1st Paper Project, 1st Draft
Due: Monday, January 11, 2010
English 92 D50A
Prof Yi
Please write a paper that reflects upon one aspect of a reading that we’ve discussed so far in English 92.
You may use a previous writing sample and create a first draft out of it. Here are the following things I’d
like to see you do in your first drafted essay:
1. A clear focus & thesis in your paper.
2. Paragraph breaks (indentation)
3. A strong connection between your own perspectives with that of an author’s in one of the
readings we’ve looked at.
4. Reference to two or more sentences in your reading of choice. Be sure to use quotes “…”
5. Full elaboration, not just summary and reporting.
6. Above all else, have fun and enjoy this writing project!
Readings already covered and their appropriate themes:
John McPhee’s “Silk Parachute” (handout)
Sandra Cisneros’ “Only Daughter” pp414-17
 Mother’s impact on her son through
“alleged” stories
 Symbol of the silk parachute
Maya Angelou’s “Grandmother’s Victory” pp1116
 Grandmother’s influence on Maya
 Dealing with & overcoming discrimination
Franz Kafka’s “Letter to His Father” (handout)
 A strained relationship between father
and son
 Son’s longing to find closure with
intolerable father
 Gender privileges & its disadvantages
 Being the “odd” one in the family
Alfred Lubrano’s “Bricklayer’s Boy” handout
 Becoming independent
 Conflict & resolution of differences
between father and son: Blue-collar vs.
White-collar work and life views.
First Paper Project: Please choose ONE of the following topics to write your first draft on. While these
questions are general guidelines, please note that I don’t want you to merely focus on answering the
questions. You must determine how and when you approach the questions in your essay. Don’t just answer
each question sequentially if choosing Part I. You don’t have to include all the questions asked into your
essay if it’s not relevant.
Family: Parent & Child
I. Choose ONE reading from the list above to base your paper on:
How important is family for you? What is the ideal family relationship structure? How does one reading
that we’ve looked at agree or disagree with your views on family? What would you like to focus your topic
of discussion on, based on the reading? Or, what did you like most about the reading that you can
personally identify with? Give three or more examples that show the reader how you relate to the story
about family, making sure you elaborate on the similarities and/or differences. What ultimate message
would you like to give your reader on the connection between your experiences with that of the author’s?
That is, what have you learned from comparing your unique experience with the author’s own experience
on family? Please be sure to quote at least once and by summarizing, or paraphrasing (if necessary) from
your reading selection of choice.
The “Bricklayer’s Boy”
II. One option for a paper project on “Bricklayer’s Boy:”
Parents and their children can sometimes disagree about life’s fundamental choices or about important
values. Thinking about your own experience and the essay you have read, develop an essay around this
issue in your essay. Please be sure to quote at least once and by summarizing, or paraphrasing (if
necessary) from “Bricklayer’s Boy.”
III. Second option for a paper project on “Bricklayer’s Boy:”
In the last paragraph of this essay, Lubrano’s father confesses, “I envy you. For a man to do something he
likes and get paid for it—that’s fantastic.” For our parents’ generation as well as our own this goal has been
a difficult one to achieve in our society. Write an essay in which you examine this idea from your own
experience, your observation of the lives of others that you know or the reading. Please be sure to quote at
least once and by summarizing, or paraphrasing (if necessary) from “Bricklayer’s Boy.”
Continue In-class essay on “Letter to his Father”
IV. Continue with your in-class essay on “Letter to his Father” by Franz Kafka. Please be sure to quote at
least once and by summarizing, or paraphrasing (if necessary) from “Letter to his Father.”
1. Imagine that Kafka’s father had a chance to write back to his son. Write the letter you imagine he
might send, addressing specific points in Kafka’s letter. For example, focus on three or four of the
examples that Kafka uses and explain how the younger Kafka misinterpreted what the older Kafka said
or did.
2. Write an essay in which you reflect on the relationship between fathers and children. Describe what
your own relationship with your father has been. How much of Kafka’s relationship with his father is
similar or different from the relationship that you have [had] with yours? Give at least three examples,
and quote at least once from the reading.