English 102/Tenenbaum/Fall 2013
Instructions & Schedule for The Language of Baklava Reader Responses
Instructions & Schedule for the Analysis Essay
Major Due Dates
These are the same as on our original green schedule
Mon 10/21: Reader Response #5 due to The Language of Baklava, pages xi-88.
Wed 10/23: Meet in Library Classroom: Introduction to databases and reliability of sources.
Thu: 10/24: Reader Response #6 due to “Madama Butterfly” (pages 88-109 of The Language
of Baklava).
Mon 10/28: Reader Response #7 due to The Language of Baklava, pages 110-202.
Mon 11/4: Reader Response #8 due to The Language of Baklava, pages 203-end.
Tue 11/5: Thesis sentence due. Bring it written out clearly, ready for discussion.
Fri 11/8:
Outline of essay due.
Mon 11/11: Veteran’s Day Holiday. No class.
Tue 11/12: Analysis Essay due in writing groups. Bring 3 copies.
Thu 11/14: Analysis Essay Due.
THE READER RESPONSES
Format: Typed, double-spaced. Name in upper right corner.
Length: About 1 1/2 to 2 pages (depending on the questions). There is no specific word limit.
Answer the questions thoroughly, pointing to specific examples from the text and
explaining the points you are making with them.
More about formatting: Number each question. No need to re-copy the question.
MLA: For all quotations, paraphrases and summaries from the text, use in-text parenthetical
documentation to show the author and the page number. A works cited entry is not
required. Use MLA conventions for quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing.
Titles: The book title should be italicized. Chapter titles should be in quotation marks. Your own
title should be just plain, not underlined, italicized, or in quotation marks (unless it
contains the title of the text, which should be formatted appropriately).
Points: 10 points each.
Reader Response # 5 on The Language of Baklava, pages xi-88
Due Monday 10/21
1. In the foreword, Abu-Jaber says, “The immigrant compresses time and space—starting
out in one country and then very deliberately starting again, a little later, in another. It’s a
sort of fantasy—to have the chance to recreate yourself. But it’s also a nightmare,
because so much is lost” (xi).
How do the characters in the book so far seem to be recreating themselves? And in what
ways are they having the nightmare of losing their past selves and backgrounds?
2. Thematic threads. In this selection, what thematic threads do you notice? That is, you
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might notice themes or topics, questions or issues that continue from essay to essay? List
at least two of them, and identify passages throughout the reading that address these
themes. Discuss your predictions or expectations about how these themes might develop
later in the book.
3. Writing style: What specific techniques or features do you notice in Abu-Jaber’s writing
style? List at least two features of her writing style, citing specific examples and
discussing the effects of these writing choices in getting across meaning and in involving
a reader.
4. What particular moment stood out to you in the reading? In what ways does this moment
represent or embody or illustrate the themes and ideas in the book so far?
Reader Response #6 on “Madama Butterfly,” pages 89-109 of The Language of Baklava
Due Thu 10/24
Some of the questions below ask you to do some research. In your answers, you may paraphrase
or summarize from your sources, but do not paste from your sources or use direct quotes. As you
introduce your paraphrases, you must say the name of the source, and the author, if there is
one. For example: “According to the Wikipedia article, “Madama Butterfly,” the opera was
written by Puccini around 1904, and features a romance between a Japanese geisha and an
American consul.” For this assignment, a works cited page is not required, but you must give as
much information as possible in your lead-in to the paraphrase or summary.
1. What is “Madama Butterfly”?—What is an opera, who wrote it, when, and who are the
main characters?
2. What is Chinese opera? How does it differ from European opera?
3. On page 103, Abu-Jaber recalls something she read about China and Japan. She refers
to “some sort of dreadful, protracted trouble…with China.” She “dimly recollect[s]
something about invasions and atrocities.” What specific historical conflict would this
have been? What happened?
4. What specific information is given to you about the man on the bus? From this
information, what can you tell about his character?
5. During this episode at the Chinese Restaurant, Abu-Jaber experiences many
complicated and new thoughts, feelings, and sensations. What are these thoughts,
feelings, and sensations, and how do they change her? In other words, in what ways is
she different after this outing?
Reader Response #7 on pages 110-202 of The Language of Baklava
Due Mon 10/28
1. The essay “The Language of Baklava” gives the book its title. What might be the reasons
for this? In other words, what themes does this essay explore that the other essays in this
selection of the reading also explore? Point out specifically where you find these themes.
