1750-2000 words in MLA format for an essay. Final draft is due December 17. Five outside sources not from Signs of Life. This is a research paper, so you need to show appropriate use of research. You may incorporate as many articles from Signs of Life as you wish, they just won't count toward the research requirement. After all, essays from Signs are assigned, you did not locate them as part of research activity. All sources must be properly cited within the text and a works cited. essay 1: Craft your own essay topic. Create your own tailor-made essay topic just for you! Base your topic on one of the issues of the course. You may further explore a topic already discussed in the course (do not replicate a previous essay), or interrogate a related issue which may be connected but was brought up in the course only in passing or not at all. Your topic must be focused on concerns of semiotics and American Culture. This is not an opportunity for you to recycle an essay for another course. (I know you wouldn't do this, but just have to say it.) You can (and I strongly recommend you) discuss your topic with me to get feedback on what you are planning and whether it will be appropriate. I suggest doing this before you get to your peer review day. essay2: Write a research essay looking at how a current social or political movement (BLM, Women's March, #MeToo, for example) is utilizing signs of American culture to make their appeals to the general public to create change. Define the movement you are focusing on for your reader. Look at how it conveys its message to the public. How is the movement utilizing semiotic analysis to persuade? What communication methods does the movement use and how does it adapts its message to each? Has the current pandemic impacted this movement? These are just some of the questions to explore. A successful essay will ask appropriate questions based on the subject, not just use these examples (which may not apply to all cases).