Essay Draft #3 Writing Assignment Instructions

UHD ENG 1301

Dr. D. Bridges

The purpose of Essay Draft Writing Assignment #3 is to provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your ability to craft a rhetorical proposal essay based on your reading of Born A Crime by Trevor Noah.

The objective for Essay Draft Writing Assignment #3 is to be able to identify a problem or set of related problems and to provide a feasible solution or set of feasible solutions to the problem(s). You are asked to reveal the problems in terms of themes by using quotes and paraphrased interpretations/meaning of those quotes to express the context and relevance of the problem within the overall author’s purpose for writing. Each solution should have a detailed description that expresses the ease to which the solution can be implemented within the scope of your resources as a student.


Directions

:

1. Read the book, Born A Crime by Trevor Noah.

2. Write an essay that first, introduces your essay by summarizing your research on the background of Apartheid in South Africa, second, introduces the setting and analyzes the plot of the book, third, presents a proposal to a narrow problem related to the book, and fourth, provides a conclusion on your perceived impact of your proposal.

3. For your summary in your introduction, refer to DWA #4.)

4. For your plot analysis, refer to DWAs #5, #6, and #7.)

a. Be sure to use DWA #5 to provide the setting of the book.

b. Be sure to use DWA #6 to present three thematic problems, cite three quotes and its context for each problem, and offer your explanation of the meaning of each quote.

c. Be sure to use DWA #7 to present how Noah delt with each situation represented by each quote.

5. Propose a feasible solution in the form of a project that involves your audience, who are college peers. Your solution should be a narrow scope of one of your thematic problems. (See Notes on How to Write a Proposal Essay.)

6. Provide a conclusion that connects the solution to your rhetorical purpose for writing. (See below.)


Example of a Conclusion:

Based on Noah’s candid and often humorous recounts of his childhood in South Africa, the thematic problems of isolation, loss of identity, and need to feel love that he experienced resulted from the laws of Apartheid. Specifically, the laws prevented Noah from establishing friendships in the community because he had to stay inside of his grandmother’s house as a child for fear that law enforcement would find out that a mixed child was living in a black or colored neighborhood illegally. Because Noah had no friends and it was illegal for him to spend the time with his dad to develop an intimate relationship with him, Noah had no one strong male identity. Instead, he created multiple identities to “fit” into several groups, often giving him a blurred and fearful sense of who he was and how he was seen by others in the world. Noah later realized that his mother and father loved him in their own special way, but early in his life he was unable to access this love because of the rule-based dogmatic relationship he had with his mother and the closed, private, detached relationship he had with his father. These problems can be understood in the larger scope of institutionalized slavery, which occurs when slavery laws are abolished, and people are allowed legal freedoms but are not allowed to live their life freely because the damage of slave laws last in the mind and behaviors of the former slave long after the slave is set free. In other words, the constructs of slavery often remain in the mind of the former slave although those constructs are no longer shackling the body of the slave.

American influence in abolishing Apartheid has been tremendous over decades, including pressuring South African lawmakers to end Apartheid by refusing to trade with the country. I believe that the results of trade sanctions were beneficial in helping end Apartheid, but what Noah brings to light is the post-Apartheid fallout about which he vividly writes. The fallout of some of the thematic problems that Noah faced shows that more is needed to be done and that humanitarians in America need to address these problems by boycotting companies that supply goods and materials to South Africa until an adequate free post-Apartheid social healthcare system can be instituted in the country that provides families with “bridge-to-life” services such as “Project Reunite Families” that bring families together in a way that improves self-awareness and relationship-building. Counseling services would help families establish communication and examples of reunifying activities that would ease the emotional distance created by not growing up together. These services can be duplicated after services provided to US military families who have been separated for months and years at a time due to war. Because the model for these counseling services is already in place, to duplicate them would be feasible. South African organizations would only need to be trained by a US military volunteer counselor. Supplies could be paid for by the US companies that do business in South Africa to get the boycott against them lifted. Although the post-Apartheid conditions are enormous, I believe that starting with healing the family structures that were negatively affected by Apartheid will have the greatest and most sustainable impact on bringing a country and its people closer together.


Possible OUTLINE:

I. (Introduction)

a. Definition of Apartheid

b. Research on Apartheid

c. Research on US involvement

II. (Body)

a. Setting

b. Thematic Problem (x3)

c. Quote (x3)

d. Explanation (x3)

e. Noah’s solution (x3)

f. Proposal

i. Introduce a narrow aspect of a problem from the book and state your proposal

ii. Describe your plan of action. Develop a plan that takes into consideration the resources you have available to you as a UHD student.

