Word Count: at least 2000 words
Essay #4: Research Paper
By this point, we should all be fairly comfortable, or at the very least, be aware of how to build an effective academic essay. The most important components are the parts that contain your arguments, which will be the thesis statement, your topic sentences, and the analysis of your evidence (quotes).
Oftentimes, it’s said that novelists write to show the imperfections society has at that time. Let’s pretend this is an absolute fact and is true of Alice Walker. Her novel, The Color Purple, shows readers how a toxic community affects individuals, but also how that community can transform when members of that group change their lifestyle. Sexism, then, seems to be a consequence of actions, rather than something that is innate. Nobody is chauvinistic because they are born that way, they are bigoted because of their mindset. Does this mean that sexism can one day be fully eradicated? Has it, possibly, finally been defeated today?
Prompt:
Question and determine if gender equality has been reached in American society today, and determine if your response is demonstrated within Alice Walker’s The Color Purple? (In other words, is your societal answer reflected within Walker’s novel?)
For this essay, reflect on modern society and the status of gender equality while thinking about the themes and characters that Walker’s novel presents. Are relationships between genders in today’s society mirrored within Walker’s novel? Use the novel to express the state of present day’s gender equality.
Example thesis:
In today’s society, gender equality has not yet been reached, and Walker’s The Color Purple demonstrates this by portraying characters impacted by ingrained mindsets, highlighting the additional inequality women of color face within communities, while also showing readers the dangers of imposing one’s agency upon others.
Requirements:
Essay must have a thesis statement with at least three topic sentences that connects to the thesis, and of course, an introduction and a conclusion.
Have packets (context, evidence, analysis).
Must be in MLA formatting
include the word count in the heading
5-7 sources
2 must be scholarly sources (peer-reviewed), while the other sources can be either scholarly or popular; this means that they can come from either the databases or Google, but no blogs can be used. The Color Purple does count as one source.
only 4-6 direct quotes can be used for this essay
A Works Cited page
No contractions, 1st person, or 2nd person words
Reminders:
Thesis statement is made up of your: claim + (3) reasons/rationale
Topic Sentences further explain your reasons/rationale by addressing the “so what?” aspect.
For the thesis statement’s claim, I highly suggest making your societal answer mimic the literary answer (If one believes gender equality has been reached, then state that’s what the novel represents and vice versa.)
Up to seven points total can be lost for every contraction, 1st person, 2nd person used and for every MLA formatting error (a point per error)
Rubric:
To receive the grade one wants, review the rubric provided below. In addition to those factors, keep in mind that editing for clarity of grammar and flow will also factor into your grade.
Points out of 100
Percentage
Description
(The following is if the thesis is addressing the prompt sheet directly, not indirectly.)
95-100
95% – 100%
Has a clear thesis statement (claim and reasons/rationale are distinct) that’s fully addressing the prompt question. Topic sentences clearly expand on the thesis (answers the “So what/Why should we care?” question). Packets are obvious with easily understandable context and evidence that’s clearly being referenced to in order to support the argument (topic sentence). Grammar is near perfect and flows nicely.
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