the dreamer

Please read memoir piece, “The Dreamer” by Junot Diaz, then write a 5 paragraph argumentation/persuasive style essay on the following prompt/questions: Why did Junot Díaz’s mom drink the dirty puddle water? How did this “thirst” affect Junot’s life later?

DO NOT include first person “I” in academic essays–no I think, I feel, I-knows belong in academic essays. Please review the Notes on College Essay Structure “hand out” found in the Introduction. Also, please don’t start an essay with YES Or NO. First person “I ” can only be used in narrative essays and for personal examples within a body paragraph.  The only place you can use first person “I” in academic essay, which is this essay type, is in the conclusion. 

To come up with strong thesis points (analysis) you must explore the significance/deeper/larger meaning behind her action. (You can take into consideration gender roles, patriarchy or  sexism for examples.) NOTE: Thesis point 1 and 2 should be your answers to the puddle question. Thesis point 3 should be an answer to the question about how that affected Junot in his life.

After your heading, include these two sentences as your title: Why did Junot Díaz’s mom drink the dirty puddle water? How did this “thirst” affect Junot’s life later on?  

In the first paragraph, you MUST start with an Attention Grabber  (see Course documents on this “handout.”) Then introduce the title and author’s name and include 3 clear cut thesis points  The thesis points will be your critically thought out answers to the question/prompt. For the body paragraphs, you MUST use one direct quote from the essay as evidence per body/support paragraph to support your thesis point/s. (See an example of how to introduce your title and author’s name below.)

The 5th paragraph will be your summary/conclusion. Summarize your main points, then conclude with your own take on the topic.  For your conclusion, like the attention grabber, make sure to stick the landing–end your essay with a provocative, interesting, or profound thought about your take on what you have been writing about.

Your paper should be double-spaced, have 12 font and include an MLA heading with a running header.  (The running header has your last name with page number that changes per page.)  You can find how to do this on Youtube, whether you are using PC, MAC or Googledocs.

Type and STAPLE. I do not except unstapled papers!

Upload onto Moodle before the due date. I DO NOT accept emailed assignments, so you must post all of your assignments on our Moodle. You will not receive a grade if you email your assignments to me. 

IMPORTANT: If you are using a MAC computer or please SAVE AS a Word Doc. before uploading it to Moodle. The same goes for using Googledocs–SAVE AS a Word doc before uploading

AN EXAMPLE OF HOW TO INTRODUCE THE TITLE AND AUTHOR:  In the memoir piece, “The Dreamer” by Junot Diaz, he tells us about…

Don’t forget to include:

• an attention grabber.
• an introduction of  the author’s name and the title of the article. Use quotation marks around articles, essays, poems, short stories. 
• include 1-2 direct quotes from the article for the 1st body paragraph about the monks. 
• summary & conclusion– stick the landing by concluding with a thoughtful, profound or witty statement about this topic.

below is a link of the article “The Dreamer”