1. Convince, Detail, Anticipate

iii. Tell why you think it will work by making a statement of feasibility

iv. Suggest what necessary resources your proposal will require

III. (Conclusion)

a. Relate to the larger issue

b. Restate your proposal

c. Share your desired outcomes

7. Submit your draft essay on BBL by the posted deadline.


*Evaluation Criteria (90 points total):

1) Background and plot summary (20 points)

2) Setting, Themes, Quotes, Citations, Identifying Author’s Problem-Solution Sets (30 points)

3) Presenting Larger Issue and Feasible Solution (40 points)


Format (10 points total):

· Your essay must be 5 full pages (You must meet page requirements to pass the essay.)

· Double-spaced, 12 pt, Times New Roman or Courier.

· Drafts are considered a work-in-progress, but you should put your best effort into the essay.

· Make sure to adhere to MLA citation style for your submission.

· Include MLA formatted in-text citations.

· Make sure you have a MLA Works Cited as the last separate page of your essay.

· Place the proper course heading on your submission.


Grading:

· Ability to present a focused and appealing evaluative argument

· Ability to present claims that are based on facts

· Ability to provide evidence that supports each claim presented

· Ability to evaluate the topic by providing different views

· Ability to take a stance/position and support that stance cohesively throughout the essay

· Ability to appropriately cite works introduced in the essay, in-text and on a Works Cited page

A 100-90

B 89-80

C 79-70

D 69-60F 59- below

Daily Writing Assignment #4

Research and Group Work Exercise


Directions:

Research articles on the topic “United States Anti-Apartheid Movement” and use your group dynamics to adequately respond to the questions below. Although you are working as a group, each student must turn in their own work by posting it to the assignment link on Black Board:

Type your short-answer responses after each question. Your responses should be in blue color and should be writing in standard format, including being written in complete sentences. The document should be saved as a MS Word or Google Doc. I cannot accept Pages documents.

(100 Points total)

1. What is the Anti-Apartheid Movement and what role did the US play in the Anti-Apartheid Movement of the 1980s?

The Anti-Apartheid Development (AAM), was a British association that was at the middle of the worldwide development contradicting the South African apartheid framework and supporting South Africa’s non-White populace who were mistreated by the approaches of apartheid. The anti-apartheid exercises within the United States really resonated around the world driving other individuals to create their own show activities which was likely as basic to the oust of apartheid as anything else that was going on. Students too dissented on college campuses – calling on schools and organizations get freed of their speculations in South Africa. Even Nelson Mandela’s granddaughter Tukwini says the U.S. anti-apartheid development and others made a difference turn universal conclusion conclusively against the apartheid regime.

2. What were some of the proposals enacted in the US to end Apartheid in South Africa?

In 1986,Congress reacted. They superseded President Reagan’s reject to pass the US Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act. Banks ceased making advances to South Africa. Other enterprises pulled back from the country.

3. What were some of the proposals enacted in the US to end Apartheid in South Africa?

Anti-apartheid activism too drew worldwide consideration to Mandela. Worldwide advocates encouraged South Africa to discharge him and other detained ANC individuals and permit ousted individuals back into the country.

4. What were the outcomes of those proposals? In other words, how effective were they in accomplishing the goal to end Apartheid?

Visser hypothesizes that the drop of the Berlin Divider in November 1989 made a difference speed the process of finishing apartheid along since it took absent one of the government’s primary resistances of itself among Western partners: that it required to stay in put to battle communism.

5. What do you think are some human relations problems that remain in South Africa since the Anti-Apartheid Movement of the 1980s that still need resolving?

One human connection that will keep going is that they’re still a racial isolate among of each ethnicity of tribes. Poverty, destitute instruction, debasement and racial bias still stay truths of life in a country recuperating from apartheid. South Africans living within the post-apartheid period will ought to fight with these impacts for decades.

Daily Writing Assignment #5

Chapter Discussion and Group Work Exercise


Directions:

Read Born a Crime Part I and answer the questions below. After you’ve completed your responses, participate in the group exercise (We’ll do the group exercise in class.)

Type your short-answer responses after each question below. Your responses should be in blue color and should be writing in standard format, including being written in complete sentences. The document should be saved as a MS Word or Google Doc. I cannot accept Pages documents.


