Write an essay on the Changing Landscape of Love and Marriage.
You will be writing your essay in the following series of steps:
1. First paragraph: Introduce the literary and expository text using summarizing skills. Come up with a preliminary plan that emphasizes the main focus of the essay. Create a thesis statement that plans out what the essay will be about.
2. Create body paragraphs that align with the essay topic and the thesis statement. Analyze the literary text using the expository text. Synthesize both texts throughout the essay. Construct coherent paragraphs that clearly explain your thoughts and logical analysis. Utilize parenthetical citation to cite quotes from the texts. Create a Works Cited page.
3. Revise analysis & logical thinking for clarity, unity, and focus. Revise paragraph structure for strong topic sentences & in-depth supporting sentences. Clean up grammatical errors using a gramma app. Polish sentences for clarity and readability. Fix any formatting errors, including the first page, parenthetical citation, Works Cited page, & hanging indentation.
Essay Questions:
In your essay, critically examine Miranda’s relationship with Dev in “Sexy,” especially as it relates to the article’s main idea that love and marriage in the Western world are becoming increasingly difficult, specifically that stability is harder to achieve. Utilize as many of the following questions to complete your essay, especially to meet the minimum length requirement of three pages:
1. How is Lahiri portraying the institution of marriage and the notion of romantic relationship in the story, and does it align with the article’s assessment of how the world is currently working when it comes to love and marriage?
2. How does being called “sexy” by both Dev and Rohin make Miranda feel about her relationship with Dev, and how does this align with some of the features of Tony Giddens’ confluent love model?
3. What types of marriages and relationships does Lahiri portray in the story? Do they reflect the types that the sociologists in the article talk about? Which ones and how?
4. Analyze Dev’s marriage and his relationship with Miranda utilizing Cherlin’s concept of “deinstitutionalization of marriage” and one other sociologist mentioned in the article.
5. Do men typically see marriage, sex, or relationship differently than women do, and if so, how? Back up your argument using information and data from the article.
6. Does the fact that Miranda and Dev have two very different cultural backgrounds contribute to how their relationship turns out? If so, how? Again, utilize the article for textual evidence.
Cite both texts in your essay, at least once from each text. You will need a minimum of three citations for the essay.
Literary text: Minimum of 1 direct quote or paraphrase.
Expository text: Minimum of 1 direct quote or paraphrase.
One citation from either literary or expository text.
Please refer to the week overview or the written assignment page for details.
Assignment Criteria
1. Content: Please read the prompt very carefully and make sure you understand what is required in the essay. In addition, critical thinking skills need to be clearly demonstrated in all of your analyses, employing objectivity and logical conclusion. Refrain from personal examples and utilize data and factual evidence presented in the expository text(s)..
2. Length: All three essays need to have a minimum of 3 (full) pages but no more than 5. With each paragraph having at least 5 sentences, that works out to be around 7-9 paragraphs. A half or partial page will not be considered as a full page. Refrain from adjusting the margins or citing a lengthy quote to increase the page length.
3. Citations: A minimum of three overall, one from each text.
4. Format: MLA formatting must be followed throughout the essay. Points will be deducted for any errors.
Five Formatting Elements:
1. MARGINS: one inch all around, avoid inflating the margins to gain more page numbers.
2. LAST NAME & PAGE NUMBER: Aligned to the right in the header. This is done by double-clicking on the top of the page and opening the header. Then find the setting to align the last name and the page number to the right.
3. HEADING: Double-spaced, in the left corner with four lines of information: Student name, Professors name, Class, Date.
4. SPACING: Double-spaced throughout the essay. There should be no extra space:
Between the heading and the title.
Between the title and the first paragraph.
Between body paragraphs.
5. ESSAY TITLE: A creative title that is centered.
5. Works Cited page: Your essays will need a “Works Cited” page as the last page of your essay.
