ENGL 1302 - Spaventa Summer 2024: Your ENGL 1302 Assignment

This assignment will ask you to gather and evaluate information for Essay 3. If you turn it in on time, you will receive feedback that may help you avoid major pitfalls with the research essay. In grading it, I’ll be looking for

• Subject matter that addresses the content of Essay 3.
• The right types of sources (see tutorials).
• The right number of sources (2-3).
• The correct type of citation style.
• Complete citations.
• Complete annotations.

Before You Begin

• Before you create a Works Cited, read the instructions for Essay 3 in Unit 6.
• Review Finding Literary Criticism and Finding Articles and Literary Criticism
• Review the slides: “Sonny’s Blues” and “Unit 7 Assignments.”
• Next, read about annotated bibliographies here: 
• Here is a model I made for you.

Search for and Select Your Sources

• Choose two or three sources from ACC’s databases to help you with your essay. These articles can be about music and community in general or more specifically about “Sonny’s Blues” and language devices. 
• You can ask a librarian for help if you need it. See ACC’s Library homepage for ways to get in touch with them: https://library.austincc.edu/

Write an MLA Citation for Each One of Your Sources and the Story Itself

• Use the Library’s webpage for specific formatting details: https://library.austincc.edu/help/MLA/
• See the PDF document for “Sonny’s Blues” info.

Alphabetize Your List

• In formal alphabetizing, we do not use the first letter of a or an or the to define the order. Use the first letter of the following word.
• For example, if the Works Cited entry starts with “An Evening of Muppets,” you would use E and not A to determine order.

Finally, Annotate the Sources

The content you should use for annotation is included in the page I linked in the Before You Begin section of this document. In short, you will

• Summarize the article
• Assess/Evaluate the usefulness of the content
• Reflect on how this source can help you achieve your goals of writing and language/tone/and music essay on “Sonny’s Blues.”

Aim for about 150-250 words for each annotation. You are only required to annotate two of these sources.

Important Information

You will submit a Works Cited entry, without annotations, at the end of your final essay, even if it hasn’t changed from this assignment.

While you are writing Essay 3, you may find out that you need more or different sources than the ones you submit for this assignment. It is OK to change sources as long as they meet the requirements. 

From ACC’s Library

Works Cited Definition

• An alphabetical list of the sources you use to write your paper.
• Works you consult during your research but do not borrow from are not included in this list.

Works Cited Formatting

• All sources are listed alphabetically by the first word in each citation entry and the end of each citation has a period.
• Double-space everything.
• If an entry runs more than one line, indent the subsequent line or lines half an inch from the left margin. This is called a hanging indent.
• Top of page and sides have 1" margins.

This assignment is worth 5 points. You may not revise it.

There is a separate document to explain Essay #3 itself.

James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” is a story well-suited to the study of language and tone. It’s a beautiful piece that can be approached from a variety of angles. Also, the study of this story can be exceptionally rewarding. For this essay, I am asking you to approach the central idea and elements of language and tone with the guiding theme of music. Within the essay, make reference to personal experiences you have had, cultural observations you have made, or sensations you experience based on the text.

Before you start writing your essay, you will need to collect at least two supporting sources related to “Sonny’s Blues” and/or the power of music. You must perform your research through ACC’s databases. Then, you will create and submit your Annotated Works Cited.

Eventually, you will these sources to shape some of your paragraphs. In this way, you are collaborating with other people on your final product. Make sure you are choosing sources that make sense for your discussion.

Academic dishonesty is not just wrong, it can have extremely serious consequences.  That’s important to say because this essay calls for you to use other people’s ideas as well as your own.  If you consult a source without giving it credit, that is plagiarism, even if it is not intentional. Plagiarism is found in ideas, not just words. Here’s a refresher: https://researchguides.austincc.edu/documen Additionally, please review my policy on AI and ChatGPT.

Try not to get overwhelmed. Just follow the directions step by step and review the associated slides. I am also here to help. 

Prompt: Write a 1,000 to 1,500-word essay that discusses the central idea, language devices, tone, and their connection to music in “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin. Use research from 2 or 3 ACC database sources to help you develop your ideas, and add personal experiences to make the essay more dynamic.

The Research: Use two or three academic sources from our library’s databases to add critical weight to your essay. These sources should augment your discussion within the paragraphs and should not be stuck on at the end of the paper. That is two or three total, not two or three per concept or two or three per paragraph.

Central Idea

Your central idea for this specific essay should revolve around the power of music and preferably its effects on a community.

Title 

Create a unique title that reflects the spirit of your thesis.

For best results, follow the outline precisely. You should have exactly six paragraphs and a Works Cited page.

1^st paragraph: Introduce the story and your thesis. 

• Begin with a hook that relates to music and/or community.
• Make sure to include James Baldwin’s name and “Sonny’s Blues” in your first or second sentence.
• Instead of recounting the action of the entire story, characterize the nature of the relationship between the narrator and Sonny and then briefly summarize the final scene at the nightclub in two to three sentences.
• Example central idea/thesis. 

“Through (allusion or symbolism), Baldwin creates a (one or two words for) tone to show the reader that music (finish the central idea statement).”

This paragraph should include no research and should be written in the third person.

2nd paragraph: Support the central idea. 

• Rephrase the central idea you just introduced. 
• Support with textual evidence: one quotation along with a mention of supporting plot points and their relevance is usually enough to support the CI. 
• Make sure you aren’t summarizing here. 

If you use a research article to explain the central idea, make sure to cite it. 

3^rd paragraph: Identify the dominant tone of the story. 

• A few words for tone are cynical, disdainful, fanciful, gloomy, intimate, judgmental, jovial, optimistic, pessimistic, reverent, reflective, and solemn. Choose only one or two words for the dominant tone. This tone should also appear in your thesis. 
• Explain how it is manifested in the story and how it relates to the central idea. 

If you use a research article to explain the tone, make sure to cite it.

4^th paragraph: Discuss allusion OR symbolism. 

• Find two different examples of this one language device. 
• Do not discuss more than one language device (Discussing more than one language device may negatively affect your grade.). 
• Connect the examples to the central idea and tone. (This can be done in separate sentences.) 
• Additionally, explain what effect the language device has on you as a reader: What does it make you feel like? What memories does it evoke?

If you use a research article to explain the language device, make sure to cite it.

5^th paragraph: Personal Reflection

• Reflect on the story using the first-person point of view.  
• Here are some questions to guide you in your discussion. You do not have to answer all these questions:

• How can you apply the central idea from this story to your own life?
• How has music shaped your community?
• Is there a musical language within your family of origin or your chosen family?

This paragraph should include no research. 

6^th paragraph: Present a conclusion 

• Briefly review your main points: central idea, tone, language device.
• You may call attention to the importance of the story and reflect on its relevance.

This paragraph should include no research. 

Works Cited 

Put this on a new page. It must include the story and supporting references. These might be the same ones used chose for your Annotated Works Cited. Take out any annotations that remain. You should have no more than six items in your Works Cited, three are required: the story and two ACC database sources.

This assignment is worth 20 points of your grade. You may revise up to 16 points. 

Please contact me if you have any questions: lspavent@austincc.edu