prompt: How do spirituals continue the tradition of black art? In other words, what are the characteristics of spirituals that reflect resistance?
• 500-600 words (approx. 2 pages double spaced).
• Include word count at top or bottom of essay.
• You need a minimum of 3 distinct examples in your essay. Do not put multiple examples in the same paragraph. Fully analyze and unpack one example before moving onto the next.
• Do not use more than 2 Block Quotes per essay, and block quotes should be no longer than 4 lines. Also, block quotes must be formated in MLA style (meaning single spaced).
Example of an Essay Format:
For folks who need ideas and help with how to structure the essay.
Introduction:
• Give a bit of background on spirituals (a few sentences). What are they? What are some of their origins? Just enough info to introduce the topic.
• After you’ve given some background: State your main argument, or thesis. You will spend the rest of your essay providing examples to support, or prove, your argument. Your thesis/argument for this paper may look something like: “Spirituals represent Black art as resistance because__________(how is this so, in a general sense). Your thesis should be 1-2 sentences.
Body Paragraphs:
• In each body paragraph, you will provide examples that prove, or support, your thesis/argument. Keep your body paragraphs focused on the specific example you are discussing. This is where many people go wrong. They will introduce new examples without fully, and adequately discussing the examples they started with. This has the effect of making the essay all over the place and unfocused. I recommend one example per body paragraph, that way, it is easier to keep your essay focused. For the entire essay, you may have anywhere from 2-4 body paragraphs. Here is how to format individual body paragraphs.
◦ Introduce example (provide any necessary context or useful information pertaining to your example
◦ State what the exact example is
◦ Why does this example support/prove your thesis? How does this example tie into your thesis? Why is it relevant?
• Conclusion:
◦ Do not introduce new information/new examples
◦ Summarize what you have argued
◦ Reiterate thesis/main point
◦ Leave the reader with “food for thought”…meaning- what is the larger meaning/significance of what you have written. Keep this brief (1-2 sentences). It’s a nice way to wrap up an essay without being redundant or introducing new information
◦ Conclusion does not need to be incredibly long