AFAS 160A 1: 004— The Africana Experience: Fall 2015 Final Exam Essay Text—The Healers (Ayi Kwei Armah)
AFAS 160A 1: 004— The Africana Experience: Fall 2015
Final Exam Essay Text—The Healers (Ayi Kwei Armah)
Topic: Referring exclusively to the plot in The Healers state and argue two factors that could, potentially, ensure the survival and the destruction of the 19th century African world depicted in the novel. Who are the major characters in the development of the conflict that ensues in the novel and what metaphors are derived from the surrounding natural world to give an important cultural backdrop to this conflict? (Your essay will develop a total of two factors to support the demands of this assignment)
You will write and develop an argumentative five page essay on the implications of this topic. Your essay should critically analyze and explain the two factors with well-argued textual evidence from The Healers. Your objective or purpose is to persuade your audience the importance of these factors as significant literary and cultural factors in the resolution of the novel.
Do not retell or merely summarize the chapter for your readers. You should, of course, remind your readers of salient points in the chapter that are relevant to your thesis, but avoid filling your essay with excessive summary or quotations. (You will not score any points if your intention is merely to fill the pages of your essay to meet the length requirement)
Organization: 1) Have a one or two paragraph introduction which should provide statements defining and explaining your two factors in the construction of the novel’s plot. Underline essay’s thesis statement. Your thesis must be an assertion that reflects your stance or understanding on the subject of your essay.
2) In general, the body of your essay should be organized around assertions to be analyzed, explained, and supported by evidence in the rest of the paragraph. These assertions in well stated topic sentences should serve as guidelines to help your reader follow the development of each factor in your essay. For this reason, topic sentences should be placed at the beginning of each paragraph. The content of each paragraph should define and clarify the substance of the topic sentence in support of essay’s overall purpose. Make sure your paragraphs are developing how the evidence helps your readers understand the various ways the two factors you have chosen are important in Armah’s use of African history and culture to explain the eventual outcome in the novel.
3) Make sure you clearly state and define the various pieces of textual evidence from the novel that contribute to the development of your essay’s thesis.
4) The concluding paragraph should not be a mere mirror image of your introduction nor should it be a mere summary of the supporting points in the essay. Your conclusion should draw persuasive inferences strengthening the truth and validity of your thesis assertion and why these deepen and broaden your reader’s understanding of The Healers and African history or culture.
NOTES:
a) Length: 5 pages ( A blank cover page and Work Cited page do not count as part of essay’s length)
b) Due Date: Friday, December 11 at 8:00 p.m in the Drop Box on D2L. The Drop Box will close at this time and will not re-open. NO LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER THIS DATE/TIME.
c) Remember to refer to and use ALL the information in the Writing Resources Folder on the course site on D2L in the development of your essay.
d) PLEASE READ INSTRUCTIONS FOR ESSAY WRITING FOR THIS COURSE IN THE SYLLABUS.
e) Remember to give your essay a title and provide a Work(s) Cited page.
f) All citations for your essay must follow or use the correct form of the MLA style of citation: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