Questions:

1) What are the plot points in PART I of BAC? Basically, what happened? Why did it happen? Who did it happen to? Under what circumstances did it happen? E.g., Setting, Characters, Events, Challenges, Victories, Underlying Messages, Symbols, etc. Be specific and give several examples (15 minutes)

Trevor given us an interior see at the encounters, openings, and challenges he had in South Africa when apartheid finished. Since of the division, prejudice and separation play a noteworthy part in apartheid. Trevor’s account starts when his mother Patricia had a child with a Swiss fellow at a time when it was illicit for a dark lady to have sexual relations with a white man. This happened to blacks, colored people, Indians, and even Chinese people. Trevor’s transition to government school in sixth grade was a turning point. He was assigned to an A class that was entirely white, but he elected to attend a B class that was entirely black. The counselor tried to persuade him that he didn’t belong there and that he wasn’t meant to be there. This demonstrates how South Africa has influenced the minds of young children by pressuring them to create separationist ideas rather than integrationist goals. Patricia faced a struggle where she had to hide out in the city and sleep in public bathrooms until she figured out how to manage the streets. In the book, the Volkswagen beetle car stands as a symbol. The automobile depicts the post-apartheid world’s freedom and possibilities. Trevor says several times in the novel that the neighborhood had driveways but no automobiles, which could be a sign of hope for the future. In the story, the chameleon is also highly meaningful. Within his culture, it denotes Trevor flexibility. Trevor’s advantage is that he talks in a distinctive dialect, which permits him to mix in with others that are comparative to him. Trevor, as a blended person, must alter to his environment. The fundamental message is almost separation within the lives of a little boy who is attempting to discover himself in a world full of despise. This intriguing novel is set in a number of countries, mainly South Africa.  Johannesburg, Soweto, Maryvale College, Eden Park, and Cape Town, where his father lives, were all mentioned in part one.

2) Who is the taxi driver? Where does he come from? What does he represent? Why is the taxi scene so important to Trevor’s ability to establish the context of his story? (10 minutes)

The taxi drivers were Zulu man and within the novel Trevor included that they are comparable to savage gangsters. Patricia was getting harassed by one off the men calling her names and telling her off. The minibus taxi served out of nowhere after being picked up from somebody that offered them a ride. This scene is significant because it is the primary time Trevor encounters the partition caused by apartheid between conventional south African tribes.

3) Who is Trevor’s mother? What role does she play in the plot? What role does she play in Trevor’s life? Why is her character important? (10 minutes)

Trevor’s mother is portrayed as an independent, brave, and intelligent black lady in the novel. Her Christian religion is very important to her throughout the novel, and she feels that Jesus is the cure to all challenges. She simply didn’t care what other people were thinking about her publicizing the fact that she has a colored son, which was a crime back then. She is a mother who appreciates him and is willing to go to great lengths to protect him. Her character is significant since she served as a provider, caregiver, guardian, disciplinarian, and educator all at the same time. In a culture of segregation and discrimination, she embraces and encourages the good as much as she can.

4) What is Trevor’s relationship with his mother? What is Trevor’s relationship with his mother’s family? In what ways is this relationship relevant to Trevor’s views on life and his development into manhood? (10 minutes)

The novel’s strongest bond was between Trevor and his mother. She is referred to as his partner because she has laid the groundwork for all of his achievements, not only by teaching him to think for himself and dream of the kinds of success reserved for whites during apartheid, but also by demonstrating that outlook and achievement when the cards are stacked against her. With that, Trevor and Patricia couldn’t be seen in public.  He always walked a few feet ahead of her because being too near would raise suspicions. Because of the apartheid, Trevor’s connection with his family was strange. Trevor was unable to live a regular life or maintain friendships with certain individuals as a result of it. This relationship is relevant because it forcibly taught Trevor to be fiercely independent on his own. She taught him to value the important things in life and to be fearless in the face of adversity.

5) What is Trevor’s relationship to the community? How does his relationship with his mother impact his relationship with the community? What is significant about Trevor’s relationship with the community? (10 minutes)

The society was held together by women. By attending prayer meetings practically every day, his bond with his mother has an impact on his relationship with the community. Trevor is frequently welcomed into the community. Trevor just refuses to limit himself to a single group, preferring to define himself positively by exposing himself to a wide range of people, languages, and experiences. He prefers black districts (such as Soweto and Alexandra) and despises white suburbs, where everyone else lives behind a high wall. And he feels particularly marginalized by brown youngsters in Eden Park, who bully him on a regular basis.

