In this essay, you will discuss a “single story” of your chosen community. You’ll want to explain how this form of stereotyping has affected both you and other members of this community, and how it’s shaped others’ understanding of your community. You will also want to deliver a clear scene that shows one moment in time where this “single story” has affected you. Perhaps your scene will be a moment in time when you understood the dangers that your “single story” presented. Discuss the ways, too, that this myth can be dispelled to let others understand the true complexities of your community. In class, we’ll discuss some structural ideas to help you bring these ideas to the page.
You will also need to use at least two quotes from Adichie’s TED Talk, formatted correctly in MLA style, to help connect your own experiences to the concepts she explains in her speech. Note: please do not use the quote on the top of this assignment! Find new and different quotes to use!
Essay #1: Danger of a Single Story Structure Notes
I don’t mean to constrain you with these structural suggestions, but you might try to follow these ideas as you build your own essay.
-Find a clever title for your essay, something that’s not “Single Story.”
Paragraph 1: Define what a single story is and why it can be harmful or dangerous.
Use your own voice—no need for Adichie’s quotes yet. Explain in your own words what a single
story is and means to you.
Thesis statement: introduce the idea that you’ve had a single story experience in your own life.
Make the connection between yourself and the concept of a single story.
Paragraph 2: Introduce and define your community. Give background. Explain the single story of this community as you see it.
How has the single story changed over time, and why is it important to examine and challenge that single story now?
Paragraph 3: Tell your story. How did you become aware of this single story? What
happened? Use a clear scene to show us this moment in time. OR the moment where you realized you were perpetuating the single story? Reflect on what this meant to you—how you felt, how you feel now, etc.
Scene: Action, movement, dialogue, description of characters and settings, weather/temperature,
mood—like if you were watching a movie of this moment in time. Dramatizing. Use all five senses.
Reflection: What you lost, what you gained, what you learned about yourself or the world. The older, wiser you looking back on this moment in time and making sense of it for the reader.
Paragraphs 4-6ish Continue your scene and your story. Reflect on how this moment from your life exemplifies the idea of the single story.
Paragraph 7ish—Return to the TED Talk. How can this myth be dispelled about your
community? Use her words to help here—2 quotes required from the TED Talk, and not the same ones from the assignment sheet. How can we see more multifaceted stories about this issue you’ve encountered? How did you learn that other stories and perspectives existed?
Paragraph 8ish: Call to action. What can readers do? Where can they go to learn more about the many stories that exist about this community? What can they do? What experiences can they have, etc.? Help them find more stories than just one.
Works Cited Page: Visit Purdue OWL to help:
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/ml
a_works_cited_page_basic_format.html
