Write an essay at least 1000 words long in which you discuss a theme or themes in The Nickel Boys that reverberate the lives of people you know. Or you may discuss what techniques and/or elements Colson
Whitehead uses to make The Nickel Boys work as a novel. Or perhaps something else about the book with grab you. But you must discuss The Nickel Boys. Do not write a generic paper on racism or child abuse, etc.
Remember what I wrote on the Home page: Write the essay that only you could write. Remember also: do not write a summary of the novel. If you must refer to a scene for the sake of clarity, do so as briefly as possible.
Put your title at the top, put your full name underneath the title, and then begin your paper below your name.
Make sure you have a title that specifically reflects what your paper is about. Do not title your essay “The
Nickel Boys,” “Major Paper Two,” “Second College Essay,” or something like that. And make sure you structure
your paper into several paragraphs. Don’t write one solid block of text.
Don’t worry about being super “formal” in your writing. Write in the style that comes naturally to you, and use
the vocabulary that you are comfortable with. Don’t think you have to use “fancy” words. What is most
impressive is clear and straightforward prose.
You do not have to include in-text parenthetical citations or a works cited list. If you quote or paraphrase
someone, simply indicate the source right there in the text of your paper. For example, say I was going to quote
Patti Smith in my paper. I would do it like this:
In her memoir Just Kids, Patti Smith wrote, “My father admired the draftsmanship and symbolism in the work of
Salvador Dali, yet he found no merit in Picasso, which led to our first serious disagreement.”
As simple as that. And notice that I did NOT write, “In Patti Smith’s Just Kids, she wrote, … ” That would be
poor structure because who is “she”? “She” could be anybody.