Essay Writing
Harlem Renaissance
Poem Annotation
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
100

This is the sentence that tells what your whole essay will be about.

Thesis

100

What type of music was started during the Harlem Renaissance.  

Jazz

100

This is the "I" in a poem; it is the one speaking in the poem.  

Narrator

100

When Maya was young, what did she want to be?

She wanted to be white. 

200

The first sentence of a body paragraph.

Main Idea/Topic Sentence

200

The location of the Harlem Renaissance.  

Harlem, NY

200

This is who the narrator is speaking to.

Audience

200

Who does Maya go to live with?

She moves to live with Momma, her grandmother. 

300

This is written after the quote you have taken from an author.  

Author's last name and page number

300

It was an explosion of art, music, dance, poetry, and literature by African Americans.  

Harlem Renaissance

300
What is a theme?

The Lesson of the poem.

300

Why is it important that everyone knows that Uncle Willie was "not born that way"?  

Momma cares how people view her family and doesn't want anyone to think poorly of them. 

400
In a paragraph, this comes after the quote and examines the quote in great detail.

Analysis

400

He wrote the poems "I, Too" and "The Negro Speaks of Rivers"

Langston Hughes

400

What is tone?

It is the mood; the way the person feels about what they are saying. 

400

Why did Uncle Willie have to hide in the potato bin?

The KKK were looking for Black men.  

500

The very first sentence of an essay.  

Hook

500
Why was the Harlem Renaissance important to Maya Angelou?

As a young child, she was able to take inspiration from Black authors and artists.  

500

What is the difference between a topic and a theme?

Topic is one word of what the poem is about. Theme is the lesson about the topic. 

500

What do the powhitetrash children do to momma? Give two examples. 

They mock the way she looks and stands.  Call her "Annie", show their genitalia. 

M
e
n
u