I’m trying to learn for my Writing class and I’m stuck. Can you help?

My Thesis:
African Americans have come so far through the history due to their deep rooted culture that carried their beliefs in religion, political standing, and connections.

Assignment Instructions:

With all of this in mind, begin researching your culture. It is okay to draw on personal knowledge and experience to guide you in your research. However, what you write in your essay should not be your opinion that is supported by anecdotal evidence. Instead, it should be based on research that comes from reliable sources.

Your essay will provide a profile of your culture and will serve as an introduction for someone who is not familiar with your chosen culture. It is also a way for you to familiarize yourself with this culture from an outsider’s perspective.

Support:

As you look at your chosen culture, examine the following:

• History (when it originated and why + any significant events that heavily shaped its development) – you will be required to include a brief history section in your essay
• Location (Is the culture primarily associated with one location?)
• Language (including dialect, words that have different definitions to people within this community, speech patterns, etc.)
• Religion
• Politics
• Cuisine
• Social habits
• Music
• Art (you may use a broad definition, which may overlap with “music”)
• Clothing/hair styles/jewelry/tattoos (aspects of physical appearance that can be controlled and are intentionally chosen by people within this culture)
• Marriage/relationship habits
• Ethics
• Sense of humor (what people in this culture find funny)
• Taboos (what people in this culture find offensive)
• _______________________________________________________
• _______________________________________________________

Do not try to cover all of these aspects of the culture. Instead, focus in on a few connecting aspects (at least three+ history) that seem to define the cultural identity of your chosen group.

Analysis:

As you research, also notice the following, and zero in on one (or two) to examine:

• Inaccurate stereotypes
• Ways the culture reacts to these stereotypes
• Challenges this culture faces
• Controversies that are associated with or affect people in this culture
• Any oppression that this culture encounters (they could be on the giving or receiving end of this oppression)
• Divisions within the culture
• Projections for this culture’s future (may be a good topic for your conclusion)
• ______________________________________
• ______________________________________

Sources:

You will need to include a variety of source types, including at least five of the following:

• LRC articles REQUIRED
• News articles/primary texts generated by your chosen culture
• News articles generated by media outside your chosen culture
• Videos (including YouTube videos or other unprofessional films)
• Memes
• Professional interviews
• Visuals (images, charts, cartoons, etc.)
• Novels (including graphic novels)/short stories/poetry
• Movies/tv shows
• Documentaries

Format:

Your essay will be in APA format (including a cover page, abstract, section headers, and references page). It will be around 1,500 words excluding the components listed. (However, remember that this is just Part I and that when we finish, the entire essay will be 3,000 words. Do not panic if this first part is a couple of words short, but you should be aware of problems that lead to you being several hundred words short.) It must include at least five sources (with APA internal citation for each). It may include images as long as they are documented in correct APA format. It must be written in third person using an academic tone.

You will give a brief, informal presentation on your research and answer your classmates’ questions.

***As you research, be on the lookout for an issue faced by members of this culture that you will want to examine more in-depth in the next essay.***