Purpose and Expectations:
The diagnostic essay affords me an opportunity to become acquainted with your writing style, and affords you an opportunity become acquainted with my grading style. I will collect and evaluate your essay just as I will evaluate the other essays you submit for the course, giving you suggestions that you can apply to your other essays. Completing the diagnostic essay is a required part of the course (the essay counts toward the number of essays that students must write in the course), but the diagnostic essay will not receive a grade at this stage. In fact, the essay is called “diagnostic” because it allows me to provide a “diagnosis” of your writing at the beginning of the course, a “diagnosis” being “a critical analysis of the nature of something.”
Description:
This semester we will be embarking in literary analysis, which includes a measured consideration of historical, cultural and socio-political contexts. For this assignment, we will consider the poem “Theme for English B,” by famed poet Langston Hughes. For this essay, your goal will be to make connections between the poet’s personal experiences, sociohistorical context, and your own interpretation of the poem’s meaning.
To complete this task, you must draw from the following sources:
- “Theme for English B,” Langston Hughes
- “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain”
- Hughes’s Life and Career
- The Harlem Renaissance
Consider the following questions as you compose your essay: What was happening in the world at the time this poem was written? What did Hughes care about? What may have inspired him to write this poem?
Format:
2-3 Pages
Saved in Microsoft Word
Typed and Double Spaced
Times New Roman
12 pt. Font
1 inch margins
Reflection Presentation (Week Three):
In three-five minute discussions, students will share their work with the class. At this time, be prepared to read your response poem to “Theme for English B.” Additionally, you will share your essay’s thesis and the strategies you employed to support it.
Tip:
Don’t worry if these expectations sound intimidating; just do the best that you can. You will read a lot of information about strengthening your writing throughout the semester, but if you feel you need to review the basics before you write the diagnostic essay, you could read the web page The Writing Process.
