World Languages and Cultures Prompt Examples

Scaffolded Essay Assignment — Antigone by Jean Anouilh

For this assignment, you will write an argumentative essay on Jean Anouilh’s play Antigone. To do so, you will develop a critical and personal analysis of the work by establishing a clear thesis that you will defend through a structured argument.

STEPS

1. Establish Your Thesis

• Choose an aspect of the play that interests you (moral conflict, the role of fate, the modernity of the adaptation, etc.)
• Formulate a clear and precise position to defend
• Make sure your thesis is arguable (neither too obvious nor impossible to demonstrate)
• A document that may be useful: How to Formulate a Thesis

Examples of possible theses:

• The stage directions and theatrical mise en abyme in Anouilh’s Antigone are not simple scenic indications but constitute a genuine metatextual discourse that enriches the interpretation of the work.
• Antigone’s “No” in Anouilh’s play evolves from a simple political refusal into a deeper existential affirmation, making the character no longer a classical heroine but the symbol of a quest for absolute authenticity.
• In Anouilh’s Antigone, the conflict between Creon and Antigone represents the fundamental opposition between political realism and moral idealism.
• The character of Ismene provides an essential counterpoint to Antigone, illustrating another form of courage that is more nuanced and pragmatic.
• The modern and sometimes anachronistic language used by Anouilh in Antigone is not a simple stylistic choice but serves to reveal the complex psychology of the characters, particularly visible in the confrontations between Antigone and Creon.

During the Thursday, April 30 class, we will hold a thesis workshop. I will need to confirm your thesis — preferably before the end of Thursday’s class — before you begin writing your essay. The deadline to confirm your thesis is Monday, May 4.

2. Develop an Outline

Structure your essay into three main parts:

• Introduction:
  • Context of the work (written during the German Occupation)
  • Brief presentation of the play and its issues
  • Clear statement of your thesis
• Development of the Analysis: (3 parts recommended) For each part:
  • A main idea that supports your thesis
  • Arguments supported by specific examples drawn from the text
  • A personal analysis demonstrating your critical thinking
• Conclusion:
  • Summary of the main arguments
  • Reaffirmation of your thesis in a new light
  • Opening toward broader reflection (if possible!)

The outline is for you. You will not turn it in and I do not need to see or confirm it.

3. Writing the First Draft

• Expected length: 800–1000 words
• Use formal, precise French
• Quote the text to support your arguments (with precise references)
• Pay attention to transitions between sections

Note: This was a shared prompt used across two courses and was used to assess both WLC ILO 1 and WLC ILO 2.

Interview Project

You will be conducting three (3) interviews of Norwegians or other advanced Norwegian language students. You will ultimately use your interview responses to write a report-style summary of the interviews (NB!: NOT a transcript of the interview!) along with a reflection on the interview and interview process. The content of your interviews should include a variety of questions about the topics we have read and discussed: careers, working conditions, personal finances, the body, illnesses & injuries, personal habits, and the welfare state. You may also choose one additional topic from [the course] to ask about (family/relationships, studies/education, interests/hobbies, hometown) if you wish.

1. Interview 1 student at the [course number] level (You will arrange this yourself)
2. Interview 1 native Norwegian or advanced student who has lived in Norway for 1+ years
3. Interview either an additional person from category 2 or a student who is in NORW 253 (5th semester) or above

Steps:

