Essay writing

Write a 500-word essay about the impact of reading upon your life. A literacy essay explores one’s growth as a reader. Don’t confuse literacy with literature. The goal is to come up with a thesis that states how one specific text, or perhaps a series of them, or just the written word in general contributed to your personal development.

This may seem a bit strange, but I want you to write about yourself in the third person and then use yourself as a source for the works-cited list at the end. In other words, write about yourself as if you’re writing about someone else. For example, if I were doing this assignment, I would NOT write, “I always had lots of books as a kid.” Instead, I’d write, “Dr. Robertson always had lots of books as a kid. Then I’d cite myself as a “personal interview” in the works cited at the end. All your major assignments should be in third person. The third person’s name is Haiyi Hu.

Use MLA style throughout in Times New Roman 12.

Include a heading and headers.

Double-space everything.

Quote and cite from each source at least once within your text. Sources include the literature we’ve read (each item is a separate entry) and any outside sources you might decide to use.

List each source in the works-cited section at the end (no works cited = automatic D!).

Include at least three paragraphs (intro., body, and conclusion). You can have as many body paragraphs as you like; just make sure they’re not too short.