Engl. 571-01 International Literature

Theme: Back-to-Africa


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Writing Assignments




Paper #1: Gordimer and Ndebele

Due Date: Friday, 9/24. Late papers will be downgraded.


Length: 3-4 pages (typed, double-spaced). If secondary sources are consulted, use MLA documentation (online) and add a separate "Works Cited" page. See also typing instructions (online).


Grading: 15% of final grade, based on substantive content; insight into your material; focus and organization; quality and appropriateness of your evidence; documentation (if needed); and grammar.


Topic: Read Nadine Gordimer's Once Upon a Time (online) and Njabulo Simakahle Ndebele's "Death of a Son" in Global Voices, eds. Arthur W. Biddle and others, pp. 391-99 (on Library Reserve), plus the background material on "apartheid" listed on the Reading Schedule. Then compare and contrast Gordimer's and Ndebele's depictions of black and white lives under apartheid in South Africa during the post-World War II era.

STUDY QUESTIONS: In both stories, a son dies. What are the contributing causes and effects? How is the child's life and death related to the larger social and political situation in South Africa as portrayed in the story? What role does race play in each story? (Please note that these questions are for "studying" the stories. They are not intended as an outline for your paper.)

As you study the story, develop a solid thesis about this topic--some conclusion you have arrived at--and make sure you cite lots of examples and details from the story to support and illustrate your thesis and sub-points. And make sure you discuss and explain your evidence.



See also Organizing your Paper and Avoiding Plagiarism and MLA style and Typing Directions.




PAPER #2: Danticat

Due Date: Monday, 10/25. Late papers will be downgraded.


Length: 5-6 pages (typed, double-spaced). If secondary sources are consulted, use MLA documentation (online) and add a separate "Works Cited" page. See also typing instructions (online).


Grading: 25% of final grade, based on substantive content; insight into your material; focus and organization; quality and appropriateness of your evidence; documentation (if needed); and grammar.


Topic: Read the following stories from Edwidge Danticat's Krik! Krak!: "Nineteen Thirty-Seven," "The Missing Peace," and "Epilogue." Discuss Danticat's theme of the legacy of the mothers in these stories (as well as in the entire collection).

STUDY QUESTIONS: What do the daughters learn from the lives and/or deaths of their mothers? Discuss the gendering of conflicting values in the stories (female vs male values). What are those values? Which values finally prevail? How and why? (Please note that these questions are for "studying" the stories. They are not intended as an outline for your paper.)

As you study the story, develop a solid thesis about this topic--some conclusion you have arrived at--and make sure you cite lots of examples and details from the story to support and illustrate your thesis and sub-points. And make sure you discuss and explain your evidence.



See also Organizing your Paper and Avoiding Plagiarism and MLA style and Typing Directions.




ORGANIZING YOUR PAPER

All essays, long or short, should include these three basic parts:


INTRODUCTION:
Introductions in short papers should be short--maybe 4-5 sentences long. Begin with some general statement about your topic, plus the author and title somewhere in the opening sentence (In "Once Upon a Time," Nadine Gordimer presents . . . ). Perhaps provide some pertinent background, or explain how your topic will enrich our understanding of some aspect of the literary text, or briefly indicate some point of scholarly contention or divergent interpretations of the literary text or some aspect of it. Most of the introduction will be your own writing, but it is all right to include short paraphrases/quotations, properly cited, of course.

NOTE: End the introductory paragraph with your thesis statement. Remember, your thesis is what the rest of the paper will be about. Do not phrase it as a question, but rather as an assertion--your overall conclusion about what your paper adds up to.


BODY OF PAPER:
Since you can't talk about everything at once, sub-divide your thesis/conclusion into 4-6 sub-points. Those sub-points will form the topic sentences--your own writing, what you have to say about that subject, the point you want to make in that paragraph.

NOTE: The topic sentence should be placed at the beginning of the body paragragh.


WRITING TIP: It is often effective to arrange your sub-points according to the Order of Climax--begin with your second-best sub-point followed by your weakest sub-point and then work your way up to your best sub-point at the end so that the paper finishes on a strong note. Whatever order you use, always end with your strongest material.


Each topic sentence should be followed by lots of specific details and examples and short quotations, etc., from your texts, as well as your explanation/analysis of that information.


NOTE: I hate skimpy paragraphs that are only 1-2 sentences long; put some meat on those bones--another 6-7 sentences of details and examples and explanations, please!)


For quotations from primary sources (the stories under discussion), include a page number (in parenthesis) directly after the quote. The author's name may precede the quotation or be placed in the parenthesis with the page number. (I prefer the first option.) Avoid long quotations in short papers. It is often much more effective to work a quoted word or short phrase into your own sentence.


CONCLUSION:
Conclusions in short papers should be short--maybe 3-4 sentences long.

NOTE: Begin the concluding paragraph with a re-statement of your opening thesis/conclusion--but in language different than was used in the introduction.

In a couple more sentences, refer to your topic as a whole-- why it is significant and worth studying, for instance, or finally, what it all adds up to. In a short paper, do not repeat your sub-points--much too repetitious!



See also Avoiding Plagiarism and MLA style and Typing Directions.




AVOIDING PLAGIARISM



See also Organizing your Paper and MLA style and Typing Directions.




CITING SOURCES, MLA STYLE

See this short summary of MLA style: Using Modern Language Association (MLA) Format (see sub-headings in left column). Together, they give the basic "rules" for in-text citation and bibliographies, including how to cite electronic sources.


Put all documentation on a separate bibliography page (labeled "Works Cited") and follow MLA directions.


See an example of Basic Paper Format (scroll down the page) and an example of a Works Cited Page. However, place the words "Works Cited" in the center of the page--like a title.


For more detailed information on MLA style, consult a hardcopy of the "official" MLA Handbook.



See also Organizing your Paper and Avoiding Plagiarism and and Typing Directions.




TYPING DIRECTIONS

Use Times New Roman font, size 11 or 12. Double-space everything--no exceptions. Use one-inch margins on all sides. Include your last name and page number in top-right corner, 1/2 inch from top. (Carefully handwrite it in if you do not know how to do that on a computer.)


On the first page, in the top-left corner, put your name, your instructor's name, the class name and number, and the date. Below that, in the center of the page, add a title.


See an MLA example (scroll down the page): Basic Paper Format


Put all documentation on a separate page as shown here: Works Cited Page. NOTE: In that example, the heading "Works Cited" should be centered on the page (like a title).



See also Organizing your Paper and Avoiding Plagiarism and MLA style.




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