1. Write 20 questions in Norwegian in the template provided that you can use to interview another student. Cover all the required topics. Use many interrogatives (Hva slags, hvordan, hvor ofte…). You may need a few Yes/No questions to get started on a topic, but then you must follow up somehow. Encourage elaboration (Hvorfor? Kan du si mer om det?). Note that it is okay to start with “Kan du fortelle meg litt om . . .” to have them explain a topic. Work at getting their opinion or hypothesis on something (synes/tro). “Hva heter du”, “hvor kommer du fra”, and “Hvor bor du” are all questions you can/should start with, but do not count toward your total of twenty. Leave plenty of room in your template to record your interview subject’s answers.
2. Write 1-2 additional questions in English about one (or more) of the themes. These questions should be questions you are curious about that you don’t have the language ability to ask in Norwegian. You may need two different questions in order to tailor them to the interview subjects’ experiences. (Be sure to check their bios before the interview! Some have always lived in Norway; others have had different cross-cultural experiences.) You will summarize the answers to these questions in your reflection. (Suggestions: What do you think about the American political system compared to the Norwegian one? How does education in Norway compare to education in the United States? What was the hardest thing about moving to/from Norway to/from the US?)
3. Find 3 students to interview that fit into the categories using the spreadsheet above. You may also use your own personal connections if you know a Norwegian or someone who’s lived in Norway for at least one year and can speak Norwegian well.
4. Choose 15 questions in Norwegian and 1 in English for each interview. Bring the question template to each of your interviews (on paper or digitally) and use it to take notes. Recording the interview is not permitted. Write or type notes on the interview subjects’ answers as keywords/bullet points during your interview. When you don’t understand, use phrases to ask for clarification (e.g., Kunne du gjenta det? Unnskyld, hva sa du? Kunne du si det langsommere? Hvordan staver man det?) Each person you interview must also give you feedback, in English, about things they think you should work on (grammar/pronunciation). Write these down. Your interview should not take more than 15 minutes, so watch the time! The interview subjects are also busy students like yourself.
5. Write a paragraph summary about each person you interviewed, one paragraph per interview. You should write these summaries in the third person på norsk (“Han er fra Norge. Han synes at…”). Each summary should be 200-250 words. This is not meant to be a word-for-word transcription of your interview; rather, it is a summary of what you heard and understood in your own words. Under no circumstances may you use Google translate or another automatic transcription program to transcribe the interviews.
6. Write a reflection, in English, on this experience that is no less than 500 words, no more than 750. You should divide your response evenly between these two questions:
   • What did you gain from this experience as a language learner?
     • Some ideas of things to reflect on: What aspects of this project were most challenging, and why? What strategies did you use to handle these challenges? Did you notice any improvement from interview to interview? What did you notice about your strengths/growth areas as a language learner? What feedback did you receive, and how will you respond to it? How might this experience inform your thinking when you find yourself in conversation with someone who is a learner of a language you are proficient in?
   • What did you learn about Norwegian culture and/or society from posing the questions you asked in English?
     • This is where you will report on the answers you received to the questions you posed in English. You can also include your own reactions to these responses—e.g., Did they surprise you? Why/why not?
7. Submit your three interview templates (with questions tailored to each interview subject), three paragraph summaries of each interview (total of 600-750 words), and reflection essay (total of 500-750 words) on Google Classroom.

Note: This was a shared prompt used across two courses and was used to assess both WLC ILO 1 and WLC ILO 2.

Interview Project

You will be conducting three (3) interviews of Norwegians or other advanced Norwegian language students. You will ultimately use your interview responses to write a report-style summary of the interviews (NB!: NOT a transcript of the interview!) along with a reflection on the interview and interview process. The content of your interviews should include a variety of questions about the topics we have read and discussed: careers, working conditions, personal finances, the body, illnesses & injuries, personal habits, and the welfare state. You may also choose one additional topic from [the course] to ask about (family/relationships, studies/education, interests/hobbies, hometown) if you wish.

1. Interview 1 student at the [course number] level (You will arrange this yourself)
2. Interview 1 native Norwegian or advanced student who has lived in Norway for 1+ years
3. Interview either an additional person from category 2 or a student who is in NORW 253 (5th semester) or above

Steps:

1. Write 20 questions in Norwegian in the template provided that you can use to interview another student. Cover all the required topics. Use many interrogatives (Hva slags, hvordan, hvor ofte…). You may need a few Yes/No questions to get started on a topic, but then you must follow up somehow. Encourage elaboration (Hvorfor? Kan du si mer om det?). Note that it is okay to start with “Kan du fortelle meg litt om . . .” to have them explain a topic. Work at getting their opinion or hypothesis on something (synes/tro). “Hva heter du”, “hvor kommer du fra”, and “Hvor bor du” are all questions you can/should start with, but do not count toward your total of twenty. Leave plenty of room in your template to record your interview subject’s answers.
2. Write 1-2 additional questions in English about one (or more) of the themes. These questions should be questions you are curious about that you don’t have the language ability to ask in Norwegian. You may need two different questions in order to tailor them to the interview subjects’ experiences. (Be sure to check their bios before the interview! Some have always lived in Norway; others have had different cross-cultural experiences.) You will summarize the answers to these questions in your reflection. (Suggestions: What do you think about the American political system compared to the Norwegian one? How does education in Norway compare to education in the United States? What was the hardest thing about moving to/from Norway to/from the US?)
3. Find 3 students to interview that fit into the categories using the spreadsheet above. You may also use your own personal connections if you know a Norwegian or someone who’s lived in Norway for at least one year and can speak Norwegian well.
4. Choose 15 questions in Norwegian and 1 in English for each interview. Bring the question template to each of your interviews (on paper or digitally) and use it to take notes. Recording the interview is not permitted. Write or type notes on the interview subjects’ answers as keywords/bullet points during your interview. When you don’t understand, use phrases to ask for clarification (e.g., Kunne du gjenta det? Unnskyld, hva sa du? Kunne du si det langsommere? Hvordan staver man det?) Each person you interview must also give you feedback, in English, about things they think you should work on (grammar/pronunciation). Write these down. Your interview should not take more than 15 minutes, so watch the time! The interview subjects are also busy students like yourself.
5. Write a paragraph summary about each person you interviewed, one paragraph per interview. You should write these summaries in the third person på norsk (“Han er fra Norge. Han synes at…”). Each summary should be 200-250 words. This is not meant to be a word-for-word transcription of your interview; rather, it is a summary of what you heard and understood in your own words. Under no circumstances may you use Google translate or another automatic transcription program to transcribe the interviews.
6. Write a reflection, in English, on this experience that is no less than 500 words, no more than 750. You should divide your response evenly between these two questions:
   • What did you gain from this experience as a language learner?
     • Some ideas of things to reflect on: What aspects of this project were most challenging, and why? What strategies did you use to handle these challenges? Did you notice any improvement from interview to interview? What did you notice about your strengths/growth areas as a language learner? What feedback did you receive, and how will you respond to it? How might this experience inform your thinking when you find yourself in conversation with someone who is a learner of a language you are proficient in?
   • What did you learn about Norwegian culture and/or society from posing the questions you asked in English?
     • This is where you will report on the answers you received to the questions you posed in English. You can also include your own reactions to these responses—e.g., Did they surprise you? Why/why not?
7. Submit your three interview templates (with questions tailored to each interview subject), three paragraph summaries of each interview (total of 600-750 words), and reflection essay (total of 500-750 words) on Google Classroom.

Caesar/Cicero Paper Assignment

Purpose:

This assignment is designed to build on the skills you’ve developed in earlier papers and help you think about the ways we can use multiple texts and perspectives to reconstruct historical events.

Question:

Choose an episode or theme from the first 33 chapters of Caesar’s Bellum Civile. How does Caesar shape and present historical material to achieve a particular persuasive goal, and how do the letters of Cicero affect our understanding of both Caesar’s text and the reality behind it?

Process:

Note that this is a working process, not an outline for sections of your paper – select and arrange your investigations and conclusions as you see fit to create a coherent whole. This process is also a suggestion, not a prescription. If you have a writing process that works better for you, you can and should follow it.