6) Describe the relationship Trevor and his mother have with Trevor’s biological father. What is Trevor’s relationship with his father? In what ways does this relationship shape his world view? What impact does this relationship have on his development into manhood? (10 minutes)

Despite Robert’s joy in Trevor’s accomplishments, he treated him like a white child. This was common practice in their time, but Trevor may only give him discrete visits.  They had the occasional chat on Sundays while eating a German meal, but the majority of the time they were silent. Trevor was never touched by him, and neither was his mother’s relatives. Trevor’s perspective shifted in a variety of ways. He realized that the languages he knew helped him excel in his life encounters with many kids and individuals, particularly this one. In Trevor’s life, Robert was a good role model. Robert opened the first integrated restaurant and then closed it because the government imposed a slew of regulations in response to his achievement. Robert teaches Trevor that he insists on living by his own set of norms and defying the apartheid regime. His restaurant demonstrates that no amount of institutional segregation or cultural hostility can keep people apart in the long run.

Group Exercise:

1) Get into groups and discuss your responses to Question #1. Take notes.

2) Switch into a new group and discuss your responses Question #2. Take notes.

3) Switch into a new group and discuss your responses Question #3. Take notes.

4) Switch into a new group and discuss your responses Question #4. Take notes.

5) Switch into a new group and discuss your responses Question #5. Take notes.

6) Switch into a new group and discuss your responses Question #6. Take notes.

NOTE: If you have not read PART I in Born A Crime, join the Reading Group and complete the reading and the questions independently.

Daily Writing Assignment #6

Chapter Discussion and Group Work Exercise

Directions:

1) Complete reading the book, Born A Crime.

2) Brainstorm at least 3 problematic themes that pop up throughout the text.

3) For each problematic theme (a) find quotes throughout the book that represents each problematic theme and write about its context by stating a claim about the theme, (b) cite the quote and page number(s) where the quotes were found in the book that prove each theme and (c) explain the quotes’ meaning in the larger context of the author’s overall message.

NOTE: A theme must have more than one quote associated with it.

a. E.g., (a)
When Trevor was attending H.A. Jack, he refers to himself as an “outsider” because he did not fit neatly into any of the social and cultural groups at school even though the school had a diverse student population. Specifically, he states, (b)“I was on my own. Weekends I was on my own. Ever the outsider, I created my own strange little world. I did it out of necessity” (139). (c)This quote represents a common theme of isolation that was created and reinforced by Apartheid because the laws separated and alienated individuals in ways that allowed some to establish community and others not to establish community and Trevor has no one community in which he was accepted because he was mixed.

1) GROWING UP:

Trevor’s growth from a young boy with little understanding of the world around him to a young man capable of critical thinking and making decisions about the life he wants to live is chronicled in this novel. Trevor prefers to tell stories about instances in which he learns a valuable lesson and grows in maturity and self-awareness. For example, the situation at prom directs him to be more respectful and attentive to ladies rather than focusing simply on their appearance. Trevor states, “Someone put a beautiful woman on my arm, and said “She’s your girlfriend.” I’d been mesmerized by her beauty and just the idea of her—I didn’t know I was supposed to talk to her” (177). This quote symbolizes his maturation as an adult. He never spoke to her directly and didn’t discover she didn’t speak English until the night of the event. While some of Trevor’s perplexity stems from his friend Tim’s deception, he also recognizes that he made no effort to learn anything about his date. The encounter with his father after a lengthy separation teaches him that connections cannot be forced but must instead evolve naturally between people. Trevor says, “Being chosen is the greatest gift you can give to another human being” (110). When Trevor meets up with his father Robert after many years apart, he shares this quote. Trevor felt Robert had lost interest in him, but he is startled and moved to learn that Robert has been closely watching his son’s career and is clearly proud of him. Trevor’s memoir provides a framework for him to turn memories into a series of events that have helped him evolve and improve through time.

2) VIOLENCE:

Violence and the possibility of violence have been a part of Trevor’s life. Trevor often must deal with the reality that living in South Africa as a colored man means facing risky conditions, whether it is harassed by a minibus driver while riding with his mother as a child or being frightened of being assaulted while his time behind bars. When his stepfather beats both him and his mother, he is also affected by domestic violence. Trevor says, “The whole time, in my head, I kept thinking the same thing Abel was saying shut up, mom shut up. You’re going to make it worse. Because I knew as the receiver of many beatings, the one thing that doesn’t help is talking back “(chapter 18). This quote reveals how scared Trevor was in this scary situation and how intense it is. Trevor’s experience of violence, which ends in his mother’s shooting, leads him to confront beliefs he carries but also makes him recognize how significant his mother is to him. Trevor says “Trevor’s memoir provides a framework for him to turn memories into a series of events that have helped him evolve and improve through time.

