JUST READ THE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY, PLEASE
As per the current section of Signs of Life in the USA, Essay #3 will be all about identity. For the essay assignment, you will select an identity and then discuss in at least three separate topics (thus at least three body paragraphs) the hidden (unseen), less obvious, or more complex statuses behind your chosen identity.
Pick a way by which you would identify yourself. It can be via economic class, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, health, sexual orientation, etc. (check with me if you have any doubts about the identity you chose). Then, in each body, paragraph address a status that is either unknown or more complicated than commonly thought associated with your self-identification and which impacts you in some way. Your support for the status of your identity must be concrete and include the use of outside research.
In addressing the significance of your identity, spend some of the paragraph engaging how the status affects you or your perspective on life. It could be in a good way or in a negative way. Be enlightening.
In approaching this essay, consider, as a guide, the following articles from Signs of Life: Nelson (553-559), Lubrano (543-549) and Hagedorn (345-353). Remember how the hidden statuses of starting off poor affect Lubrano and others like him or how those that come with being a female athlete affect Nelson.
Research
Although some degree of analysis is present in this essay, this essay is more heavily focused on concrete facts than the previous two essays. Reference to at least two outside sources is required for this essay. NOTE: Failure to use a single academic source will result in no better than a ‘D’-level grade on the essay. Most likely, each body paragraph should have a citation of an outside source. Sticking in quotes just for the sake of fulfilling the source requirement would not be helpful to your essay grade.
Basic Requirements (Checklist):
o MLA style heading in the top left corner
o A title (center of the page below heading and above essay text DOUBLE SPACED only)
o An introductory paragraph with a thesis in which you identify yourself
o At least three well-developed body paragraphs containing and supporting your main ideas
o A clear topic sentence for each body paragraph
o Concrete supporting evidence for the body paragraphs that focus on supporting the topic
o Transitions (‘first, ‘next’, ‘in addition’, ‘finally’, etc. where needed)
o A concluding paragraph reviewing the thesis and main ideas
o Correct grammar, punctuation and mechanics (Visit the TLC if this is not a strength of yours)
o 12-point standard font (Times New Roman or Ariel—nothing fancy, please); double spaced, 1”
margins on both sides and top & bottom
o Please place page number at the top right corner of each page with your last name preceding it.
*Important Note…failure to include In-text citations (direct or indirect) and a Works Cited page will automatically result in a failing grade for the essay.
Academic Sources on the Web
• Any source from ProQuest or any academic research database
• Any source with “edu” or “gov” in the URL
• Any source from a reputable publication, newspaper, magazine
• The page of the website has NO advertisements on it
* GoogleScholar is a search engine that includes only academic articles on its search hits
Note: Plagiarism on this assignment will result in an automatic ZERO and a possible referral to the Dean of Students
Website Citation:
Last name, first. “Title of article.” Title of Website (no URL). Website Administrator. Date of publication
[indent] URL.com
* Date must be in the following format: 20 Mar 2019
I. Intro
A. Identity chosen
B. Status(es) that come with it (optional in intro but topic sentences must include them)
1.
2.
3.
II. Body
A. Brief background on the identity—meaning, history, etc. (no more than a half-page)
B. Status that is attached to identity
1. Explain the status and the effect it has on you or others like you.
2. Use outside support/research/examples that help verify the existence of the status.
C. Second status that is attached to identity OR further development of one
1. Explain the status and the effect it has on you or others like you.
2. Use outside support/research/examples that help verify the existence of the status.
D. Third status that is attached to identity OR further development of one
1. Explain the status and the effect it has on you or others like you.
2. Use outside support/research/examples that help verify the existence of the status.
*You can add further body paragraphs.
III. Conclusion
A. Review identity and status; provide concluding statement
Being a Canadian who resides in the US, my identity brings a sense of invisibility and odd stereotyping with it…
The invisibility comes with the change in attitude towards me once people learn I am Canadian. Obviously, I have no physical traits that would reveal that part of my background, and my accent has largely been lost over the years of living in the US. Thus, I am treated as a typical American. However, once people—including longtime friends—learn I am Canadian, they began to regard me as more of a ‘foreigner’. I am asked why I don’t add ‘eh’ to every sentence and am frequently asked about how things are done in Canada, whether it is holidays or school, as if I possess secret knowledge of the country. Maple syrup comes up as a frequent topic as well, since the maple leaf is the symbol on the Flag of Canada. As someone who spent his childhood in Canada, I understand the interest someone from outside the country may have in knowing the country from a former insider like me, but the constant shift in attitude towards me upon learning I am Canadian gets a bit tiresome.
Interestingly, one of the stereotypes and points of humor regarding Canada—the aforementioned maple syrup—is actually regarded more seriously in the country than many here in the US might suspect. Americans frequently see us as simply liking the taste of it and having a strange obsession over it. Any online search of ‘Canadians and Maple Syrup’ would yield such hits. (Examples) However, as Vanity Fair Magazine points out, Canada provides 72% of the world’s maple syrup supply, and it is a $185 million dollar industry (Cohen). Therefore, we must take it seriously because our economy relies substantially on it. Despite that, however, if Canada consumes too much of anything, it is not maple syrup, but rather Macaroni and Cheese, according to Alicia Hauqe of the Huffington Post. According to Haque, there are even more donut shops per square mile in Canada than in anywhere else in the world. For whatever reason, though, it is the maple syrup that, pardon the expression, sticks with us.