1. Look through the Caesar we have read and choose an episode or a continuing theme that you find interesting. If you’re unsure or are having trouble, talk to me.
2. Think about what Caesar is doing with the material you selected. What impression does his text give – about himself, about his opponents, about other characters, and about events themselves (among other things)? What specific aspects of the text (prose style, level of detail, speculation, authorial commentary, etc.) create and reinforce this impression. What does Caesar gain from shaping his narrative this way?
3. Identify the letters (any of the ones we’ve read in Latin or English, by Cicero and/or his correspondents) that are relevant to your episode/theme. In what areas do they agree with Caesar’s presentation, and in what areas do they seem to be in conflict with what Caesar is telling us? To what extent are these letters more/less/equally biased when compared to Caesar’s text? What are their authors trying to accomplish, and how does this affect their composition?
4. Compare what you’re seeing in the letters to what you’re seeing in Caesar. How should we use the letters as a reinforcement or corrective to Caesar’s narrative? How do they reveal Caesar’s aims and methods? How can we use both sources together to get a more accurate picture of what was happening in the first months of 49?
5. Go through your thoughts, come up with the points you think it is important to include, and write the paper, making sure that you connect your points to one another and provide specific examples to support each one.
6. If you have any questions or problems, come talk to me. I’m here to help, and interacting with you is the best part of my job!

Things you should do:

1. Make it clear in the introduction what passage or theme you’re dealing with and lay out (very briefly) your argument both about Caesar’s aims and about what Cicero’s letters contribute to our understanding.
2. Use specific evidence from the texts to support all your points, and explain how the evidence makes the point you say it makes.
3. Use and incorporate the secondary articles we’ve read and our class discussions as they’re relevant to your passage or theme.

Things you should not do:

1. Give extensive summaries of the text. The majority of your paper should be your argument about Caesar’s presentation of events rather than the events themselves.
2. Write in generalities.
3. Cover everything. Focus on the aspects of the texts that are relevant to your argument and let other details and considerations go.

Reflection Paper Assignment: The Farewell (Lulu Wang)

Overview

You are invited to write a reflection paper on The Farewell (directed by Lulu Wang). This film offers multiple perspectives on Chinese culture, family, and identity. The purpose of this assignment is to encourage you to think critically about the diverse experiences presented in the film and to connect them with your own reflections and perspectives.

Prompts (choose at least 2–3 to respond to):

1. The Farewell presents a family navigating cultural differences between China and the United States. How are these differences expressed in the film? Which moments stood out to you, and why?
2. The film explores the concept of family obligation and collective responsibility. How does this compare or contrast with your own cultural background or personal experiences?
3. The decision to keep the grandmother’s illness a secret is central to the story. What cultural values does this reflect, and how did it make you reflect on your own perspectives about truth, care, and responsibility?
4. The film highlights intergenerational perspectives (grandmother, parents, adult children). How do these voices shape the family dynamic? Can you connect this to dynamics in your own family or community?
5. How does the film challenge or reframe your understanding of Chinese culture and Chinese people? What new perspectives did you gain?
6. Reflect on your own experiences living between, across, or within cultures. How did this film help you think differently about identity, belonging, and cultural perspective?

Writing Prompt 1: “The Name of the Land”

You have learned about the three different names for the land we now call Hokkaido: Ainu Mosir, Ezo-gashima, and Hokkaido. Each name reflects the perspective of the people who used it. Write a short English essay addressing the following:

Part 1: Analyze Different Perspectives

Explain who used each name and what it reveals about their relationship with the land. How do these names reflect different ideas about ownership, identity, and power?

Part 2: Reflect on Your Experience

Think about your own language learning. Have you ever learned a Japanese word or concept that changed how you see something you already knew? Describe that experience. How did it reframe your perspective?

Part 3: Conclusion

Based on your analysis and reflection, what do these examples teach us about language? Explain how words do more than just describe; they shape our understanding of history and power.

Ensayo 2

In class we’ve been reading and analyzing the autobiographical novel Más allá de mí written by Francisco Jiménez. Throughout our reading we´ve been relating different themes to different quotes and textual details and vice versa.

For this writing in particular you should focus specifically on the ways in which Francisco is different than his classmates and develop a multi-paragraph writing that engages at least two themes that demonstrate these differences using quotes and textual evidence to back up your claims.

OBJECTIVE: Choose two (2) themes that we´ve seen from the novel that exemplify the ways in which Francisco is different from his classmates and support your selection of these themes with textual evidence in a formal writing that contains an introduction, body, and conclusion.

