Kudrat Mann - 798833 February 12, 2021

Supported Opinion Paragraph Organizer

Topic sentence​ to (1) ​Answer the question​ and (2) ​list​ your supporting Single Story has been used to cause harm as single stories lead to
points​ in the same ​order​ they will appear below. single-sided and often incomplete conclusions, creating
stereotypes, moreover making the people who listen to these
single more narrow-minded/closed-minded.

Point 1: Single stories lead to single-sided, often incomplete conclusions.

Evidence for point 1: “I wrote exactly the kinds of stories I was reading. All my
characters were white and blue-eyed. They played in the snow.
They ate apples... And they talked a lot about the weather, how
lovely it was that the sun had come out.”

Explanation of how and why that evidence supports your point:
In the TED talk, ​Chimamanda states that when she was a young
girl, she would write and illustrate stories about only white kids with
blue eyes who played in the snow because this is what she read
about all those books by American authors. However, this is
incorrect. Only 22.9% of the American population is white with blue
eyes, and only about 60% of Americans experience snow. Those
books left young Chimamanda to make the single-sided and
incomplete conclusion that most, if not all, Americans are white
with blue eyes which play in the snow. But the positive side is that
this conclusion is particularly negative, just a single-sided
conclusion.

Point 2: Single stories create stereotypes.

Evidence for point 2: “So the year I turned eight, we got a new house boy. His name
was Fide. The only thing my mother told us about him was that his
family was very poor. My mother sent yams and rice, and our old
clothes, to his family.”

Explanation of how and why that evidence supports your point:
Chimamanda tells a story about when her family got a house boy,
Fida. Chimamanda’s mother tells her that this boy was poor and
led Chimamanada to believe he was nothing but a boy from a poor
family. Later, when Chimamanda’s family went to visit the Fida.
Chimamanda was surprised to see that Fida’s brother had artistic
abilities because before this, in Chimamanda Fida’s family’s eyes
were nothing but poor. In this case, Chimamanda’s single-story

Point 3:
Evidence for point 3:
Explanation of how and why that evidence supports your point:
Concluding sentence that ​restates​ your topic sentence ​using different
words.
Do not​ use phrases like, "In my opinion"; "I believe"; "I personally believe".
Do not​ introduce your points using "first"/"firstly"/"to begin"; "second"/"secondly"; "third"/"thirdly. ​Use some of the suggestions below instead.
Do​ use transition words like​:
was a negative story.
Makes the person listening to these single stories narrow-minded/
closed-minded
“There were endless stories of Mexicans as people who were
fleecing the healthcare system, sneaking across the border, being
arrested at the border, that sort of thing.”
Before Chimamanda visited Mexico, she would see on the news
and be told things from political leaders things that put Mexicans in
a bad light. The media had portrayed Mexican people as illegal
immigrants, who only come to America to leech off the health care
benefits, and Chimamanda believed these things and so would
another person because we are told that our political leaders and
the news outlets are always right and factual.
To conclude, single-story can and, in fact do lead to single-sided
and often incomplete conclusions, creating stereotypes, as well as
making the people who listen to these single more
narrow-minded/closed-minded.
 How have “single stories” been used to cause harm?

Single Stories have been used to cause harm as they lead to single-sided and often incomplete conclusions, creating stereotypes, moreover
making the people who listen to these single stories more narrow-minded. Single stories lead to single-sided, often incomplete conclusions. "I wrote
exactly the kinds of stories I was reading. All my characters were white and blue-eyed. They played in the snow. They ate apples. And they talked a
lot about the weather, how lovely it was that the sun had come out." In the TED talk, Chimamanda states that when she was a young girl, she would
write and illustrate only about Caucasian kids with blue eyes who played in the snow because this is all she read about in those books by American
authors. However, this is incorrect. Only about 22.9% of the American population is white with blue eyes, and only about 60% of Americans
experience snow. Those books left young Chimamanda to make an incomplete conclusion that most, if not all, Americans are white with blue eyes
that play in the snow. Nevertheless, the positive side is that this conclusion is not a particularly negative story, just one-sided (as the difference
between an incomplete conclusion and a stereotype is that stereotypes are often negative). Single stories create stereotypes. "So the year I turned
eight, we got a new house boy. His name was Fide. The only thing my mother told us about him was that his family was poor. My mother sent yams
and rice, and our old clothes, to his family." Chimamanda tells a story about when her family got a house boy, Fide. Chimamanda's mother tells her
that this boy was poor and led Chimamanda to believe he was nothing but a boy from a poverty-stricken family. Later, when Chimamanda's family
went to visit Fide's home. Chimamanda was surprised to see that Fide's brother had artistic abilities because before this, in Chimamanda's mind,
Fide's family was nothing but poor. In this case, Chimamanda's single-story was a negative story, as she assumed he nor his family could not do
anything. Single stories make the person listening to these single stories closed-minded. "There were endless stories of Mexicans as people who
were fleecing the healthcare system, sneaking across the border, being arrested at the border, that sort of thing". Before Chimamanda visited
Mexico, she would hear all kinds of things from the news and political leaders that put the Mexicans in a bad light. The media had portrayed
Mexican people as illegal immigrants, who only come to America to leech off the healthcare system, and Chimamanda believed these things, and
so would any other person because we are told that our political leaders and news outlets are always right and factual. In a sense, influencing
Chimamanda into thinking such thoughts. To conclude, single stories can lead to one-sided and incorrect conclusions, creating stereotypes and
making the people who listen to these single stores more narrow-minded/closed-minded and the best way to prevent this to always do your own
research about such topics and thinking thrice when making an assumption.