1. Review Essay 1 Prompt Let’s read the full prompt together carefully.
Highlight things you need to remember, and take notes of any ideas you have.
This essay is a example/illustration essay that may use narrative elements.
This means it will use both narrative and examples to illustrate the significance of what we are writing about.
You will be focusing your essay on a main point that you are making regarding something that has had an impact on your identity
Identity = how you see yourself and the world around you.

2. What are some of the major factors that influence our identity?
Let’s brainstorm a list together!
We probably came up with quite a variety of factors and issues that have an impact our identity. Some of the ones we will be talking about in connection with Essay 1 are:
Culture
Also subcultures (discuss)
Language
Our fluency or lack of fluency in a language and the struggles that come with it.
Our Bodies
Gender/Physical Sex
Body Image (discuss)
Able-bodied/Disabilities (discuss)

3. Read and Discuss: “The Secret Latina”
What is the point of this narrative? Why did the author write it?
What are some of the details that help you to understand the text?
The author does a good job of focusing on the most important/interesting parts of the story. Find a place where she has a lot of detail and tell me why you think she decided to focus there.

4. Freewrite: Tell me about one of the cultures you belong to.
What are some of the special or unique things about that culture that a reader from a different culture might be interested in reading about?
Remember, culture is not only your race or ethnicity.
It can definitely those things, but it can also be the “culture” you share with your friends—your “subculture” relating to your passions, your hobbies, your interests.
Culture can be where you come from, but it can also be what you love.

5. Break Time!

6. Online Readings: Discuss Language and Identity
“Saying Adios to Spanglish”
“English: Friend or Foe?”
What are some of the different ways in which language and language proficiency (or other issues relating to words/reading/writing) can have an impact on how we see ourselves, how other people see us, and how we see the world?
What are the specific ways language impacted identity for the writers of these two essays?
Remember, you should try to back up your observations with specific examples from the readings.

7. The Basic Parts of an Essay
First Paragraph: Introduction
The purpose of an introduction is to set your reader up for the rest of the essay:
Catch your reader’s attention, and get them interested in the topic.
Give the some BREIF background on the topic if they need it to understand your main idea.
Give them your main idea (thesis) that you will be expanding on and supporting in the rest of the essay.

8. Body Paragraphs This is the main part of your essay.
This is where you expand on your topic and support you thesis with vivid description, background and explanations, and reflection on the significance of the events you are describing.
Organize your body paragraphs so that each body paragraph has a main point that connects to the main point (thesis) of your entire essay.
Make sure that the paragraphs are organized in a logical manner. Remember: you can move your paragraphs around!

9. Conclusion
The purpose of a conclusion is to conclude your essay in a way that lets your reader understand in a BREIF FORM what they have just read.
Imagine it this way: You have just taken your reader on a journey in your essay. The purpose of the intro is to give your reader a mental "map" or preview of where you are going to take them.
The purpose of the conclusion is to show them where they have been, yes, but also to emphasize the basic essential points you want them to walk away with.
What do you really want them to remember and think about AFTER they are finished reading? THAT is the purpose of a conclusion.

10. Fragments: Dependent and Independent Clauses
GRAMMAR:
Fragments: Dependent and Independent Clauses

11. Fragments
A fragment is a group of words that is punctuated like a sentence, but is either missing a subject or a verb or cannot stand alone.
An Independent Clause: has a subject and a verb AND stands alone as a sentence
Dependent (Subordinate) clause: has subject & verb, but does NOT stand alone, usually because of a word at the beginning of the clause called a subordinating conjunction.

12. Dependent Clause Fragments
Dependent clauses that are punctuated like sentences and are NOT connected to an independent clause are fragments.
Ex: When the rain started falling.
This is a FRAGMENT because it does not express a complete thought.

13. How to Fix a Dependent Clause Fragment
Take away the subordinating conjunction, making the dependent clause into an independent clause (complete sentence).
Ex: The rain started falling. (We got rid of “when.”)
Join the fragment to a nearby related independent clause.
Ex: When the rain started falling, we went inside.
We went inside when the rain started falling.

14. A word of caution…
Make sure that you connect your subordinate clause to a nearby sentence that makes sense.
How would you fix the following passage? Would you connect the fragment to the first sentence or the second one?
I took the bus home. When I got to my house. I saw that the door was open.

15. Correct fix:
I took the bus home. When I got to my house, I saw that the door was open.
It makes more sense to connect the second and third sentences because they are the ones that happened at the same time.

16. Commas and Dependent Clauses
When a dependent clause comes before an independent clause, you must put a comma in between them.
When the rain started falling, we went inside.
When an independent clause comes before a dependent clause, you SHOULD NOT put a comma between them.
We went inside when the rain started falling.
So…
Dependent clause first = need a comma
Independent clause first = no comma

17. Dependent Clauses and Relative Pronouns
Some dependent clauses start with words called “relative pronouns.” Who, that, and which are three common relative pronouns. (See list on p. 110)
Dependent clauses that start with relative pronouns cannot stand on their own as sentences.
I have a next door neighbor who had nine children.
Connect the fragment to the nearby independent clause:

18. Textbook Practice: Do Questions 1-5 in Exercise 4-9 on p. 109
Continue with questions 6-10 for both exercises if you have time.