Synthesizing the American Dream Writing the Essay

SYNTHESIZING THE AMERICAN DREAM Your topic is to choose between the following statements: America still provides access to the American Dream for the “tired, the poor, and the huddled masses.” OR America no longer provides access to the American Dream for the “tired, poor, and the huddled masses.” SYNTHESIZING THE AMERICAN DREAM

The Introduction STEP 1: “Hook” your audience. An introduction must provide your audience with a reason to keep reading. An engaging, interesting introduction will draw the audience into your essay. The goal is to hold the reader's attention while sounding knowledgeable about the topic on which you are writing. Strategies for “hooking” an audience include: Choosing statistics that will surprise your reader or go against common beliefs about a topic Telling a short, interesting anecdote, or personal story, related to the topic Providing an interesting (and relevant) quote Developing an unusual or unexpected comparison related to the topic Making a surprising, declarative statement related to the topic A good hook can be one sentence or several.

INTRODUCTION COMPLETE STEP 2: Connect your hook to the topic in several sentences ***Think about an intro as in inverted triangle start broad and narrow your focus down to your thesis*** STEP 3: write your thesis statement as your last sentence of your introduction; copy it down word for word from your handout hook INTRODUCTION COMPLETE connection thesis

Body Paragraph 1 Choose which TWO texts you feel best support your position. This is the text you will use as the source for text evidence in your paragraph.   1. Write a topic sentence that echoes the idea from your thesis statement. Change the wording. Ex: America doesn’t /does provide access to the American dream for all citizens.

2. After your topic sentence, embed your first piece of text evidence (Quote #1). Establish what the article is about and include the text evidence in a way that it all flows within your paragraph. Example: In the excerpt from Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich goes undercover and takes a minimum wage paying job as a maid, “gloating internally about [her] ability to keep up with, and sometimes outwork” women who are younger, but she figures out that this tells more about the other women and how they try to get out of work than it does about how fast and good she is. *Notice how the example seamlessly fits into the sentence and flows within the paragraph. Changes to the pronouns were made and indicated with brackets [ ].

3. For each piece of text evidence, you need to analyze/explain how the evidence supports your topic sentence. THIS MAY TAKE A COUPLE OF SENTENCES!!! Example: Ehrenreich shows that even though she is working very hard as a maid and earning just enough to get by, she is not obtaining the “American Dream.” In fact, the work is so difficult and the people that she works with have done this kind of physical labor for so long, they don’t even associate the “American Dream” with what they do, but instead accept their “hellish condition.”

4. Transition to your next example.   Furthermore, in the ______________ piece by ________, he/she ………………. 5. Write a sentence with an embedded quote from the second piece   6. Again, analyze/explain how the evidence supports your topic sentence. THIS MAKE TAKE SEVERAL SENTENCES!! 7. CONCLUDING SENTENCE: Wrap-up your paragraph by summarizing the position you took and supported in your paragraph. Based on the experience that Barbara Ehrenreich describes, it is evident that the “American Dream” is no longer accessible to all people and that “hard work” doesn’t always pay off.

2nd body paragrapah STEP 3: Body Paragraph # 2 Choose two examples from your own life, or the life of someone you know, to support your position. 1.Your topic sentence should begin with a transitional phrase that introduces your personal example. Example In my own life, I saw the effects of the inaccessibility of the American Dream for the “tired, poor, and huddled masses.” 2nd body paragrapah

5. Transition to your next example 5. Transition to your next example. Be sure to use appropriate transitional phrases. EXAMPLE: In addition to giving up many luxuries, I took a part time job at a fast food restaurant to help support my family. 6.Again, analyze/explain how the example supports your topic sentence. 7.Wrap-up your paragraph by summarizing the position you took and supported in your paragraph. Example Based on my experiences during my time as a lower class citizen of America, it is clear that, even if one works hard to achieve it, the American Dream is only accessible to the middle and upper classes.

The Conclusion Don’t neglect your conclusions. When you sense your essay is wrapping up, it is easy to make your final point and then just click “save” (especially if you are working under the gun, late at night, hopped up on too much caffeine). But, taking a few more minutes to craft a conclusion can sometimes make all the difference in your paper. An abrupt ending to your essay leaves your readers (and your instructors) wondering if a page got lost somewhere or if you suddenly ran out of ideas (which I admit happens to the best of us). A well designed conclusion signals to the reader that you view your essay as a complete package and that you have given thought to both ends. Here is a list of some conclusion strategies: Restate your thesis in DIFFERENT words. Restate one of your most important points. Put out a call to action. What should readers do now if they are convinced of your argument? Speculate on the future. What will occur if your argument is put into action? Explain consequences. What will be lost if your argument is not accepted? What will be gained if it is? What is the seriousness of these consequences? You do not need to do ALL of these. They are just ideas to choose from.

formatting 1. 12 pt. font; Times New Roman 2. Double spaced; MLA HEADING 3. INDENT AT EACH PARAGRAPH AND START NEXT PARAGRAPH ON NEXT LINE- DON’T SKIP 2 LINES See the example from Purdue OWL that is on my website.