Getting Started
(I will attach a copy of a few logs i did, and you choose which would be best to write about)
1. Choose at least one work we’ve studied. You can use more than one if you want. I would certainly recommend this if you decide to focus on a poets work. And theres no point in reinventing the wheel: Look back through your logs and choose one thats got real potential for further development.
2. Choose a critical approachhistorical, formalist, biographical, mythological, etc. Apply that critical approach to the work. Weve been practicing this in logs and on the Mid-Term, so you should be familiar with what this involves. You need to nail the characteristics of the critical approach (not just vaguely reference them or, for heavens sake, make them up) and you need to clearly, fully, and definitely support those characteristics with evidence from the story/poem/poems.
3. Develop an original thesis that shows your argument for your particular critical approach.
4. Develop an outline or plan for your paper that shows the following basic elements. Refine this and turn in your outline with your paper:
Intro paragraph with thesis at the end.
Three or four solid supporting paragraphs that address 3-4 specific aspects of your thesis
Conclusion
Write Your Draft
1. As far as length goes, Im looking for approximately 1000 words. Slightly shorter is okay but be thorough. Dont skimp on developing your thoughts, but you dont have to go on and on. The more focused your thesis is, the better and tighter your discussion will be. I need this to be in Word only.
2. This is a documented, cited paper assignment. You must use MLA style for in-text citations for direct quotes from the primary text and cite anything you pull directly from a secondary source, including your textbook.
Caveat: As I have reinforced in this course, you all have great minds and Im interested in your ORIGINAL ideas. Do not, under any circumstances, take a paper from elsewhere. Do not lift things wholesale from some place, paste them in, and hope this passes as your own work. As a formality, the essays will be assessed via Turnitin.
If youre in a real bind with this deadline, by all means, let me know. I will do my best to help you.
3. Proofread! I need this to be your best, most polished effort. Ive overlooked a lot of mistakes in the logs, but I need you to really tighten up on correctness here.
4. When you’re finished, turn in your Word file directly to me, using the Assignment function weve used for those logs that werent posted to Discussions.
