Why are you being asked to do this?
The point of writing an essay in this class will always be the same: to develop your critical thinking skills by working out your line of thinking on paper. So, the point is not to produce a product, an artifact, but to produce thinking. The product you turn in is merely the evidence of the thinking.
The evaluation of this product will be done using the same grading sheet as was attached to the short practice essay on The Quiet American.
What to write about
Woman at Point Zero is set in Egypt, and critiques Egyptian practices and culture. It would be easy to say that the complaints about the treatment of women which the book highlights are described in Egyptian terms that do not apply outside Egypt or the Middle East. But your task in this essay is to look behind the specifically Egyptian details and to find underlying cultural patterns or attitudes that may be applicable in the United States today.
You are not expected to do any research to back up your points. (We will work on proper research techniques later this semester.) So, go with what you know about the United States. Surely you can come up with examples to illustrate your points, from things you have experienced or have heard about. (Recall the small group class discussion on Wednesday, for example.)
Specifically, this is what your essay should accomplish:
1. Describe key meaningful details from the book, and argue for what underlying attitude or way of thinking about the status of women and girls they reveal. Choose items that will help you make comparisons to the United States today.
2. Describe ways that similar thinking does occur today in the United States. Be specific -- broad generalizations like "Some people don't think women are as good as men" are not very insightful or helpful. Give good arguments for why it is reasonable to see the US thinking as similar to the Egyptian thinking.
3. You are not asked to say things you don't believe, just to sound "politically correct". Instead, try to be accurate, truthful, careful.
Instructions
The essay is to be printed (or typed), using double-spacing or space-and-a-half line spacing. Print on only one side of each sheet of paper. No folders, cover sheets, or other fancy stuff. Just staple the sheets together in an upper corner.
Limit yourself to 2500 words. There is no minimum length. Very short papers will suffer because it will not be possible to do a good job in a page or two.
Of course, you have to write your own essay, not just compile stuff written by others. However, it is often helpful to talk over your ideas with other people, or work with other students.