Assignment #2

           Writing Assignment #2: Two-Paragraph Example Essay

For this assignment, you will write an example essay of three (or more) paragraphs. 

We live in a huge multi-cultural urban and suburban region. If you spent a few hours walking through towns from Sylmar through downtown L.A. and out to the ocean, you might hear five or six languages being spoken. In many neighborhoods in L.A. County, for example, a person is more likely to hear Spanish, Korean, or Chinese than English.

In assignment #2, you’re going to use your personal experience to write a short essay called “Table Talk.” I want you to discuss the language spoken at the dinner table at your house, and how it helps (or doesn’t help) you deal with the world outside. Using Amy Tan’s essay “Mother Tongue” as a point of reference, I want you to examine your experience with language and write about it. 

Tan discusses the relationship between the language she speaks inside her family, and the language she speaks outside the family. Although she is a famous writer – in English -it’s clear that her deepest feelings can be best expressed in the mix of English and Chinese she speaks with her mother.

You must refer to Tan’s essay at least once in your writing assignment as you support your thesis. You must use specific examples to make your point. 

Many of you come from families that spoke a language other than English one or two generations ago. How has that fact shaped the language or languages you speak today? How has the language or languages your speak shaped your present, such as what and how you read, who you talk to, how you talk to people, and what you do at work? Has being able to speak two or more languages helped you deal with daily life? Does it get in the way?

Students who come from English speaking families should consider the particularities of how language is used in your family – from terms of endearment to expressing anger, sorrow, or disappointment. What about the language you speak with your friends? You should also consider your relation to the neighborhoods and people who don’t primarily use English when they speak. Think about how this impacts your life and how you feel about it.

Prewriting-Outline: Worth 5 points – due Monday, September 22 at the end of class

We will work on prewriting and then creating an outline for your essay in class. Your outline should include:

1.  a main idea, expressed as a topic sentence (or thesis statement)

2.  three examples that support your thesis

3.  a list of two or three supporting details and specifics for each example

You must turn in an outline with your final draft to get full points

Draft of Example Essay: Worth 10 points - due Monday, September 29 at the end of class

You will begin writing a draft of your example essay at home during the week before it’s due. You must bring your work with you to class on September 29. At the end of class you must present your draft (which will then be returned) in order to receive full points. Your draft should follow your outline and include a topic sentence that expresses your main idea, as well as supporting sentences that develop your support points with specifics and details. You should neatly handwrite your draft, skipping every other line (i.e. double space),

Final draft of Example Essay: worth 85 points - due Wednesday, October 1 at the beginning of class

Please email your final essay to Tomp99@earthlink.net. In the subject box write your name in capital letters, your subject, and the assignment number: Mine would look like this: TOMPKINS ENG 52-2 If you can’t email your paper, you must turn it in on paper, double-spaced, typed or neatly hand-written.

Due Dates

Monday, September 22 – Outline (main idea + three supporting points)

Monday, September 29 – Draft of essay

Wednesday, October 1 – Final draft of essay