This essay will help you master concepts from the readings from the first part of the course, focusing on literature covered since the midterm exam, including poetry, prose, and drama

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This essay will help you master concepts from the readings from the first part of the course, focusing on literature covered since the midterm exam, including poetry, prose, and drama.

Review the CRIT method for analysis and How to Analyze Literature to help you plan for your essay. 

Choose one option below to write a short essay (2-1/2 to 3-1/2 pages long double spaced size 12 font) that directly addresses the writing prompt. Include quotes and/or paraphrases with correct MLA documentation, including a Works Cited page properly formatted. Use quotes and paraphrases to support your thesis. *Use only your own thinking and The Norton Anthology of African American Literature, volume 1 and volume 2 readings we have covered in this class that are on the reading list. Include in-text citations and a Works Cited. Your essay will automatically be submitted through Turnitin, an automatic plagiarism detection software. Use the report to see if you have cited information correctly. 

Please take advantage of the Learning Commons the VSCC Online Writing Review or use the online Tutor.com (both free online writing tutoring services) as you follow the writing process, preparing a rough draft and revising and editing before the final draft is submitted to the Dropbox in eLearn.

1. Select one song from the vernacular tradition continued (gospel, songs of social change, jazz, rhythm and blues, or hip-hop) to analyze key elements of its subgenre. Review introductions to each subgenre, the key literary terms in Content in eLearn, and your class notes for information on elements of each subgenre. Select two to three key elements that define that subgenre for analysis to explain the deeper meaning of the song. 
2. Analyze a key poetic element from a poem by Claude McKay or Langston Hughes. Elements for analysis include the poem's form (sonnet or blank verse for example), speaker, addressee, subject, theme,  or imagery of the poem. 
3. Write an essay that explores Alain Locke's definition of the "New Negro" in his essay of the same title. Within this definition and context, discuss the evolution of the quest for identity in African Amerian literature from the twentieth century that we have covered since the midterm exam. Include an example from poetry (songs included), prose works (essays and short stories), and drama (A Raisin in the Sun) in your essay.