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Are We heading toward an Age of Different Fathers?

An Analytical Essay about the Changing Role of Fathers in Modern-Day Families

An Analytical Essay based on four sources:

1.   John Updike's short story, "My Father's Tears".

2.   Frank Bruni's op-ed article, "Building a Better Father", (NYT April 10, 2016)

3.   Recent report of one scholarly paper by an expert on the topic.

4.   Interview one of your parents about his/her relationship with his/her father.

5.   Tell of your own relationship with your father or father figure. It’s  often more dramatic to focus on one specific, emotional scene, as does Updike when he recounts the scene when Jim depart for college in the railway station. Add as many details as you can to make the you story alive.

***  You can write in the first person "I"; or in the third person "He or She", or even using "You" in a form of a letter addressed to your father. These are decisions that every writer has to reach whenever s/he writes a story.

Try to add dialogue: dialogues are very powerful. You can even add dialogues once you complete free writing the story.

In his op-ed article, "Building a Better Father", Frank Bruni, the NYT columnist, writes:

According to surveys by the Pew Research Center, men spend almost three times the number of hours a week with their children as they did half a century ago. And they feel conflicted about not devoting more. While 23 percent of mothers said they shortchanged their kids on time, 46 percent of fathers did.

Your essay should include five parts, (and transition between the different parts, )

1.   Updike's story, (analysis, quotes, in-text quotes, signal phrases, citing,)  analyzing father/son's relationship.

2.   A NYT op-ed article by Frank Bruni (posted on Course Documents).

3.   Scholarly paper by a specialist on the topic.

4.   An Interview: A parent's experience with her or his father

5.   Your own detailed experience of your relationship with your father or fatherly figure.

Structure:

1.   Title and sub-title.

2.   A clear thesis statement (revise it once the paper is complete)

3.   The body of the paper made of five clear parts; consider carefully what the order of the five parts should be. Place the most interesting and strongest part, to your opinion, first.

4.   Conclusion. (Don't repeat what you've already said, but you may want to refer to the future.)

5.   Works Cited

The paper should have 1200-1500 words.