Untitled
ENGL 108 FLEX - Essay 2 Topic
Due Date: 11:59pm on Friday, June 18th
Instructions
Type your essay into Microsoft Word or another word processing software. Take time to organize
your ideas and find good evidence from the essays before beginning the writing process.
Upload your essay as a PDF (name your file FirstName_LastName_Essay2) to the “Essay Two”
Moodle folder.
Topic
The materials we have covered from weeks 4 - 6 focus on themes of identity and symbolism. The
use of symbols (such as bowling, cooking, and speaking/sharing) in each of these works
epresent larger ideas and meanings in each of their stories, and also help shape and form their
identities. Choose two of the texts listed below, and write an essay on the use of symbolism and
its relationship to identity as reflected in your two chosen works.
- Jhumpa Lahiri’s “Cooking Lessons”
- Ira Sunkrungruang’s “Chop Suey”
- Sue Klebold’s “My Son Was a Columbine Shooter” (TED Talk)
Length
The essay will be 5 paragraphs long (an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion)
and about 750 words long.
Structure
1. Introduction & Thesis The thesis statement will include the essay topic and
introduce the three paragraph topics (your supporting points for your thesis)
2. Body Paragraphs Each body paragraph will have a topic sentence (each paragraph
will contain one supporting point or observation), evidence from your sources (at
least 2 quotations), analysis of that evidence, and end with a concluding / transition
sentence.
3. Conclusion Your conclusion should restate/paraphrase your thesis statement and
emind your reader of why your argument is significant.
Quotations
You will need to include a minimum of 2 quotations (not including paraphrases) per body
paragraph to support what you are arguing. Each quotation should include a signal phrase and be
introduced; the speaker of the quotation should be stated (ex. Lahiri states, “…”) before the
quotation is included. At times, context (background information) will need to be provided for
the quotation.
Citations
Use MLA formatting for any quotations, paraphrases, or summaries. Citations should include the
author’s last name and page/paragraph number, or time stamp (for videos).
Example: (Lahiri para XXXXXXXXXXSukrungruang para XXXXXXXXXXKlebold 04:18).
You do not need a works cited page for this essay.
*Please review our course outline for policies on late submissions and email submissions
Untitled
ENGL 108 FLEX - Essay 2 Topic
Due Date: 11:59pm on Friday, June 18th
Instructions
Type your essay into Microsoft Word or another word processing software. Take time to organize
your ideas and find good evidence from the essays before beginning the writing process.
Upload your essay as a PDF (name your file FirstName_LastName_Essay2) to the “Essay Two”
Moodle folder.
Topic
The materials we have covered from weeks 4 - 6 focus on themes of identity and symbolism. The
use of symbols (such as bowling, cooking, and speaking/sharing) in each of these works
epresent larger ideas and meanings in each of their stories, and also help shape and form their
identities. Choose two of the texts listed below, and write an essay on the use of symbolism and
its relationship to identity as reflected in your two chosen works.
- Jhumpa Lahiri’s “Cooking Lessons”
- Ira Sunkrungruang’s “Chop Suey”
- Sue Klebold’s “My Son Was a Columbine Shooter” (TED Talk)
Length
The essay will be 5 paragraphs long (an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion)
and about 750 words long.
Structure
1. Introduction & Thesis The thesis statement will include the essay topic and
introduce the three paragraph topics (your supporting points for your thesis)
2. Body Paragraphs Each body paragraph will have a topic sentence (each paragraph
will contain one supporting point or observation), evidence from your sources (at
least 2 quotations), analysis of that evidence, and end with a concluding / transition
sentence.
3. Conclusion Your conclusion should restate/paraphrase your thesis statement and
emind your reader of why your argument is significant.
Quotations
You will need to include a minimum of 2 quotations (not including paraphrases) per body
paragraph to support what you are arguing. Each quotation should include a signal phrase and be
introduced; the speaker of the quotation should be stated (ex. Lahiri states, “…”) before the
quotation is included. At times, context (background information) will need to be provided for
the quotation.
Citations
Use MLA formatting for any quotations, paraphrases, or summaries. Citations should include the
author’s last name and page/paragraph number, or time stamp (for videos).
Example: (Lahiri para XXXXXXXXXXSukrungruang para XXXXXXXXXXKlebold 04:18).
You do not need a works cited page for this essay.
