8/8/2019 Eng120 P1 Summer10

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ARE YOU A STEREOTYPE?WELL, ARE YOU?

ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION:Stereotypes are oversimplified groupings of peopleaccording to shared characteristics such as race, gender,ethnic origin, interests, politics, and so on. Stereotypesoften contain a grain of truth, but still they tend to beunfair because they lump lots of people together into acategory whether or not the characteristics of thestereotype fit every individual in the group.

Think of a stereotype* that includes you,one that you think is applied to you

unfairly (or, perhaps, fairly).Write an essay convincing yourclassmates and teacher how you are or

are not part of one particular stereotype*.

* To help you think of different stereotypes that might ‘fit’ you, remember that stereotypes are built aroundall sorts of groups, not just groups defined by gender (male/female) and race/ethnicity (Italian-American,African-American, Cajun, Latino, Asian, Middle-Eastern, and so on). People are also stereotyped based onwhere they come from, how they look, the music they like, their abilities and interests, and so on. Considerthese, for example:Southerner,New Englander,California girl,raver,hippie,Goth,metal-head,gangster (or gangsta),

frat boy,sorority girl,dumb blonde,

jock,cheerleader,nerd, geek, brain,bitch,snob,

goody-goody,religious freak,single-mom,single-dad,only child,homeschooled,teacher’s pet,tree-hugger, ...

WARNING WARNING WARNING:-----Please do not use the female/male stereotype; it is almost too easy.-----Please do not use “You.” Change it to “one” or “a person.”Examples: NO NO NO >>> You know how when you walk around in a Bob Marley tee and everyonethinks you’re on drugs?

YES YES YES >>> When a person walks around in a Bob Marley tee, people assume he is ondrugs; that is what I deal with.

-----Stick to ONE stereotype. So, maybe you are a bitch and a tomboy, but focus in on the one you have themost to say about.-----Do not write about stereotypes in general. We know they suck; argue your stereotype.-----Please don’t dilly-dally in the first paragraph. Jump right into what the stereotype is – get our attention!-----Don’t try to cover more than one topic or item per paragraph; each paragraph should be about onepiece of the stereotype. Don’t have one big paragraph about how farm girls wear cowboy boots, milk cows,and ride tractors. Break each one of those things into its very own paragraph.

THE CHECKLIST: Argue whether you are or are

not a stereotype, not 2 or 3!

Use 1000+ words One, or more, sources w/aWorks Cited area at the end

At least three (3) examples, orpieces of evidence**. See rubric.

Thesis statement highlighted Organization, don’t use “You,”

etc. See rubric.

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-----Sentence variety. Don’t have ALL long sentences and don’t have ALL short ones. Mix it up. If you haveto take a breath in the middle of a sentence, it’s too long. Use a period or semi-colon!-----Starting sentences with “I” makes sense, but after awhile, it gets BORING. Spice it up !-----**What counts as evidence? Interviews from friends, stories, statistics, surveys, Facebook wallpostings, email, blogs, etc.

Just so you know, this type of paper is called an Exemplification Paper = definition: a paper/essay thatshows by example.

BRAINSTORMING:

Possible Thesis: When a person walks around in a Bob Marley tee, people assume he is on drugs;that is what I deal with.Examples/Evidence to Use: What I wear, what I listen to, the slang I use in conversation. I couldinterview my friends; my mom sent me an email with a Top Ten List of Marley’s Songs – I could usethat to show that she knows I just really like his music, not the fact that he did drugs.

Possible Thesis: I have a Beetle; I purchased it at age 23 when I got my first “real” job. And tosome douchebag at a party one night, I was instantly a “kid with rich parents.”Examples/Evidence to Use: I could talk, in one paragraph, about how I wanted a bug since 8 th

grade… and then even interview my parents about the definition of “rich parents,” and then I couldsurvey my friends – I could ask them to rate my spoiled-ness and make a fun chart out of it becauseI know a lot of them will think our friend Sherry is more spoiled than I am by far!

Possible Thesis: Cowboy boots are part of my daily attire, and I guess that makes me a farm girl.I’m okay with that, yet there’s more to being a farm girl than boots and cow poo.Examples/Evidence: I think I’ll list all the accomplishments, in a list format, of the things I’ve wonbeing a “farm girl.” Then I could use examples of how being part of this stereotype has given me astrong work ethic, etc. The last pieces of evidence could come from my friends or family –interviews. I’d like to ask my boyfriend what his first impression was of me because I’m sure itwasn’t that I was a simple girl from a farm.

Possible Thesis: What’s the worst thing? Being a Chinese American who sucks at math, right? No.Worse than that is to be a homosexual.Examples/Evidence: I’d like to open by talking about the typical Chinese American stereotype of being a math genius and then move into three stories about when I came out of the closet to myparents.

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