You may use the following to help you structure your writing:

• What are two themes or broader concepts that demonstrate the ways Francisco is different from his classmates at Santa Clara?
• What are some quotes or textual details that show how Francisco is different from his classmates within each theme?
• How does this evidence relate to each theme?
• Do you have a hook in your introduction? A thesis statement?

You should think of these questions as guiding themes and questions for your writing, however, your writing should not present itself like bullet point direct responses to these points. It should be a coherent, well thought out, response to the main question posed.

There is no set word limit or amount for this task, however, you should be sure your response sufficiently, if not vigorously, answers the prompt above. I will use the rubric attached to this assignment in order to assess and give feedback.

As always, any use of AI or machine/automatic translation will result in a 0 for this assignment.

Prompt summary: [Course name] students were asked to complete a German university style final exam (Klausur), which is divided into two sections, key term definitions and short-essay asking to discuss a variety of topics from the semester. In preparation, the students received a similar format, but with additional questions, as a bank of possible questions. This iteration eliminated several possible questions, and the students were given choices from the remaining questions, 5 questions must be answered from part 1 and 3 from part 2. Grammar would be assessed as an overall evaluation, checking for systemic errors. The terms and short-answer questions were pooled from throughout the semester, which included units on: (1) political structures and parties in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland; (2) contemporary (2020s) perspectives of “East” Germans and the aftereffects of German Reunification on the former East one generation later; (3) self-reported histories and critical from minoritized voices that reflect on issues of multiculturality and challenges to integration from over the last 3 decades; (4) contemporary subcultures and countercultures. Students had previous reflection assignments and oral reports per section, but this final should demonstrate their cumulative language production in reference to the topics and specific texts, documentaries, and short films that were assigned.

die Klausur

Teil 1: Definitionen

Definieren Sie die Begriffe. Sie sollen:

1) beschreiben Sie den Begriff (schreiben Sie KEINE Liste); 2) Nennen Sie den Text und den/die Autor:in, davon die Begriffe kommen; 3) erklären Sie kurz, wie der Begriff im Kontext des Textes funktioniert und warum es wichtig für das Verständnis des Textes ist.

1. die Zweitstimme
2. der Rat der Europäischen Union (Ministerrat)
3. der*die „Jammerossi“
4. das Anwerbeabkommen
5. das Bundestreffen (für Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland)
6. das Verhör
7. assimilieren
8. der*die Querdenker:in

Teil 2: Thema erklären

Beantworten Sie die Fragen und nennen Sie Beispiele aus unseren Kursmaterialien und unseren Diskussionen. Nennen Sie auch die passenden Titel und Autor:innen der Texte.

1. Erklären Sie: Wie beeinflusst die Wende die politischen und kulturellen Räume und Richtungen im heutigen Osten? Welche Beispiele zeigen die direkten Auswirkungen der Wende auf die Soziopolitik der Osten und welche Beispiele sind nur tendenziell verbunden?
2. In Ihren Reflektionsaufgaben verglichen Sie mehrmals die Ähnlichkeiten und Unterschiede Ihrer Heimat mit den Gesellschaftsstrukturen und mit den Kulturen der DACH-Ländern. Erklären Sie: Welche 3 gesellschaftlichen oder kulturellen Schwerpunkte fanden Sie am interessantesten? Warum halten Sie diese 3 Punkte für wichtig?
3. Vergleichen Sie die politischen Parteien der DACH-Ländern miteinander. Inwiefern haben die Länder ähnliche Politik und inwiefern sind die Länder unter einander ganz unterschiedlich?
4. Vergleichen Sie die Entwicklung Minderheitsgruppen in Deutschland vor und nach der Ausbreitung des Internets. Wie sind Entwicklungen und Ereignisse in den 80ern und 90ern anders als nach der Jahrhundertwende? Nennen Sie spezifische Beispiele.
5. Protestbewegungen und Subkulturen, sowohl auch die Nationalpolitik, sind nach der Verbreitung des Internets viel internationaler geworden. Welche politischen und kulturellen Themen in den DACH-Ländern sehen Sie auch zu Hause und wie wirken diese Themen hier anders als in West Europa? Wie verstehen Sie die Themen als immer noch verbunden?