Thursday

 Please turn in your essays. Today we are going to read "Notes of a Native Son" by James Baldwin and look at the open question.

Amanda Gorman is the first National Youth Poet Laureate of the United States, an honor given to a young person for exceptional artistic expression, civic engagement, and social impact. In a 2021 interview in Time magazine, when asked how to maintain optimism1 in challenging times, Gorman stated: “Optimism shouldn’t be seen as opposed to pessimism,2 but in conversation with it. Your optimism will never be as powerful as it is in that exact moment when you want to give it up.” 

 

Write an essay that argues your position on the extent to which Gorman’s claim about the relationship between optimism and pessimism is valid. 1: a tendency to view things in a positive light.

Note - before you write anything you should practice outlining the essay.

Ideas for Hook:

Thesis Statement:

Order of Development:

Point or claim # 1:

    a) evidence to back up claim

    b) 2nd piece of evidence to back up claim

Point or claim # 2:

    a) evidence to back up claim

    b) 2nd piece of evidence to back up claim

Point or claim # 3:

    a) evidence to back up claim

    b) 2nd piece of evidence to back up claim

Ideas for Conclusion: