Essay Topics on Virginia Woolf, Swift, Du Bois, and Barack Obama

Analyzing Woolf's use of tone in 'Professions for Women'

Requirements: -original and interesting ideas -clear expression (cite all your sources) -references at least 2 academic resources (journal articles or books) that you have found on your own -do not write about ethos, logos, and pathos -assume that the reader of your essay is familiar with the text/image/video you are analyzing, but do not assume that this reader is familiar with your research -use the present tense when discussing the content of a text/image/video; use the past tense when discussing historical events -keep in mind that your thesis will be your answer to all the questions from the assigned essay topic you have selected -focus on the keywords from the assigned essay topic Essay Topics: The title of Virginia Woolf’s “Professions for Women” suggests that Woolf will focus on the economic and the practical. However, Woolf does something very different. Analyze her use of tone as she explores much more fundamental questions regarding women’s employment. How are her changes of tone essential to a convincing argument? Analyze specific parts of Woolf’s text in order to answer this question. (Here is a brief explanation of tone: tone is essentially mood/attitude communicated in writing. For example, imagine that you received an angry text message from a friend. Even though you can't see or hear that person, you can still tell from their writing that they are angry. Angry is the tone of the text message. There are as many tones as there are human emotions and attitudes--happy, depressing, flattering, aloof, humorous, severe, disrespectful, encouraging, discouraging, dismissive, etc.) Find two academic sources devoted to “satire,” then use this research* in a compare/contrast essay that analyzes how satire functions in Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” and Du Bois’ “A Mild Suggestion” (the research you find should not be devoted to Swift or Du Bois). Why might Swift’s and Du Bois’ uses of satire be an effective way to make an argument? (In other words, why do they think these bizarre essays would make for a more successful argument than one provided in a more honest and straightforward essay?) Ultimately, which of the two writers more successfully employs satire to make his argument? What makes one argument more successful than the other? Analyze specific parts of Swift’s and Du Bois’ texts in order to answer these questions. Use the ideas in George Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language” to analyze one political speech from 2018-2020. In what ways is that political speech an example of “bad writing” according to Orwell? Why is it significant that the political speech you’ve chosen is an example of bad writing? Analyze specific parts of the political speech in order to answer these questions. (In order to successfully complete this assignment, you need to find a transcript for a political speech that is at least 20 minutes long.) How is Barack Obama's “A More Perfect Union” structured? How does this structure indicate which audience Obama is speaking to? While discussing the connection between structure and audience, explain why Obama’s speech works so well. Analyze specific parts of Obama’s speech in order to answer these questions. Do not write about ethos, logos, and pathos. *Please note: when I say “research,” I do not mean that you should become an expert on this topic; nor do I expect you to write an essay summarizing all your research. Rather, I am expecting your research to provide you with an idea that you can use in your analysis.