English 2328
Spring 2003
Essay 2 – Assignment
Draft Due  - 4/15
Final (revision with rough draft, and sources attached) - 5/1

 

Choose one of the following texts: Washington, Up From Slavery, Black Elk, “The Great Vision,” Chopin, The Awakening, or Anderson, Winesburg Ohio, Dorothy Parker, Three Poems, or Frost, “The Gift Outright.”  Reread and reflect upon it, then consider which of the following questions might be most fruitfully investigated.  Choose one from which you will ultimately derive your thesis.

1. What kinds of behavior, what models of practice, does this work seem to enforce?
2. Why might readers at a particular time and place find this work compelling?
3. Are there differences between my values and the values implicit in the work I am reading?
4. Upon what social understandings does the work depend? [i.e. what ideas about the world, social order, history are taken as a given?]
5. Whose freedom of thought or movement might be constrained [or unleashed] implicitly or explicitly by this work?
6. What are the larger social structures with which these particular acts of praise or blame might be connected? (226)

The essay should be five, double-spaced typed-pages long; it should be titled, divided into paragraphs (including introduction and conclusion); and should develop a clearly expressed thesis statement.

 

Research and Sources

Requirements:

In addition to the text about which you are writing, you should locate secondary sources that will help you advance your thesis. These sources should include:

 

1. Primary Text (poem, story, or essay from the Norton)
2. Sherwood, Kenneth. “An Overview of Cultural Criticism.”  English 2328-Fall2003.  19 January 2003 University of Texas of the Permian Basin. <http://www.utpb.edu/courses/sherwood/engl2328S03/2328s03Docs/Overview-CulturalCrit.html> 3 April 2003
3. Critical Source 1 (a scholarly article from a journal or book)*
4. Critical Source 2 (same as above, or another authoritative literary commentary, like an academic website)
5. Author Entry, from Contemporary Authors or Dictionary of Literary Biography
6. Historical Source 1 (Either Period or Author introduction from Norton)
7. Historical Source 2 (authoritative website, associated with a university course, museum, library, PBS series, etc.)

 

Finding Sources:

1. Critical Sources - Several databases accessible in the UTPB library will assist you in finding academic articles (the MLA Bibliography (Wilson Select), JSTOR, Project Muse, LION, and Galenet may all be used). Consider also searching the library catalog, which will list books such as essay collections devoted to the author.

 

2. Contemporary Authors and the Dictionary of Literary Biography – These two reference series are held by the library and accessible through the Galnet database too.  Ask a reference librarian for assistance finding the physical volumes. Note too that each typically has a bibliography.

 

3. Historical Sources – Use a search engine such as google.com, yahoo.com, or teoma to seek out information on the period or issues of relevance to your essay. (You might want to know about when women were regularly admitted to US Colleges or background on the Native American Reservation system.) Consider adding a term like “university” or “syllabus” to your search, which may lead you to useful sources already selected by a teacher, scholar or student.

 

Using Sources:

For a literary analysis such as this one, there are a number of ways to use sources.  Use may include direct quotation or paraphrase.  You should aim to identify reliable sources that contribute to your argument an idea about the interpretation of the work, a fact about the reaction of a period audience, historical background knowledge, etc.  The effectiveness of your usage will be key; be sure not to slip into research-regurgitation mode. 

 

Incorporating and Citing Sources:

Any source you use (directly or indirectly) should be cited with page number in the text and listed on the Works Cited page at the end of your essay.  Your A Short Guide to Writing About Literature will guide you in how to incorporate and cite properly.  Purdue’s Online Writing Lab has a useful handout (see Links Page for additional writing advice). 

 

Reminder: While researching, don’t give in to the temptation to borrow without crediting.  See my statement on Academic Honesty, you handbook, and the Purdue guide.  When in doubt, give credit to your source!

 

Format:

Use a readable 12-point font; double-spaced; 1-inch margins.  Fasten simply with a staple. Beginning on the second page, place your last name and page number in the upper-right corner. Indent paragraphs 5 spaces/half-inch and block quotations 10-spaces (anything over three-lines in length). Use MLA in-text citation format to attribute quotations and paraphrased material. Your paper should conclude with a Works Cited page that includes any class texts utilized as well as the source information for the object of your interpretation. Do not plagiarize. (Check out the MLA Guide in the library or handouts from our Writing Center for citation format questions.)

 

Use the following layout:

 

 

 

Cheating, Plagiarism, and Collusion UTPB Policy on Scholastic Dishonesty Students are expected to be above reproach in all scholastic activities. Students who engage in scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the possibility of failure in the course and dismissal from the university. 'Scholastic dishonesty includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the submission for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another person, taking an examination for another person, any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student or the attempt to commit such acts.' Regents' Rules and Regulations, Part One, Chapter VI, Section 3, Subsection 3.2, Subdivision 3.22. Since scholastic dishonesty harms the individual, all students, and the integrity of the university, policies on scholastic dishonesty will be strictly enforced--Student Discipline for Scholastic Dishonesty: A Guide for Administrators, Faculty, and Hearing Officers (28). See also: www.utpb.edu/UTPB_Student/Students/StudentLife/StudentService_Other/StudentGuide/main_student_guide.htm

 

Scholastic Dishonesty is a serious matter. I am savvy and vigilant in detecting students who use unattributed web sources , "collaborate" with fellows students, or utilize other "clever" methods to enhance their grades. Take the grade you honestly earn on an assignment. Should a classmate attempt to use your work, refuse; I make no distinction between cheaters and those who aid them. A plagiarized assignment will earn you a zero for the assignment and referral to the Vice President for disciplinary action.