2. Thematic threads. In this selection of the reading, how have the threads you noticed last
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time developed? Have any of your predictions from the last journal come true? What new
threads have been added? Identify passages throughout this reading selection that address
the previous and the new themes. Discuss your further predictions or expectations about
how these themes could develop as the book continues.
3. Writing style: Since your first Reader Response on this book, what additional techniques
or features do you notice in Abu Jaber’s writing style? Cite specific examples and discuss
the effects of these writing choices in getting across meaning and in involving a reader.
Additionally, point to two or more further examples of the techniques you noticed last
time.
5. What particular moment stood out to you in the reading? In what ways does this moment
represent or embody or illustrate the themes and ideas in the book so far?
Reader Response due on The Language of Baklava, pages 203 – end
Due Mon 11/4
1. In this selection, Abu-Jaber grows from a high-school girl to an adult who is a teacher
and a writer. Discuss the ways in which she changes during this period. For example, has
she resolved conflicts between her Jordanian and American heritage? What meaning has
she found for food in her life? Has she resolved any of her conflicts with her father? Has
she found meaningful romantic connection, and if so, how her personal growth allowed
this?
2. Thematic threads: Question #1 above probably addresses one or more of your thematic
threads. Consider an additional one of them, and discuss how it has developed up to the
end of the book. What’s the last instance you see of it? How has it changed or resolved or
somehow developed?
3. If you were to write a single essay modeled on one of Abu-Jaber’s, about your own life,
what specific food incident in your life would you pick? Why?
Grading of the journals:
 The journal answers all the assigned questions as fully as possible, giving
examples from the text and discussing them.
 The journal shows that you have read and understood the assigned material.
 The journal uses MLA conventions of quotation, summary, and paraphrase, and
includes in-text page citations.
 The journal is proofread and grammatical.
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ESSAY #2: ANALYSIS OF THE LANGUAGE OF BAKLAVA
Due Dates: See the due dates at the beginning of this assignment sheet.
Format: Typed and double-spaced.
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: Three sources are required. One of these is the book itself, The Language of
Baklava. The other two might be any of the following:
 Academic articles about the immigrant experience.
 Interviews of Diana Abu-Jaber.
 Personal interviews (conducted by you): If you have friends or relatives who have
emigrated from one country to another, ask them about their experience. You might
generate questions for this interview by considering the themes and topics in The
Language of Baklava.
 Academic or popular articles about the foods mentioned in the book. These can include
recipes and reminiscences, and can be from food websites or blogs.
Avoid including too many sources: Stick with only the three required sources. I want you to
use good sources meaningfully. More sources will not get you a better grade. If you find more
than two outside sources that you feel you must use, check with me.
The Audience: The members of our class, including the instructor—people who are familiar
with The Language of Baklava 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 The Language of Baklava, and
which explores and defends this thesis. Your essay can choose one of the three topics below, and
your essay will make a claim (thesis) about this topic and support the claim using evidence and
analysis of the book and using additional material from your research.
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A theme in the book: This approach would explore one of the “threads” you were
following in your notes and reader responses, 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?
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? Do different kinds of food mean different things? What are the
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different uses of food? Does the same food always mean the same thing, or does it
depend on the situation?
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:
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
(P) the paragraph wants to make. The paragraph goes on, using quotations and
paraphrases from the text to illustrate (I) the point, and explaining (E) 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, and to the overall thesis of the
essay.
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.
The “point” sentences (and the paper throughout) will contain key words that connect to
your thesis.
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?
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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.
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
“but” or “maybe” 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 book relates to the larger world;
 Discuss how the book 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.
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Tips for Writing about Literature:
Reminder:
Tips title
for Writing
about
Literature:in the first
Make sure that the work’s
and author
are mentioned
paragraph.
After the first mention, refer to the author by last name.
Write in the present tense:
Abu-Jaber suggests that food has a crucial role in helping an
immigrant adjust.
Grading: 100 points total
1. Thesis: The essay has a clear and meaningful thesis, complex enough to require
discussion, to which everything in the essay pertains.
2. Example and evidence: The thesis is illustrated with vivid and plentiful
illustration and evidence, and there’s plenty of explanation and analysis to show
how the writer is interpreting the evidence and connecting it to the thesis. The
essay brings in counterarguments and discusses them meaningfully.
3. Opening and Ending: The opening is immediate and compelling. The conclusion
is meaningful, gives a sense of closure, and avoids repeating the beginning.
4. Organization: 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. Style and Voice:
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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.
5. MLA documentation and mechanics of quotation: The essay avoids plagiarism,
refers to reliable sources, 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.
6. Grammar and proofreading: The essay has been proofread and avoids
distracting errors. Grammar and spelling should be standard and correct.
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