How? What are its causes?
How do characters attempt to deal with their guilt? You might consider the
therapeutic role that
storytelling itself plays in this context
Grading Criteria: Your
essays in this course will be graded based on content and structure.
Content refers to the thesis of your essay and its elaboration into
an effective argument through the coordination of primary and secondary ideas,
analysis of and critical engagement with the text(s), and the incorporation of
textual evidence and other supporting examples.
Structure refers to the form of the essay, which, in the broadest
sense, includes an introduction where you state your thesis, a body where you
develop your argument and main ideas, and a conclusion, where, ideally, you do
more than simply summarize your argument.
More specifically, a structurally sound essay is one in which your main
points and ideas are logically presented and organized through effective
paragraphing, and where paragraphs are effectively constructed (with
transitions between them) through proper sentence structure, correct grammar,
and punctuation. So please carefully proofread your graded draft, which means
more than simply running a spell check.
For a more detailed
explanation of the grading criteria, click on the link “My Criteria for
Evaluating Your Essays.”
Format
Your essay must be
typed in standard font size (10- or 12-point) and style and double-spaced with
one-inch or 1.25-inch margins. Include
your name, the course number, my name, and the date in the upper left corner of
the first page. A header consisting of your last name and page number should be
located in the upper right corner of all but the first page of your essay. You
do not need a title page, but your essay should have a relevant title
(preferably something thoughtful, clever, or suggestive) centered near the top
of the first page.
All references to
primary and secondary sources should be appropriately cited using MLA or APA,
which means, respectively, a “Works Cited” or “References” page at the end of your
essay and parenthetical page references within the body of your essay, or
Turabian (Chicago), which is the footnote or endnote citation style. For
questions about and examples of these, please go the library’s website, which
can be accessed via the “Academics” drop-down menu at the top of the Owl’s Nest
homepage. Under “Writing a Paper,” click on “Citation Guides” or “Tutorials and
Handouts.” The library has printed versions of these documents available as
well. Click on “Databases” in the upper-left-hand corner of the library’s
homepage to link to the library’s database collection.
Remember: one of the
two 3-5-page essays you write for this class must be a research paper. The 2-3-
page papers are each worth 10% of your grade, and the 3-5-page papers are each
worth 15% of your grade. It’s up to you to decide which essay will be of what
length. Although I would not recommend it, if you intend to make this first
essay your research essay, please contact me first. And last but certainly not
least, please carefully proofread your final draft, which means more than
simply running a spell check.
Guidelines
Whether you choose one of the topics below or develop
one of your own, I am looking for a focused and thoughtfully developed essay
that engages closely with the text. There are no right or wrong answers here;
there are only strong arguments and weak arguments. In this context, a
strong argument is one that is focused on a central idea or claim and is
developed through careful attention to details. It avoids gross
generalizations, unsubstantiated claims, and excessive plot summary; but
it doesn’t necessarily shy away from complexities and the risks involved in
entertaining them—the result is typically a more interesting essay.
·
Avoid the five-paragraph essay structure.
·
Assume that your reader is familiar with the
text but is not a part of our class, so don’t refer to the class.
·
Wherever possible, avoid using the pronouns “I,”
“we,” and especially “you.”
·
Wherever possible write in the present tense
when writing about literary works and film.
·
Underline or italicize the title of a full-length
work, whether it’s a book, a journal, a newspaper, a CD, etc.; put the title of
a shorter work that is part of a longer work in quotation marks, whether it is
a story, a poem, an article, a song, etc. (e.g., Tales from the Thousand and One Nights, but “The Fisherman and the
Jinnee”). But don’t underline or italicize the title of your own essay.
·
Quotations of longer than four lines should be
blocked off from the rest of your text by single-spacing and indenting them.
·
Please reread the “Plagiarism” section on the
syllabus.