Assignment Task 2: Short Analytical Essay – Defining Literacy through Sojourner Truth’s Speeches

Course Code and Title

ENGL 245 / WGS 315: African American Women’s Voices – Semester 1, 2026

Weighting: 30% | Due: Week 5, Friday 17:00 | Length: 600–800 word essay (approximately 2–3 pages, double-spaced, 12 pt font, excluding references)

Context and Purpose

This early-unit essay introduces students to expanded definitions of literacy in historical and rhetorical contexts. It follows patterns seen on studocu.com and coursehero.com for tasks that ask learners to analyse “Ain’t I a Woman?” alongside other recorded speeches while debating formal schooling versus lived knowledge and oral skill.

Task Description

Write a short essay that examines whether Sojourner Truth was literate despite never learning to read or write in school. Start by offering your own clear definition of literacy that includes speaking, remembering, understanding history and scripture, and using metaphor effectively in public address. Then examine three specific moments from her major speeches: the reference to women’s rights and old times, the Bible quotation about watching and honouring parents, the comparison of white and coloured women’s knowledge, and the metaphor of reins and a knife in the context of rights. Explain how these examples show deep awareness gained through listening and life experience. Finish by arguing that Truth possessed a powerful form of literacy that allowed her to challenge audiences on women’s and Black rights. Use MLA 9th edition and quote directly from the speeches plus at least two secondary sources.

Requirements and Guidelines

• Introduction that presents your working definition of literacy and a clear thesis on Truth’s abilities
• Body paragraphs that quote and discuss each chosen example, link it to broader communication skills, and note the absence of formal schooling
• Conclusion that reflects on why redefining literacy matters for understanding nineteenth-century Black women’s activism
• Strict word count 600–800; state the count on the first page
• MLA 9th in-text citations and Works Cited; Turnitin submission required
• Focus on analysis rather than biography summary

Marking Criteria (out of 100)

1. Thoughtful definition of literacy supported by speech examples – 30 marks
2. Accurate quotation and explanation of rhetorical choices in context – 25 marks
3. Balanced argument on literacy without formal education – 20 marks
4. Clear structure, academic style and correct MLA – 15 marks
5. Quality and relevance of sources – 10 marks

Sample Answer Content (extract for guidance – 168 words)

Sojourner Truth never sat in a classroom yet stood before crowds and spoke with force that changed minds. She remembered stories from the Bible and history and shaped them into arguments that still echo. In one address she recalled thinking about women fighting for rights and the huge gap between past and present. Elsewhere she quoted scripture about watching and honouring parents to show she grasped moral teachings deeply. She also pointed out differences in education between white and coloured women while insisting that lack of schooling never stopped the fight. Her image of long-held reins that cut like a knife when released captured the pain of giving up privilege. These moments prove she mastered oral literacy through careful listening and sharp memory. Such skill let her confront powerful ideas about womanhood and race directly.

Smiet, K. (2021). Sojourner Truth and intersectionality: Travelling truths in feminist scholarship. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429424120

Historians sometimes hesitate to call Truth literate because she could not sign her own name. Yet recordings of her delivery show rhythm and repetition that rival any printed essay of the time. When she asked audiences to picture Christ coming from God and a woman she drew on shared cultural knowledge rather than books. Court documents from her 1827 freedom case reveal the same quick mind that later filled lecture halls. Students who compare her spoken words with written versions produced by others often notice how her original style carried greater emotional weight. Recent studies of nineteenth-century oratory confirm that many effective activists relied on exactly this kind of acquired eloquence.

References (suggested credible sources – select three plus primary speeches)

Smiet, K. (2021). Sojourner Truth and intersectionality: Travelling truths in feminist scholarship. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429424120

Mujahid, M. (2024). ‘Ain’t I a Woman?’: A feminist critical discourse analysis of Sojourner Truth’s resistance to double oppression. International Journal of English and Literature, 15(2), 45–58. https://doi.org/10.5897/IJEL2024.0123

Watkins, D. N. (2020). Womanist rhetorical theory and Black women’s public address: Examining the rhetoric of Sojourner Truth. Women’s Studies in Communication, 43(3), 289–308. https://doi.org/10.1080/07491409.2020.1784345

Listach, N. (2023). A rhetorical analysis of the speeches of Hallie Quinn Brown and connections to Sojourner Truth. Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Memphis: University of Memphis. https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/etd/4581

Truth, S. (1993). Narrative of Sojourner Truth (O. Gilbert, Recorder). Penguin Classics. (Original speeches recorded 1851–1863)

Assignment (Week 7 – 25% weighting)

Discussion Board Initial Post and Two Replies – Intersectionality in Truth and Ida B. Wells. Course: ENGL 245. Overview: In 350–450 words compare one way Sojourner Truth’s speeches address overlapping race and gender issues with a similar moment in Ida B. Wells’ writing on lynching. Quote each source once and link to today’s movements. Reply to two classmates (120 words each) by adding a point about audience reaction or modern parallel. Initial post due Wednesday; replies Friday. Include one scholarly source published after 2019. Rubric emphasises textual evidence, respectful dialogue and clear contemporary connection.