Assignment objective: This assignment requires you to produce an effective, well-written essay
of 1000 – 1250 words on the assigned topic. You will apply skills in close reading of poetry and
in critical reading of others’ ideas gained over the term in your development of your own
argument about Nature Poem and one other poem.
Tommy Pico’s Nature Poem: https://blogs.commons.georgetown.edu/engl-090-fall2018/files/2015/01/PicoNaturePoem.pdf
Essay Prompt:
In Nature Poem, Tommy Pico repeats the phrase “I can’t write a nature poem.” In fact, the
poem’s speaker at one point elaborates further that
I can’t write a nature poem bc English is some Stockholm shit,
makes me complicit in my tribe’s erasure—why shd I give a fuck abt
“poetry”? It’s a container (Nature Poem 50)
In Nature Poem, ‘nature poems’ represents a wide range of concepts and oppressions, including
but not limited to formal poetic conventions and poetic traditions, canonical writers and
authority, Indigenous relations with the land, colonialism’s occupation and repurposing of
Indigenous lands, the continuing legacy of colonialism on people and landscapes, and the
urgency of decolonization.
Joel Dias-Porter’s “Wednesday Poem” also presents a striking contrast between lived realities
and the literary tradition of ‘nature poems,’ gesturing at both the presumed importance of the
genre and the failure of the form.
In an essay that compares Nature Poem (sections of your choosing) with “Wednesday Poem,”
consider the role that the tradition of ‘nature poetry’ plays in these two texts. Some ideas you
might consider include the following: do the poets reject the tradition outright? Is there any place
for ‘nature poetry’ in the speakers’ worlds? Is the form presented as simply failing the speakers
of the poem, or is ‘nature poetry’ recuperated or reimagined in some way for the future?
Instructions:
Make sure you have read Nature Poem carefully; make notes as you read when you encounter
ideas that relate to the essay topic. You are expected to develop your essay’s argument based on
your own close reading of Nature Poem as well as your close reading of “Wednesday Poem,” and your critical reading of the
assigned interview (“Dancing the World into Being: A Conversation with Idle No More’s
Leanne Simpson”
[yesmagazine.org/social-justice/2013/03/06/dancing-the-world-into-being-a-conversation-with-
idle-no-more-leanne-simpson]
You are not expected to do further research for this essay. However, if you have questions about
the meaning of ‘decolonizaton,’ I encourage you to read the following online article:
“Decolonization if more than a meme or hashtag” https://mashable.com/article/what-is-
decolonization]. I think as well that this blogpost clearly captures some of the questions
and reasons why decolonization is important for everyone in Canada to think about:
https://onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca/myuviclife/2019/02/26/decolonization-why-its-
important-and-why-it-needs-you/
Please make sure to leave time to proof-read and edit your essay; part of the assessment will
include how effective your essay is at presenting and demonstrating your ideas and that includes
stylistic and grammatical effectiveness as well as the development and presentation of your own
ideas in response to the essay prompt. Your essay should be 1000 – 1250 words long, and must
include a works cited; make sure your in-text citations and list of works cited are in correct MLA
format. For information about how to use MLA style guide, including the most recent revisions,
you can consult the MLA handbook (9th edition), or the Purdue Online Writing Lab, which offers
step-by-step and detailed information for students:
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/ml
a_formatting_and_style_guide.html
What should your essay do?
Susan Holbrook, in How to Read (and Write about) Poetry, offers an excellent chapter on
writing an analytic essay on poetry, including examples of a first draft and final revised student
assignment, and a short discussion of common writing errors and how to fix them (123 – 152).
This is a really great place to start thinking about what an essay can do, so I hope you read this
chapter. But, please note: you are not expected to undertake any research beyond the material we
have already provided you with in the critical assignment and in links at the start of the
document. If you do go to any other sources for ideas, you must cite appropriately and carefully
and include those sources in your works cited.
The Purdue Online Writing Lab also has a short discussion about writing about poetry:
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_literature/writing_about_poetry.
html
In addition, Purdue OWL offers a short description of the kind of essay this assignment requires:
the expository essay.
