PAPER #1: TOLSTOY AND ZOLA
Due: Wed., 10/24
Length: 6 typed pages
Grading: 20% of final grade; based on substantive content, insight into your material, focus and organization, quality and appropriateness of your evidence, documentation (if needed), grammar.
Topic: Discuss one of the following topics. Select aspects of character, action, symbols, setting, allegory, point-of-view, etc., and analyze how Tolstoy and Zola convey their themes as well as what the themes are.
- Compare and contrast the treatments of adultery in Tolstoy and Zola, looking in particular
at Anna and Gervaise. How and why does it happen? Does adultery have the same meaning in the two novels and in the two different
classes represented? What is its impact on individuals and on society as a whole in both novels?
- Compare and contrast the meaning of work in Tolstoy and Zola, looking in particular
at Levin, the peasants in Tolstoy, Coupeau, and the Lorilleux. What is its function and purpose
with the various groups and individuals? How do the work conditions influence the characters' views
of themselves and of society? How do their work-attitudes reflect their philosophies of life?
- Compare and contrast the treatments of alcohol/drug consumption and
addiction in Tolstoy and Zola. (Perhaps include food consumption or other forms of intoxication
in your discussion.) What view of life and society is reflected in such activities? How and why
do individuals get caught up in excesses/addictions? What long-range impact does it have on their lives?
- Compare and contrast the symbolisms of machines in Tolstoy and Zola. What ideas does each author associate with the machines (look closely at the descriptive language used)? What is the relationship of the machines to the characters' sense of self and of their place in the modern world?
As you study the novel, develop a solid thesis about your selected topic--some conclusion you have arrived at--and make sure you cite lots of examples and details from the novel to support and illustrate your thesis and sub-points.
NOTE: This assignment does not require secondary research of Tolstoy and Zola
criticism, but if you consult outside sources,
make sure you cite them in your paper.
(See
Avoiding Plagiarism.)
See also Organizing your Paper and MLA style and Typing Directions.
PAPER #2: Dangarembga
Due: Fri., Nov. 16
Length: 6-8 typed pages
Grading: 20% of final grade; based on substantive content, insight into your material, focus and organization, quality and appropriateness of your evidence, documentation (if needed), grammar.
Topic: Topic: Discuss one of the following topics. Select aspects of character, action, symbols, setting, allegory, point-of-view, etc., and analyze how Dangarembga develops her themes as well as what the themes are.
- Character analysis of Babamukuru: his values, hopes, fears, needs; his strengths
and weaknesses; how he handles the divide between his African roots and his European
culture/identity; his understanding of himself, how others view him, how the author views him.
You may also want to compare-contrast him with other male figures in the novel.
- The theme of education: formal and experiential; different kinds of education;
the goals of formal education; the gains and losses of becoming educated. Focus primarily on
Tambu, but you may also want to compare-contrast her education with that of other characters
in the novel. What has Tambu learned by the end of the novel?
- Analysis of the relationship between Tambu and Nyasha: how and why it develops; the different stages the relationship goes through; what they have in common; their differences; Nyasha as Tambu’s “double,” in some respects. You may also want to compare-contrast their relationship with other female relationships in the novel.
As you study the novel, develop a solid thesis about your selected topic--some conclusion you have arrived at--and make sure you cite lots of examples and details from the novel to support and illustrate your thesis and sub-points.
NOTE: This assignment does not require secondary research of
Dangarembga
criticism, but if you consult outside sources,
make sure you cite them in your paper.
(See
Avoiding Plagiarism.)
See also Organizing your Paper and MLA style and Typing Directions.
ORGANIZING YOUR PAPER
All essays 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 (if you are going to write about the significance of the settings, get the word "settings," plus the author(s) and title(s), somewhere in the opening sentence). Perhaps provide some pertinent background, or explain how your topic will enrich our understanding of some aspect of the literary work(s). Most of the introduction will be your own writing, but it is all right to include short paraphrases/quotations, properly cited, of course. End the paragraph with your overall thesis/conclusion. Remember that your thesis is what the rest of the paper will be about.
Body of Paper:
Since you can't talk about everything at once, sub-divide your thesis/conclusion into 5-6 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 body paragraph.
WRITING TIP: 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.
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.
For quotations, include a page number (in parenthesis) directly after the quote. Avoid long quotations in short papers. It is often much more effective to work a quoted word or short phrase into your own sentence.
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!)
Conclusion:
Conclusions in short papers should be short--maybe 3-4 sentences long. (Longer papers can support a longer conclusion.) Begin the concluding paragraph with a re-statement of your opening thesis/conclusion--but in language very 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.
NOTE: 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
- 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 paraphrased and quoted secondary material (articles on your topic, etc.).
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, created by the Purdue University Online Writing Lab. It gives the basic "rules" for in-text citation and bibliographies, including how to list Electronic Sources. See also MLA Style: Frequently Asked Questions.
Put all documentation on a separate bibliography page (labeled "Works Cited") and follow MLA directions.
For more detailed information on MLA style, consult a hardcopy of the "official" MLA Handbook.
See Organizing your Paper and Avoiding Plagiarism 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).
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 page, add a title.
See an MLA example (scroll down the page): Paper Format--Example
Put all documentation on a separate page and follow MLA directions.
See Organizing your Paper and Avoiding Plagiarism and MLA style.
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