Department of Ethnic Studies

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ETHN 14 Introduction to Asian American Studies

• Department of Ethnic Studies Asian American
  Studies Program
• California State University, Sacramento

Week 13 Session 2 Analytical Writing for Course
Papers and Exams
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Last Time

• Provide key concepts related to the politics of
  API and Education
• Meritocracy
• Structure and Agency
• Contemporary schooling
• Model minority myth
• Panethnicity
• Discuss midterm exams grades vs. learning

3
Today

• Demystify exams by identifying important
  dimensions of well crafted essays, discussing
  common errors, and presenting strategies for
  successful preparation and execution.
• Each of you has a powerful mind and can be
  successful in classes like this one and in
  college in general. But many of you need practice
  on how to put these ideas to good use during an
  exam or for an analytical/persuasive paper. How
  students do on assessments of their learning such
  as exams, papers, and projects reflects a number
  of influences commitment, time management,
  motivation, levels of academic preparedness, etc.
  

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Engagement

• If youre not actively reading the assigned
  materials, attending class, and engaging in the
  course topics (asking questions, following
  lectures, participating in discussions, taking
  notes, visiting office hours, etc.), youre
  already at a disadvantage.
• And if youre only approaching these activities
  solely for the sake of your gradeas opposed to
  learningyoure not doing yourself any favors. In
  general, college doesnt work that way. (And when
  it does, it probably shouldnt).

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Preparation

• Preparation for exams is more than simply
  reviewing notes. Ask yourself
• How much time did you put in?
• How did you study?
• With whom did you study?
• How clear were you on what would likely be
  required of you on the exam?
• Did you talk to your professor or TA about the
  format of the exam and get their opinion on how
  you intend to prepare for it?
• Did you simulate an exam?

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Part I Essay

• Your work was evaluated in three areas
• Ideas How well you responded to the topic, how
  well you interpreted the prompt into an effective
  thesis.
• Organization Coherence How well you
  structure and build your argument, how well you
  use logic, how well you guide your reader through
  your reasoning.
• Support How well you convince, how well you
  select, describe, and analyze evidence to support
  your argument.

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Ideas

• When you are provided with a prompt that requires
  you to develop a thesis and make an argument,
  your thesis should include all of the ideas in
  the prompt. Incorporating similar vocabulary into
  your thesis is a good strategy.
• Recall that you were encouraged to interpret the
  prompt in your own language. Some did a solid job
  restated the prompt as a thesis. Others stated
  their own thesis in ways that cut out important
  ideas or oversimplified the topic. This set them
  up for a rather shallow discussion of the topic,
  usually one that led to lots of summary and
  little analysis.
• Pay attention to the verbs and verb phrases in
  prompts. They give important clues to important
  relationships between significant ideas and
  therefore the type of argument you are expected
  to make.

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Evaluating Theses

• What ideas are represented in the prompt?
• (1) The term API is linked to U.S. national
  expansion, colonization, and marketplace
  dominance.
• (2) Individual API groups experienced similar
  conditions as they immigrated to and settled in
  the U.S.
• (3) These conditions are related to or reflect
  U.S. national interest, labor conditions, and
  immigration policy.
• Look at the thesis statements for each of the
  essays.
• How well are the ideas in the prompt reflected in
  the thesis?
• Do they explicitly or implicitly incorporate all
  of these ideas?
• Which ones are present? Which are missing?

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Organization Coherence

• Analytical essays require several paragraphs.
  Some students provided essays that were one
  paragraph long. Some were two. By organizing your
  ideas into paragraphs, you are guiding your
  reader through your thinking. You are showing
  that you are being deliberate about organizing
  your thoughts.
• The structure of your argument tells your
  professor that you are prepared. You know the
  material in such a way that you can manipulate
  course ideas into arguments, critiques, opinions,
  statements, observations, and so on.
• Well crafted topic sentences are key. Typically,
  your professor can tell the level of preparation
  for and sophistication of thinking in your essay
  by reading just the topic sentences. If you know
  the essay topics beforehand, it helps to memorize
  these before heading into your exam.

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Support

• How well first-year students usher in evidence to
  make an argument reflects their level of college
  preparedness. Most students in our class need
  help in this area. In general, most students
  could select ideas from class that are relevant
  to the essay topic. Some struggled to do this
  well. Thats a red flag to your professors that
  your engagement in the course is weak and/or your
  preparation for the exam was rushed or
  ineffective.
• Most students provided more summary than
  analysis. Many students went on and on about a
  key term or series of key terms but never
  explained how they serve as evidence. Instead,
  the author assumes that the reader makes the
  connection between the evidence and the thesis on
  their own. Why does the idea matter in the
  argument? What is your reasoning? How does it
  relate to the reasoning you offer in other places
  where youre analyzing evidence? Dont just
  regurgitate ideas. Extend them! Show what you
  think!

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• Provide analysis after each main topic. Some
  students provided analysis entirely in their
  concluding paragraph. As best you can, you want
  to explain significance of the topics and
  evidence in your essay throughout your essay, not
  just at the end.

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Additional Notes

• Avoid jargon. Complicated language is more
  distracting than helpful. Writing simple and
  clear sentences takes more skill than using
  flowery language.
• ETHN14 or Ethnic Studies 14 not Ethnics
• Fabionar not Fabinar
• Philippines not Phillipines, Filipinos not
  Fillipinos or Philippinos
• Avoid hyperbole or language that overstates,
  overreaches, or exaggerates Chinese, Japanese,
  and Filipinos experienced the same thing versus
  Similarities among Chinese, Japanese, and
  Filipino American immigrants included These
  nuances are important, and professors notice
  them.

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• Be mindful of labels Several students used
  Americans and United States as synonymous
  with Whites or European Americans. Asian
  Americans are American too (be careful that
  youre not reinforcing the perpetual foreigner
  stereotype with your language!). Also, do not
  write Asian when you mean Asian American or
  Asian and Pacific Islander American. Same with
  Chinese versus Chinese Americans, Filipinos
  instead of Filipino Americans, etc.

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Final Exam and Improvement Points

• Your final exam will consist of one analytical
  essay. You will have your choice of different
  topics and will get to choose beforehand. I will
  be looking for improvement in the three areas
  discussed today.
• You will turn in your midterm rubric with your
  final exam. I will look to see if there is
  improvement in the three areas. If you show that
  you have improved, you will be rewarded
  improvement points and these will be added to
  your midterm exam score. I am currently working
  out how to score this so that it is purposeful
  and fair.

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To Prepare for Next Session

• Readings for Monday will be posted no later than
  Friday.
• You will have guest lecturers next week.
  Professor Soriano will fill in for me on Monday
  and Professor Vang will fill in for me on
  Wednesday. I will return on Monday, 12/7.