Research Essay Letter

I got this idea from Cate Denial (@cjdenial). I wanted to provide a more personal/informal framework for a research essay. I still require a proposal/bibliography and footnotes, of course. My hope was that the personal nature would help students connect to the information.

For my example, I began with this:

Dear Mom, I loved that you made Cajun culture such a big part of our lives growing up. Gumbo is such a big part of our family, so I wanted to know more about the origins of the food.

I was looking at what enslaved people ate, how Louisiana culture was distinct, and the development of creole/Cajun culture. I provided a suggested outline to students to make sure they were using good sources and analyzing them.

This assignment worked very well for some students. For instance, several wrote to their veteran grandfathers about a war, some wrote to parents about immigration, others wrote to former teachers/professors, and my favorite essay was written to their mother about the history of bread in America.

For others, the letter part was confusing. Some thought that it could be more informal than it was meant to be. Others just tacked on a “dear mom” and didn’t personalize their essays at all. I will make a few tweaks to show students how to weave in the source evaluation, analysis, and personal touches. I’d like to try this again.