Deep Reading and Analysis of Walter Mosley's Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned

Importance of Analyzing Texts

Identifying claims and forming arguments of a text through analysis: When approaching any reading material it is important to be able to deeply analyze the text and to draw your own conclusions about what the material means. Analyzing texts is as important to do when reading a newspaper (to discover if there is any bias being presented), as it is a poem or fiction piece (that may have underlying themes that can open up a whole new layer of discussion).

For this essay we will be deep reading the collection Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned. You will form an argument or well thought out analysis of the text in the form of the thesis statement that we will then be fully supported by use of evidence solely from the primary source material. By doing this we will learn to deeply analyze what we are reading and make interpretations from it.

You can choose your own argument to frame from a theme/Social issue you have seen through the collection. What argument is the book making about that claim/social issue? Think back to your discussions where you began to frame ideas from individual stories saying the story is making the claim that.... As mentioned in the lecture what you will be doing is first identifying a theme or social issue in the book Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned by Walter Mosley.

The paper is 5.5-7 pages long MLA format 12 pt times new roman font, heading, header, in text citations when quoting (Mosley 115) example. Works cited page (only the book) No outside sources. You are only using the collection to make your claim about the collection. You should be using multiple stories to support your claim ideally but if you didn’t read the book then one story will work. Thesis statement should have 3 supporting claims. Here is an example from a student paper on another text.

“In the Sabrina and Corina Novel, written by Kali Fajardo- Anstine, it makes a claim that people who come from broken family backgrounds have bigger struggles which can be overcome with the help of family, self-acceptance, and moving forward.” The book Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned by Walter Mosley makes the claim that (claim here) and is supported by (3 general examples here).

These are the things that I will be looking for in your papers:

A clear, concise, arguable, single sentence thesis statement that provides your topic, stance, and main supporting claims. The thesis should be the last sentence of your introduction paragraph.

An introduction and conclusion paragraph that mentions all the stuff you will/have discussed in your paper. If it is in your body paragraphs, it needs to be in your introduction and conclusion. Clear topic sentences that point to which supporting claim in the thesis statement the paragraph will be supporting. Each paragraph should only be making one claim or giving one example. If you are talking about more than one thing it should be more than one paragraph. Proper inclusion and usage of quotes/evidence including introducing and explaining the quotes fully.

For the sake of this paper, you should only use one quote per paragraph. If you want to use a second related quote, make it the next paragraph in your paper.

Proper usage of MLA format, including in-text citations and works, cited page Meeting the page requirements (six pages means the bottom of the sixth page). There should be meaningful revision from your rough draft. Don't just turn in the same draft. I will give only 50 points to anyone who turns in the exact same draft as a rough draft.