I will provide the article- https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/03/16/rwanda-wave-free-speech-prosecutions#
– You will find the direction sheet attached and you will see a set of questions, you do not have to answer them all, you can pick one.
– Must have read the book “We Wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families” because the book must be quoted and referenced.
– Bonus if you have watched “Hotel Rwanda” and “My Neighbor My Killer”
– I listed that I need 3 sources but I need 2, the article and the book. If you can connect the movies that would be awesome but do not worry if not.
Lit 327
Spring 2022
Kapstein
?In the News? Essay Instructions
You?ll write three ?in the news? essays this semester, one for each of our country units. The guidelines
are the same for all three. Due dates in Syllabus and Bb.
1/ Find a current news item[ Current = within the last two years. The article must be from a legitimate newspaper, magazine, or other news source, not from a blog or source that isn?t fact-checked, accredited, or authored. Ask me if you?re not sure.] that speaks to an issue of crime, punishment, or justice today in the country we studied in the respective unit.
2/ Write an essay in which you argue for a connection between the current events described in the news report and one or more of our readings from the unit, working from one or more of the following prompts:
?What idea, argument, observation, or other specific aspect of the reading remains urgent in light of current events? How does the literature remain relevant?
?How do the texts anticipate current events or real life?
?How are fact and fiction in tension/ at play here? For instance, what does the fiction teach us that we wouldn?t know just from the facts? What does it show that we wouldn?t otherwise see? Or vice versa?
?How does the literature illuminate some aspect of the current situation?
?How does the literature speak to, comment on, or critique the aspect of crime, punishment, or justice being reported?
What to do:
Because this is an English class, your focus should be on the literary aspects of the texts (which might include your careful scrutiny of the news report itself). Be specific in your analysis, reading closely for evidence, using literary terminology appropriately, and thinking about form, content, and language. You?re aiming for a specific, text-based, debatable, original claim that brings the readings into conversation with what?s happening now. Although you can use more than one of the readings, it will be easier to be stay specific if you focus on one.
What not to do:
Because this is not a history or journalism class, the essay should not simply point out what?s new, what?s changed, or what?s current. Do not just give an update on the country and its situation. Do not merely compare events relayed in the readings to current events (eg ?the problem persists?). Don?t base a claim in something self-evident (eg ?the two texts talk about the same thing differently?). Don?t try to argue something too broad or general since it won?t be provable (eg ?throughout history, literature has made people feel something?).
Formatting, etc.
These short essays (approx. 2 pgs or 500 words) must be tightly argued and very focused. There?s no room in them for fluff. Use 11 or 12 pt font, 1.5 or 2 spacing, and normal margins. You can save space by using 1.0 line spacing in your header, which should include your name, the class, my name, and the date. Give your essay a catchy, informative title. Use MLA style for both in-text citations and your Works Cited list (you should have at least two entries in this?the reading and the news article).[ Take advantage of the resources in Bb/ Writing help for how to use MLA style, how to quote, etc.] Do not hand in first drafts as it will be obvious if you do?give yourself time to revise and refine your writing, your ideas, and your argument. See me or go to the Writing Center if you want feedback on early drafts. Always make time to spell check and proofread.
