Since I’ve chosen to write an “Analytical Essay” for my first assignment, I think I should shed some light on how this format can demonstrate a deep analysis of the poem. “Steven Willis” has perfectly summed up several great ideas is his poem “Ebonics 101” that would require a deep analysis and more space to be explained. It is obvious that if I’m writing a complete essay on this poem, I would analyse every little sentence of it and let them speak for themselves. In this way, I can come up with many meanings that are hidden behind one idea.
I’m mainly concerned if I would be able to keep following my main ideas in this essay because I feel like that sometimes I kind of ignore my topic sentence and talk about something else in the paragraph. However, I’m also excited that I’ve selected “Analytical Essay” as a format for this assignment, because it would help me to discover many great ideas and thoughts that are described in the poem and to research on the historic events that are being referred in the poem. I think I’m going to focus more on the part of the poem where Steven talks about the 3 chapters of Ebonics, because that part is so creative and it just amazes me of how Steven connects the oppression of an African American person to his daily language.
Saeed, this sounds fabulous. I love that you’re going to really focus in on the 3 lessons that Willis provides; you’re right, it’s super creative, and I can’t wait to read your insights into how and why he does this. You for sure don’t have to go line-by-line through the poem and analyze every sentence: feel free to focus in on exactly what you found most fruitful, and don’t forget about his gestures, his body language, his pauses, his tone, because those play a huge role in fleshing out his words. I’m so excited for what you’re going to come up with!