Your thesis statement, which should be the last sentence of your first paragraph, should directly, specifically answer the question: What does this text say about the issues, ideas, models, or persons it satirizes or parodies? You may not use outside sources for this paper: the essay must use only original, critical thinking that comes from your own mind. Thesis This essay should include three levels of critical thinking: Description (what happens), Analysis (how it happens), and Evaluation (what''s important about what happens). A good thesis will include at least two of these levels. Important: Your paper''s central point should not be that your text is a satire or a parody; only satirical or parodic texts are candidates for the paper, so the text''s status as such is a given. Your point is what the text says through satire or parody. Example of a strong thesis: By exaggerating the forms of white privilege in America rather than incidents of racist speech or acts, Eddie Murphy''s piece "White Like Me" reveals that everyday institutions and places practice racial inequity, not just historically remote institutions like slavery and Jim Crow. Example of a weak thesis: Eddie Murphy''s "White Like Me" satirizes white privilege in America. Outline I. The introductory paragraph (4-7 sentences) *The first sentence of your paper must include the title of your text and basic information: date, author, original context, genre, and general subject matter. Example: First aired as a skit for Saturday Night Live in 1988, Eddie Murphy''s short film "White Like Me" satirizes white privilege in America. *The next 2-5 sentences should expand the description of the piece, such as its audience, reception, and methods, framing devices--any information that will help place your thesis in context. *The last sentence of your introductory paragraph is your thesis. II. The body paragraphs (2-3 paragraphs, 4-7 sentences each) *The first sentence of each paragraph must begin with a topic sentence that states the main point of the paragraph (what happens in a text is not a point) and connects that point directly to the thesis. *Each paragraph must stick to the point stated in its topic sentence and develop that point fully. Example of a strong topic sentence: Locating the second scene of white privilege on a city bus, "White Like Me" points to the social segregation of whites and blacks that has replaced legally enforced segregation. Example of a weak topic sentence: The second scene of white privilege takes place on a city bus where a cocktail party commences the moment the passengers are all white. III. The So What? paragraph (the conclusion) *Rather than bore yourself and me with a long-winded paraphrase of your essay, use the last paragraph to consider the importance of the text and its positions beyond those you have discussed in the paper. In other words, ask yourself, "So What?" Format *Papers must be typed, double-spaced, and use reasonable fonts and margins. Don''t bother stretching or shrinking the margins or using a clever font like courier to disguise an underdeveloped (or out of control) argument. *In the upper left-hand corner of your paper, list (in single-space) your name, the name of this class, the date, and my name. Then, skip one line and center your title. Skip three single-spaced lines and begin the essay. Please don’t use a cover sheet or a paper-holding gadget of any kind. Just staple or paperclip the essay in the upper left-hand corner--and by "upper left-hand corner," I mean the left side of the paper if you''re looking at the paper, not the left side if you are the paper. *Each paper must have a title that contributes to the paper. The title cannot be the title of the text you are discussing. Capitalize the first letter of each important word of your title. DO NOT put your title in italics, bold, all caps, or underline it.