Week 6 Homework

Your homework for this week is to read the next chapter in They Say / I Say, a chapter dedicated to one basic question: Graff and Birkenstein give us a lot of moves to pull off, but how do we tie them all together in an essay, or even in a paragraph or just a couple of sentences? Well, hopefully this chapter will give you a few simple answers to your question.

Other than this chapter in They Say / I Say, I also want you to read the following articles:

1) "The Return of the Protest Song," by Salamishah Tillet, published recently in the magazine, The Atlantic:
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/01/the-return-of-the-protest-song/384631/.

2) "America's 'Prince' problem: How Black people -- and art -- became 'devalued,'" by Brittney Cooper:
http://www.salon.com/2015/02/11/americas_prince_problem_how_black_people_and_art_became_devalued/.

As you read these two articles, notice how one is a response to the other. Notice especially how these articles are tailored for online publication. What do the writers have to say in an online article? And what do they not have to say at all, because they can simply provide a clickable link? Is there anything else that distinguishes online articles from articles that you would imagine reading in a physical magazine or a hardcopy newspaper?

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Next, in your writing homework, I want you to take on one specific idea that gets mentioned in the articles above: The recent #BlackLivesMatter movement. In your writing assignment, I want you to think about this movement, to use what you see about it, and to respond with your own ideas.

Here's what I want you to do:

-- Write a casual summary-and-response write-up about #BlackLivesMatter, meaning a casual essay of at least 350 words, in which you summarize what this movement seems to be saying, then respond to the movement with your own ideas.

-- To summarize #BlackLivesMatter, I'd like you to use social media as much as you can. Try to avoid finding an "official" explanation of #BlackLivesMatter. Instead, try to gather for yourself what average people, especially people who simply seem to feel strongly about this movement, seem to be saying through it. And as you summarize these ideas, think closely about how you should credit the ideas you find. Do you even need to credit these average people at all?

-- In your response to #BlackLivesMatter, think in simple terms, but stay smart. As I always say, it's easy to simply agree. So don't simply agree; be sure to explain what your unique perspective adds to the original idea. And if you're not sure you agree at all, but you don't want to disagree with such a popular movement, keep in mind that you don't have to disagree with the whole movement, just the one or two things you find questionable. And if you're undecided, remember: That's a response, too! Just be sure to say what makes you unable to decide, or what the movement does that prevents someone like you from responding.

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And that's it for regular homework. Don't forget that your Essay 2 second draft is due next Wednesday, 2/25, by the start of class -- and that means the whole packet: First draft, critique, second draft, and rubric.

Be sure to email me if you have questions. See you again soon.