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/essay_writing/expository_essays.h
tml
Briefly put, the expository essay is a style of essay that asks you to do the following:
• Consider an essay prompt and develop an argument (a “thesis statement”) in response to
that prompt based on your own careful reading of the assigned poetry;
• Demonstrate the validity of that thesis statement or argument through the presentation of
textual evidence—in this case, your close reading of the assigned poetry, using the skills
for close reading we have been developing over the term;
• Apply evidence as appropriate from critical writing or material in support of the ideas
you have developed from your close reading to further support your thesis statement or
argument;
• Present your argument in an organized, effectively written series of paragraphs that move
between ideas logically and with clear and effective transitions between your ideas;
• Proof-read carefully, allow time to revise as necessary, and make sure your citations of
poetry and of any critical material you quote are accurate and responsible.
Is this the five-paragraph essay you might remember from high-school?
It is and it isn’t. In high school, most of you would have been expected to submit an essay in
three parts: an introductory paragraph with a thesis statement; three paragraphs of evidence; a
concluding paragraph that repeats the arguments for emphasis.
This is not an inherently bad model, nor is the shape of that essay necessarily unsuited to your
needs here at university. However, this strict model cannot adjust to the longer essay lengths
required in university courses, nor is a conclusion that simply restates the leading sentences of
the previous paragraphs effective.
What I mean is, using paragraphing and the transitions between paragraphs to develop your ideas
is a really important part of developing your essay-writing skills: you should never ever assume
that all of one part of your argument will easily or neatly fit into one super-long paragraph. A
paragraph is not a section of an argument; a section of an argument may contain several
paragraphs. The Purdue OWL site describes paragraphs as “units of thoughts with one
adequately developed idea” (see this part of the website for more tips and advice
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/paragraphs_and_paragraphing/par
agraphing.html
Similarly, your conclusion needs to be much more than a simple repetition of the leading
sentences of the previous paragraphs or main points of your argument. An effective conclusion
does demonstrate that the goals of the thesis statement have been met, but clearly and without
repetition; in my opinion, a really effective conclusion often will start to signal the impact of the
argument in a somewhat broader way. This is a stylistic flourish though, and isn’t necessary. You
should avoid broad sweeping statements, or the introduction of new points that aren’t supported
in the essay. For more tips and advice about effective conclusions see the Purdue OWL website:
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/common_writing_assignments/argument_papers/con
clusions.html
9– 10 points : Excellent
• Understanding of issue in its context is clearly and compellingly demonstrated, succinctly
presented.
• The example identified from the poetry effectively and persuasively illustrates the issue,
and the understanding of the relationship as articulated in the answer is compelling,
interesting and insightful for both the poetry and the reading.
• Answer conveys a clear and compelling grasp of the issue in relation to the poetry and
builds on or emphasizes aspects of the poetry or reading that are shown to be significant.
• Response is within word limit, well-written, effectively presented, and free of
grammatical / stylistic errors, and has been effectively proof-read.
• Works cited is complete and conforms carefully to MLA style.
7 – 8 points : Good to Very Good
• Understanding of issue in its context is clearly demonstrated, with little to no errors.
• The example identified from the assigned reading effectively demonstrates the issue and
is very well related to the reading; the answer says something useful and insightful about
the relationship.
• Answer conveys a clear grasp of the issue in relation to the poetry and begins to develop
a more nuanced understanding of the poetry and/or the reading.
• Response is in word limit, is well-written and presented, and is largely free of
grammatical / stylistic errors, but would benefit from a more thorough proof-read.
• Works cited is present, but may be incomplete, or may demonstrate inconsistencies
and/or errors in MLA style.
6 points : Satisfactory
• Loose, or vague, awareness of the issue, minimally or overly presented. The answer may
not demonstrate an accurate or complete understanding of the idea, or not demonstrate an
adequate familiarity with the reading.
• The example identified from the assigned poetry does not effectively match the issue or
idea, is poorly related, or does not provide insight into either the poetry or the reading.
• Answer presents an underdeveloped grasp of the issue in relation to the poetry. Ideas are
not sufficiently developed.
• Response falls short of or exceeds word limit, could be more clear, or contains disruptive
grammatical / stylistic errors; needs to be proof-read and edited.
• Works cited is present but is incomplete and/or does not conform to MLA style.
5 points : minimal pass
• An obvious attempt has been made to respond to the assignment prompt, but the answer
demonstrates significant problems, errors, incompleteness, etc., in more than one area.
0 – 4 points : unsatisfactory
• Answer does not meet the minimum requirements of the assignment in one or more of the
abovementioned categories.
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