Writing Assignments




SHORTER PAPER 1: Danticat

Due Date: Monday, 3/8. Late papers will be downgraded.


Length: 4-5 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: 17% 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 Edwidge Danticat's The Missing Peace (online; wait--it is slow-loading). Borrowing the concept of "daughter of Anacaona" (see Danticat's essay We Are Ugly, But We Are Here), discuss Lamort in Danticat's story as a young woman coming to recognition of herself as a "daughter of Anacaona." 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.

Study Questions: In the first half of the story, what do we learn about Lamort's personal history and present life? How can her personal history be linked to Haitian politics and history? What is meant by "Old Regime" and "New Regime"? How would you characterize the values of the younger generation of the New Regime? What are Lamort's attitudes toward her mother, her aunt, and Emilie Tallant? Significance? Why does Lamort agree to help Emilie, despite the danger? In the second half of the story, what kinds of changes occur in Lamort and why? What key role does Emilie play in those changes? What is the significance of the graveyard encounter? Why are names important in this story, especially the final changed name? What other themes from "We are Ugly . . ." can be found in Danticat's short story?


For information on the author, see the "Danticat" link in the right-hand column on this page, and I strongly recommend that you also read the following short History of Haiti on the "Resources" page.



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




LONGER PAPER 2: FAULKNER

Due Date: Monday, 4/26. Late papers will be downgraded.


Length: 8-9 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: 34% 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 two stories in Faulkner's Go Down, Moses: "The Old People" 155-80, and "Delta Autumn" 317-48. Compare and contrast the hunts or the younger and older Ike.

More information on this assignment will be posted here later.


As you study the stories, 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 stories to support and illustrate your thesis and sub-points. And make sure you discuss and explain your evidence. Please read Organizing your Paper (online).


For information on the author, see the "Faulkner" link in the right column on this page. Scholarly articles are listed under Faulkner on our Resources page.



See 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 Of Love and Shadows, Isabel Allende 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, 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 Avoiding Plagiarism and MLA style and Typing Directions.




AVOIDING PLAGIARISM

  • The language used for paraphrases/summaries should be very different than the original language used by your source.

  • The language used in quotations must be exactly the same as the original language used by your source.

  • Quotation marks must be used around all quotations. If you have a quote-within-a-quote, use a combination of double and single quote marks (see me for assistance).

  • Cite a source for all summarized and all paraphrased and all quoted secondary material (articles on your topic, etc.).


See 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 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 Organizing your Paper and Avoiding Plagiarism and MLA style.








Comments/Suggestions: knichols11@cox.net

Updated: 12-10-12