusive: That is, a book analyzing a character will probably of
necessity have to talk about food and one or more of the threads we will have been discussing.
Will this paper contain your own opinion? The entire essay is your interpretation of the book,
and so is a product of your brain, of your particular ways of looking. All your statements are
supported by evidence from the book and from your other sources, and by your analysis and
discussion of this evidence and sources. Your essay should not include any evaluation of the
book nor any opinion that is not supported by evidence and analysis.
Essay Structure: Same as Analysis Essay #1
Title and Opening Paragraph: Aim for a vivid, compelling beginning. The first paragraph
(perhaps in combination with the essay title) will also name the book and the author, and will
point out an intriguing problem or question, which will lead to your thesis sentence at the end
of the first paragraph.
2nd paragraph: Use PIE (Point, Illustration, Explanation): The paragraph begins with a topic
sentence which is connected to an aspect of the thesis, and which says what point the
paragraph wants to make. The paragraph goes on, using quotations and paraphrases from the
text to illustrate the point, and explaining for the reader exactly how those illustrations relate
to that point. PIE is a very basic map of paragraph structure; however, in reality, your
paragraphs, if they are fully supporting their points and engaging with the book, will be more
like PIEIIEEEIEE, since you will want to offer more than one illustration of your point, and since
each of these will need to be analyzed, explained, and tied back to the point of the paragraph.
The paragraph should contain a balance of quotation, paraphrase, and your own thinking, and
should take care to explain your reasoning. You’ll explain how you are interpreting a particular
quotation or example from the text, showing how it feeds into your point or thesis. In other
words, quotations do not stand alone, they need your explanations and reasoning too.
3rd and following paragraphs: These take the same pattern as paragraph 2.
Make sure that the opening sentence of the paragraph connects to the idea in the previous
paragraph before it introduces its new topic sentence. Write as many paragraphs as you need
to explore all the aspects of the book that relate to your interpretation. Be sure also to look at
the parts that don’t at first seem to relate, or that seem to contradict your thesis. How can you
account for this?
Meeting counterarguments: It’s hard to say whether your essay will be doing this within each
paragraph, as each point comes up, or all at once. However, do make sure that your essay
addresses any arguments readers might have with your interpretations. When we meet in
groups to go over the early version, we’ll practice arguing with your paper so that you’ll have
more ideas about what kinds of objections your paper should meet. Counterarguments are not
necessarily required—do not invent fake and ridiculous points to argue against; however, do
address alternative interpretations, and explain why your interpretation is valid.
Complicate the thesis: Now that your essay has fully explored the topic, the reader is ready for
a more detailed version of your thesis. Perhaps your discussion has introduced a qualification—
a “but” or “however” or “sometimes” that needs to be incorporated. Perhaps additional ideas
want to be added.
Final Paragraph: Your final paragraph should do two main things: 1) Leave the reader with
emotional impact, and 2) give us a new twist or introduce a new way of looking. Your ending
can:
 Emphasize an idea;
 Suggest how the idea can go further. Explore its implications;
 Think about how the idea relates to the larger world;
 Discuss how the idea relates to your own experience—Yes, it’s ok to bring in the “I” at
the end.
Whatever it does, the ending gives the reader a sense of closure, a sense that the entire essay
has taken us somewhere and taught us something.
Reminder: Tips for Writing about Literature:
1. Make sure that the work’s title and author are mentioned in
the first paragraph.
2. After the first mention, refer to the author by last name.
3. Write in the present tense:
Abu-Jaber suggests that food has a crucial role in helping an
immigrant adjust.
Grading: 100 points total
1.
1. Basic MLA formatting (5 points): The entire essay is formatted according to MLA
guidelines (double-spaced, indented paragraphs, title, heading, etc).
2. Thesis (13 points): The essay has a clear and meaningful thesis, complex enough
to require discussion, to which everything in the essay pertains.
3. Example, Explanation, Evidence (14 points): The thesis is illustrated with
plentiful evidence from the text, which is deeply analyzed, explained, and
connected to the thesis. Alternative interpretations are addressed if there are
any.
4. Opening and Ending (13 points): The opening is immediate and compelling. The
conclusion is meaningful, gives a sense of closure, and avoids repeating the
beginning.
5. Organization (14 points): The essay follows the assigned structure. The
paragraphs are organized (PIE) so that each develops the point made in its topic
sentence. Each paragraph develops an aspect of the thesis. The paragraphs
within the essay all relate to the whole, and follow logically from one to another.
6. Style and Sentence Clarity (14 points): The writing should be clear and fluid.
Verbs should be strong and active. Word choice should be accurate and specific,
and the words should be used correctly. Clutter and wordiness have been
eliminated.
7. MLA documentation and mechanics of quotation (13 points): The essay avoids
plagiarism and correctly uses the MLA system, including in-text citations and a
works cited page. All quotation, paraphrase, and summary from sources is
formatted correctly.
8. Grammar and proofreading (14 points): The essay has been proofread and
avoids distracting errors. Grammar and spelling should be standard and correct.