🌟 Writing Exercise (Based on the Passage
Below)
Read this passage carefully:
Critical Appreciation of “The Thing Around Your Neck”
(Point → Quotation → Analysis Format) PQA
1. Narrative Voice Creates Intimacy and Empathy
Point:
Adichie uses the second-person narrative (“you”) to pull the reader directly into Akunna’s
emotional world.
Quotation:
“You thought that in America you would…”
MICROLEVEL: This shows Akunna’s personal suffering.
MACROLEVEL: It suggests the wider experience of immigrants who feel displaced or exploited.
Analysis:
By using “you,” Adichie makes Akunna’s experience universal, inviting the reader to feel her
hopes, fears, and disappointments. It removes distance between the character and the audience,
creating immediacy and personal involvement. This voice also reflects the anonymity and
disorientation of immigration—Akunna becomes “you,” someone whose identity is swallowed
by her environment.
✍️Your Tasks
Task 1: Identify P, Q, A (Very Easy)
Write one sentence each explaining:
1. What is the Point in this passage? ___________________________________________
2. What is the Quotation used? ______________________________________________
3. What is the main idea in the Analysis?_______________________________________
Sentence Starters:
The point in this passage is that Adichie…
The quotation used to show this is…
The analysis explains that…
MODEL ANSWER for guidance
Task 1: Identify P, Q, A
Point
The point in this passage is that Adichie uses the second-person (“you”) to make the
reader feel close to Akunna’s emotions.
Quotation
The quotation used to show this is: “You thought that in America you would…”
Analysis
The analysis explains that the word “you” makes Akunna’s experience feel personal and
universal, helping the reader understand her loneliness, confusion, and hopes.
Task 2: Rewrite the Analysis in Your Own Simple Words
Write 3–4 sentences explaining the analysis in a simpler way.
Sentence Starters:
Adichie uses “you” to make the reader feel…
This helps us understand that Akunna…
It also shows that many immigrants…
The voice makes the reader imagine…
Task 2: Model answer
Adichie uses the word “you” to make the reader feel as if they are in Akunna’s place.
It helps us understand her feelings of disappointment and isolation. It also shows that
many immigrants feel the same way when they move to a new country. The second-
person voice makes Akunna’s experience feel more real and emotional for the reader.
Your
answer:______________________________________________________________________
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Task 3: Write Your Own Short PQA Paragraph
Using the same quotation, write a new, short PQA paragraph about the narrative voice.
Sentence Starters:
Point:
The writer uses the second-person voice to make the reader feel close to Akunna.
Quotation:
This is shown in the quotation, “You thought that in America you would…”
Analysis:
This makes the reader feel as if they are in Akunna’s place because…
It shows that Akunna expected…, but she experienced…
It also suggests that many immigrants feel…
Task 3: Your Own PQA Paragraph ( Model answer)
Adichie uses the second-person voice to make the reader feel close to Akunna’s
emotional journey.
This is shown in the quotation, “You thought that in America you would…”
This helps the reader understand that Akunna expected a better life but instead felt
lonely and disappointed. By saying “you,” the writer makes us imagine that we are the
ones experiencing this, which creates empathy and shows how many immigrants face
similar struggles.
Your answer:
:_____________________________________________________________________________
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Task 4: Micro-Level vs. Macro-Level
Complete the table using one sentence each.
Level What it means in the passage?
Micro-level (Akunna personally) ______________________________
Macro-level (all immigrants) ______________________________
Sentence Starters:
On a micro-level, this shows that Akunna…
On a macro-level, this suggests that many immigrants…
Task 4: Micro-Level vs. Macro-Level Table (Model
Answer)
Level What it means in the passage?
Micro- On a micro-level, this shows that Akunna personally feels lonely, confused, and let
level down in America.
Macro- On a macro-level, this suggests that many immigrants experience disappointment,
level exploitation, and culture shock.
🌟 Writing Exercise
Read this passage:
3. Loneliness Is Personified Through a Powerful Metaphor
Point:
The “thing around your neck” symbolizes Akunna’s emotional suffocation.
Quotation:
“The thing around your neck started to squeeze.”
Analysis:
The metaphor turns loneliness into something physical. The “thing” tightens when Akunna feels
scared, homesick, or disconnected. This shows how her emotional stress feels like real pressure.
Adichie gives shape to immigrant anxiety by describing it as something choking her.
✍️Task 1: Identify P, Q, A
Write 1–2 sentences for each.
1. What is the Point?
Sentence Starter:
The point is that…
_____________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Model Answer:
The point is that Adichie uses the metaphor of “the thing around your neck” to show that Akunna
feels emotionally suffocated. It explains that her loneliness is so strong that it feels like
something is physically tightening around her.
2. What quotation is used?
Sentence Starter:
The quotation used is…________________________________________________________
Model Answer:
The quotation used is: “The thing around your neck started to squeeze.” This line helps the
reader imagine that Akunna’s loneliness feels painful and heavy.
3. What is the main idea in the Analysis?
Sentence Starter:
The analysis shows that…________________________________________________
Model Answer:
The analysis shows that loneliness becomes a physical sensation for Akunna. Instead of just
feeling sad, she feels pressure and tightness, which helps the reader understand the intensity of
her fear, homesickness, and isolation as an immigrant.
✍️Task 2: Simplify the Analysis (Write 3
sentences)
Rewrite the analysis in your own words.
Sentence Starters:
The metaphor shows that…
It makes loneliness feel like…
This helps the reader understand that Akunna…
Model Answer:
The metaphor shows that Akunna’s loneliness feels painful and overwhelming. It makes her
loneliness seem like something squeezing her, not just an emotion. This helps the reader
understand that Akunna’s experience in America is stressful and frightening, and her feelings are
difficult to escape.
✍️Task 3: Write Your Own PQA Paragraph
Use the same quotation to write a short, clear paragraph.
Sentence Starters:
Point:
Adichie uses the metaphor of “the thing around your neck” to show Akunna’s loneliness.
Quotation:
This is shown in the quotation, “The thing around your neck started to squeeze.”
Analysis:
This makes loneliness seem physical because…
It shows that Akunna feels…
It helps the reader understand…
Model Answer:
Adichie uses the metaphor of “the thing around your neck” to show how painful and
overwhelming Akunna’s loneliness becomes. This is shown in the quotation, “The thing around
your neck started to squeeze.” This makes her loneliness seem physical, as if something is
tightening around her and taking away her breath. It shows that Akunna feels trapped, scared,
and emotionally crushed by her new life in America. It also helps the reader understand how
intense and frightening immigration can be when someone has no support or sense of belonging.
Your
answer:______________________________________________________________________
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