*Please review our course outline for policies on late submissions and email submissions
week-5-reading-response-4-j4xk
cy.docx
ENGL 108 FLEX - Reading Response Questions for Week 5
These reading response questions will allow you to make connections between the materials assigned for this week. Each answer should be around XXXXXXXXXXwords in length.
These questions are also meant to help prepare you for your next essay.
1. Explain the significance of the following passage from Sukrungruang’s “Chop Suey”. How does this reflect Sukrungruang’s growth and the relationship he has with his mother?
I listened, amazed that my mother could bowl a 200, that she was good at something beyond what mothers were supposed to be good at, like cooking and punishing and sewing. I clapped. I said she should stop being a mother and become a bowler.
2. In Sue Klebold’s TED Talk, she discusses the death of her son and also discusses his violent actions. She says, “there are no simple answers. … All I can do is share what I have learned” (2:29). How does this act of “sharing” serve as a symbol towards hope and forgiveness?
essay-two-outline-template-1-agi2l0gt.docx
Use this template to plan your ideas for Essay Two. Your outline should be written using full sentences and proper MLA formatting. Remember: planning for your essay is just as important as writing your actual essay!
Introduction
Hook / Gra
er:
Background Information:
Thesis Statement (argument & significance):
Body Paragraph One
Topic Sentence:
Quotation 1 (include signal phrase & citation):
Comments/Analysis:
Quotation 2 (include signal phrase & citation):
Comments/Analysis:
Concluding remarks / Transition Statement:
ENGLISH 108: Essay Two Outline Name:
Body Paragraph Two
Topic Sentence:
Quotation 1 (include signal phrase & citation):
Comments/Analysis:
Quotation 2 (include signal phrase & citation):
Comments/Analysis:
Concluding remarks / Transition Statement:
Body Paragraph Three
Topic Sentence:
Quotation 1 (include signal phrase & citation):
Comments/Analysis:
Quotation 2 (include signal phrase & citation):
Comments/Analysis:
Concluding remarks / Transition Statement:
Conclusion
Restate your thesis statement:
Why are your observations important? What can it teach the reader?:
chop-suey-bilfo5bf.pdf
Chop Suey
By Ira Sukrungruang
My mother was a champion bowler in Thailand. This was not what I knew of her. I
knew only her expectations of me to be the perfect Thai boy. I knew her distaste
for blonde American women she feared would seduce her son. I knew her distrust
of the world she found herself in, a world of white faces and mackerel in a can.
There were many things I didn’t know about my mother when I was ten. She was
what she was supposed to be. My mother.
At El-Mar Bowling Alley, I wanted to show her what I could do with the pins. I
had bowled once before, at Dan Braun’s birthday party. There, I had rolled the ball
off the bumpers, knocking the pins over in a thunderous crash. I liked the sound of
a bowling alley. I felt in control of the weather, the rumble of the ball on the wood
floor like the coming of a storm, and the hollow explosion of the pins, distant
lightning. At the bowling alley, men swore and smoked and drank.
My mother wore a light pink polo, jeans, and a golf visor. She put on a lot of
powder to cover up the acne she got at 50. She poured Vapex, a strong smelling
vapor rub, into her handkerchief, and covered her nose, complaining of the haze of
smoke that floated over the lanes. My mother was the only woman in the place. We
were the only non-white patrons.
I told her to watch me. I told her I was good. I set up, took sloppy and uneven
steps, and lo
ed my orange ball onto the lane with a loud thud. This time there
were no bumpers. My ball veered straight for the gutter.
My mother said to try again. I did, and for the next nine frames, not one ball hit
one pin. Emba
assed, I sat next to her. I put my head on her shoulder. She patted it
for a while and said bowling wasn’t an easy game.
My mother rose from her chair and said she wanted to try. She changed her shoes.
She picked a ball from the rack, one splattered with colors. When she was ready,
she lined herself up to the pins, the ball at eye level. In five concise steps, she
ought the ball back, dipped her knees and released it smoothly, as if her hand was
an extension of the floor. The ball started on the right side of the lane and curled
into the center. Strike.
She bowled again and knocked down more pins. She told me about her nearly
perfect game, how in Thailand she was unbeatable.
I listened, amazed that my mother could bowl a 200, that she was good at
something beyond what mothers were supposed to be good at, like cooking and
punishing and sewing. I clapped. I said she should stop being a mother and become
a bowler.
As she changed her shoes, a man with dark hair and a mustache approached our
lane. In one hand he had a cigarette and a beer. He kept looking back at his buddies
a few lanes over, all huddling and whispering. I