WEEK 2 ASSIGNMENT: LANGUAGE AND IDENTITY
These assignments should be treated as short essays, meaning, you need a thesis, introduction, conclusion, and cohesive paragraphs (if you aren’t confident about thesis statements, that’s ok–just give it a try). They’re shorter so that you get more practice with writing while we work toward the major papers. Also, these pieces let you use your own voice and practice what you’re reading or reviewing in Dreyer’s English.
All requirements and a rubric can be found below.
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1. Consider two places where you’ve spent a lot of time in the past couple of years. Examples could include, of course, the university, but you could also think of your workplace, another school, your friend group, clubs, Zoom, and so on. You could also focus on our more limited spaces resulting from the pandemic.
2. Identify the language you use in each space. Are there certain ways of speaking? Do you, perhaps, place emphases on certain words? Do you use specific slang? Does even the position of your tongue change when you pronounce certain words? Does your sentence structure change?
3. What do these changing languages mean for you? How does each one help you belong?
4. Have you ever felt that you were “wrong” for using one language in one place? Did it ever make you feel like you didn’t belong somewhere?
Requirements
- 750-1,000 words, Times New Roman 12-pt. font (it’s a stodgy font, but it’s the easiest to read, especially on the Canvas platform)
- Your essay should be thoughtfully written—responses that are written hastily, carelessly, or without reference to the readings won’t get a passing grade.
- Works cited isn’t needed because I already know them.
- Try for a thesis. It’s ok if you haven’t mastered them yet.
- Introduction, conclusion, body paragraphs.
- Read out loud to find missing words, long sentences, or choppy sentences.
- The rubric is below and will show you how I grade. To make sure these shorter assignments are returned in a reasonable amount of time, I’m not able to give comments. However, if you don’t know why you received a grade even after reviewing the rubric, feel free to email me. If, too, you’re struggling with them, email me–I’m happy to help.
- “NEED HELP WITH THIS ASSIGNMENT? TALK TO US. OUR WRITERS CAN HELP!”