Essay 2: Fighting Extremism: Analysis Essay on Rising Out of Hatred
5-6 pages (1,500-1,800 words)
Graded on a 100-pt scale. Worth 20% of Course Grade.
Brainstorming due (10 points): Tuesday, 3/15
Rough draft due (20 points): Tuesday, 3/22
Feedback meetings: 3/23-3/25
Written comments returned by: Wednesday, 3/30 (This is in the middle of Spring Break.)
Writing Center meeting due by: Monday, 4/4
Final draft due (70 points): Tuesday, 4/5
Overview: What does an analysis essay do?
When you analyze something, you break it down into its component parts. Often, analysis essay prompts will ask you to explain the reasons or causes that lead to a certain problem, or they will ask you why a specific solution is effective where others are not. You’ll get to think about both the problem of extremist belief and the solutions for it in this essay.
Writing Skills We’re Focusing On
In this essay, you should:
Start with an interesting, relevant, and organized introduction that uses research to explain the broader problem of White Nationalism in the US before moving on to address Derek’s story, in particular.
State a thesis that effectively communicates your essay’s argument at the end of your introduction.
Use effective PEA/S paragraph structure to develop your ideas in the body of your essay.
Introduce, integrate, and explain quoted material to support your points.
End the essay with a conclusion that gives your reader something new to think about instead of just merely restating points you’ve already made.
Craft sentences with appropriate sentence boundaries, avoiding fragments and run-together sentences.
Use transition words accurately to show the relationship between thoughts in your essay. (In this essay, you should underline 2 sentences that show your mastery of transition words. If I can’t find the work you’re doing to show your skills, then I can’t give you credit for it!)
Essay 2 Prompt
Eli Saslow’s Rising Out of Hatred was written in response to an alarming trend in American culture: over the past few years, the number of hate groups active in the US has risen to an all-time high (in 2018, the SPLC documented 1,020 such groups, while in 2014, only 784 hate groups were active). Saslow offers the story of Derek Black, the young White Nationalist leader who changed his mind about his racist beliefs after attending the New College of Florida, in hopes that it can shed light on how to respond to this issue. As Saslow explains, “If parts of [Derek’s] story traced the country’s path to this contentious racial moment, then maybe the details of his transformation can also point a way ahead” (3). In this essay, you will analyze Derek’s transformation with the goal of explaining what that way ahead might look like. With this background in mind, here is the central prompt you should respond to in this essay:
Why does Derek believe in White Nationalism, and what causes him to change his mind during his time at New College?
Tips for Success
Remember that you have two main tasks here: in the first part of your essay, address why Derek believes in White Nationalism. Explain a few reasons for his belief, giving each of your reasons its own body paragraph in PEA/S format. You’ll probably need 2-3 body paragraphs to do this fully. In the second part of your essay, address the factors that cause Derek to leave White Nationalism. Again, give each factor its own PEA/S paragraph. You’ll probably need 2-3 paragraphs here as well.
Notice that the two main questions you’re being asked here are very broad. When you sit down to brainstorm for a question like “why does Derek believe in White Nationalism?” though, you should look to the more targeted versions of this question we’ve been asking in class. How does Derek benefit from this belief? What groups or systems are enabling or encouraging his belief? As for the question of how Derek’s time at New College changes him, think about the opportunities that the institution of the college offers, as well as the ways in which individuals help re-shape his worldview. There are a lot of ways to make these two broad questions more incisive and more productive.
Avoid bringing up characters other than Derek in your topic sentences. This will help you focus on WHAT and WHY answers (which require a lot of great critical thinking) rather than WHO answers. “Derek maintains his belief in White Nationalism because, through it, he gains acceptance from the people who are most important to him,” for instance, is a much stronger argument than, “Derek is a White Nationalist because Don Black influenced him.”
Use your conclusion to answer the question “what is the ‘way ahead?’” Saslow explains that he wants his book to show us how to approach extremism in the US. Based on what you have found in your essay, what do you think?
Formatting
Double-space your paper and use a 12-point standard font like Times New Roman. Be sure that your name, the course name (English 100), my name, and the date appear in a column at the top left of your first page.
Late Policy
Essays will be marked down 3 points for each calendar day late (this is essentially a third of a grade, so the essay packet grade would go from an A- to a B+, for instance). The highest grade any essay turned in a week or more late will receive is an F. Emailed submissions do not count. Late papers may not be handed back to you in a timely fashion, and you won’t be guaranteed comments—this may affect your ability to get points on future assignments that ask you to reflect on comments you’ve received.
Expectations for Rough Draft of Essay
On this essay, you will receive thorough comments on your rough draft instead of on your final draft. Your rough draft is expected to be rough, which means that I don’t expect it to be perfect. However, it does have to be a thoughtful piece of work that you have devoted some time to so that the comments you receive will actually be useful. To earn your 20 points, make sure that your rough draft:
Has an introduction paragraph
Has your best attempt at your thesis so far
Includes full drafts of at least three body paragraphs in PEA/S format
Incorporates fully introduced and integrated quotes
Has been carefully proofread for basic typos
Demonstrates depth of thought about the assignment
Is between 1,000-1,300 words in length.
Expectations for Final Draft of Essay
My comments on your draft are meant to help you develop your writing skills and write a more focused paper. They are targeted specifically to your work. After you have received your rough draft back with my comments, you need to follow up on these comments and questions in your final draft. When I grade your final drafts, I’ll also look at your rough drafts to see how you adjusted and revised based on my comments. I’ll be checking to make sure that you have:
made all corrections and changes I suggested (including suggestions about ideas, organization, sentence structure, punctuation, and so on)
restructured or reorganized areas where I asked questions (for example, if my comment asks “Is this really the right topic sentence for this paragraph?” I want to see that you’ve revised the topic sentence to better match the paragraph)
added or taken out information from the sections of the draft I’ve already commented on when necessary
added at least 2 entirely new body paragraphs (keep in mind that, in total, the body of this essay will probably be 5-6 paragraphs long. You might need to include more than 2 body paragraphs I haven’t seen before in your final draft!)
added a conclusion paragraph.
