1. Home

"American Hypocrisy": Political Critique in J. Cole's "High for Hours"

This analytical essay on J. Cole's "High for Hours" describes the cultural and historical contexts necessary to understanding the messages about institutionalized anti-Black racism and the idea of American exceptionalism, including slavery and the War on Terror. The student also explores the use of personal experience and biography.
PAGES
2
WORDS
463
  Cite
View Full Essay
About this essay
This essay received a B by one of Kibin's paper graders. Click here to see what was done well and what needs improvement.

More essays like this:

Not sure what I'd do without @Kibin
- Alfredo Alvarez, student @ Miami University
Exactly what I needed.
- Jenna Kraig, student @ UCLA
Wow. Most helpful essay resource ever!
- Chris Stochs, student @ UC Berkeley
Generating Preview...
This essay received a B by one of Kibin's paper graders. Click here to see what was done well and what needs improvement.

More essays like this:

Not sure what I'd do without @Kibin
- Alfredo Alvarez, student @ Miami University
Exactly what I needed.
- Jenna Kraig, student @ UCLA
Wow. Most helpful essay resource ever!
- Chris Stochs, student @ UC Berkeley

View other essays like this one:

Bridget's feedback:

"You are off to a good start! Now that you've chosen the specific quotations to function as evidence, I recommend reviewing the follow-up for each quotation to make sure you are pushing the discussion beyond summary and into analysis. For example, the reader probably doesn't need a recap of the lyric about the Toyota; but the point about confidence is important. Can you revise that sentence to center the analytical claim without the padding of summary? Do this with the other examples you bring up. This will tighten up the discussion and keep the focus on interpretation and analysis.

I notice a few assessments across the essay that will need to be explored further. These include "a few oddities" and "end with a vague statement," suggesting a lack of control in the text. Is this your position? If so, this should be clarified and built up as a claim. This may, on the other hand, be a word choice issue that can be fixed up with some targeted revision.

Another example of opportunities to assert control over the language in the interest of precision is your second sentence ("This poem dramatizes..."). Note that this sentence is written to suggest that "the conflicts between European settlers..." is the main idea of the track; the next sentence also suggests it's about the Revolutionary War. Is this the case? If not, revise this to best convey the point. (Perhaps this is a note about the historical context.)

Other issues to resolve include making sure to mention J. Cole, as you would any author, and formatting the quotations according to your style guide. Like the above suggestions, these help create clarity and guide the reader."

Learn more about this feedback