3) CUTURAL IDENTITY:

Trevor has had several encounters in which he had to question his own cultural identity. He’d occasionally be faced with the decision of whether to choose white or black individuals. Trevor mentions, “I wasn’t popular, but I wasn’t an outcast. I was everywhere with everybody, and at the same time I was all by myself” (141). Trevor uses this quotation to describe his social standing in junior high. While it most obviously defines his standing in the school’s social order, it also symbolizes his inability to belong in anywhere in South African society. Trevor needs to keep his true identity and origins hidden, and he isn’t a member of any of the major racial groups. Trevor says, “A fellow tribe member attempting to disavow the tribe… is something they will never forgive.” (chapter 9). Noah, being a mixed-racial kid, appears to fall into the Colored race category. Colored people, on the other hand, have a long history in South Africa, and they have their own culture and language. Noah is regarded as both too black and too white because he speaks African languages and attends an English school. He makes no friendships throughout his time living in a Colored community, where he appears like his neighbors and should feel at ease. Because his entire family was black, he feels more at ease choosing the blacks group. 

Daily Writing Assignment #7

Quick Write and Group Exercise


Directions:

1) Read the explanation “So, what is a ‘Quick Write’?”

2) Complete the Quick Write Exercise below.

3) Get into Groups and share your quick writes.

NOTE: The themes you generated in Group Work #6 are based on some problem, so use these themes to help you with coming up with your “Problem-Solution Sets.”

4) Submit your “Quick-Writes” to this posted assignment



So, what is a “Quick Write”?

When you do a “Quick-Write” you are brainstorming ideas, but the difference is instead of making a list of your ideas represented by a word or a few words, you are making a list of sentences or even paragraphs that represent your ideas.


Quick Write Exercise

Do a “Quick-Write” for as many “Problem-Solution Sets” introduced in the book that you can think of that come from the problematic themes and the quotes that you generated in Group Work Assignment #6.

Start your Quick Write by thinking of the quotes that prove your problematic themes.

The example below takes into consideration the quote was written and related to the problematic theme of “isolation.” (Remember, you will have several quotes for each problematic theme.)


E.g., of a Quick-Write

This quote shows that isolation is a theme that reoccurs in Noah’s book, Born A Crime. The problem that isolation creates in the book is a loss of a feeling of community that is based on common shared experiences. The solution that Noah came up with to address this problem was he learned to speak languages from multiple cultures so he could float from one cultural group to the another. When he floated, Noah engaged within those cultural frameworks and developed relationships with the people, eliminating his void of human interaction.

1. “Someone put a beautiful woman on my arm and said “She’s your girlfriend.” I’d been mesmerized by her beauty and just the idea of her—I didn’t know I was supposed to talk to her”

This quote represents that growing up is the theme that occurs in Noah’s book, Born a crime. The problem that growing up creates in the book is that throughout the book Trevor doesn’t understand the basic things. His mother only taught him adulthood and how to deal with adult problems. The solution that Noah address this problem was simply learning as he goes. The

2. “Being chosen is the greatest gift you can give to another human being”

This quote represents growing up as well. The issue with this problem is that not everybody understands this. It was the many lessons Trevor learned through his interactions with the few important people in his life.

3. “I didn’t make any friends in highland north for the longest time”

Because apartheid built a key society at the time, the quote categorizes the issue as growing up. The dilemma is that Trevor had a hard time establishing friends and connecting with others since he was colored or mixed. The answer was that he considers humor to be really useful. He discovered that using humor as a coping method helped him cope with long-term injustice and racial prejudice. He also discovered that the capacity to communicate with people from different cultures may be used to bring people closer.

4. “Crime does the one thing the government doesn’t do: crime cares”.

This quote categorized in violence because Noah was raised in a world where violence is common, and his mother taught him not to let his dread of criminal action keep him from living his life. He does not, however, have any firsthand experience with minor crimes until he begins to live in Alexandra, a particularly difficult and underprivileged area. He knows that for poor citizens who have few or no other options, engaging in illegal behavior might be morally dubious.