English 2235 - Spring 2003 Essay - Review and Synthesis of Critical Literature

English 2235 / Spring 2003

Essay Assignment: A Review of Critical Literature

A “review of critical literature” essay is an assignment normally given to graduate students to complete before they begin writing their thesis or dissertation on a particular author or text. The purpose of the “review of critical literature” essay is to research, find, read, synthesize, and present a “survey” of everything (literary scholarship and criticism) that has been written so far about an author and/or a particular text. For graduate students, such an assignment allows them to discover what has already been written about an author and/or a text so that when they begin their own writing, they do not simply repeat something somebody else has said.

Our own task, as undergraduates in this introductory American literature course, will obviously be much more conservative in scope. I am not asking you to find “everything” out there on a writer or a particular text, but I am asking you to find a “sampling” of fairly recent scholarship and criticism written about one author or text on our course reading list. Follow your interest in picking a writer or a text, and seek variety as you look for your sources; in other words, deliberately look for a wide range of sources.

Clearly, this is not the typical “literary analysis research paper” you may have written in the past. This paper will not present an argument about a text and then provide a “close reading” of the text along with what other sources have to say about the text; and, this paper will not present an argument about an author’s life and how events in that person’s life might have influenced the writing of a text. Instead, again, think of this paper as a “survey” and “synthesis” of some recent articles about an author or a text you have read in this course. Use the following ”process” to research, plan, and compose your essay:

1. Pick an author or a specific text that has interested you in this course – choose only from those authors and texts on the official course schedule.

2. Begin by searching WebPALS – www.pals.msus.edu – or MnLINK – www.mnlink.org – and find three (3) scholarly articles or chapters from scholarly books; again, strive for variety. These articles or chapters should each be at least 5 printed pages long. Try to choose fairly recent sources (published within the past 5 years).

3. Then, search the internet / World Wide Web and find three (3) more articles or websites. These may or may not be “scholarly,” but they must each be at least 5 printed pages long. Look for a variety of sources here as well; formal articles or papers are fine, including other student papers on your chosen author or text, but also consider other kinds of web sites and pages. Again, try to choose fairly recent sources if possible (published within the past 5 years).

4. Read through your six (6) selections, highlighting and annotating the texts to note the main ideas, similarities and connections, differences and divergences, and your own reactions, opinions, and evaluations.

5. Finally, write a 4-5 page essay, double-spaced and word-processed, which presents your sampling of recent scholarship on your chosen author or text. Use the following format as you plan and write your essay:

Introduction (1 paragraph) – Identify the author and/or the text you have chosen to research and perhaps summarize your interest in the author/text.
Summaries (6 paragraphs) – Summarize each of your 6 selections, one selection/summary per paragraph, introducing each summary using the author’s name and title of the source and including in each summary the main ideas of each source. This is strictly objective summary here, no personal commentary.
Synthesis (approximately 2 pages) – In this section, perhaps begin by pointing out the similarities/connections and the differences/divergences you discovered in your sources. For example, which sources do/say the same things? How are the sources significantly and subtly different? Do any sources extend or refute other sources? In addition, offer some evaluation of your sources. For example, which sources were particularly well written, argued, or useful? Which sources were poorly written or argued? As you write this section, try not to simply present and comment on each of your sources, one at a time. “Synthesis” means “to bring together.”
Conclusion (1-2 paragraphs) – Wrap up your paper in an interesting and satisfying way. This is now the place to offer more personal commentary or reaction to your sources.

Notes:

You must have a Works Cited page at the end of your essay, presented in standard MLA bibliographic format. I will distribute more about MLA format after spring break.
Be sure to make photocopies and/or printouts of all of your sources, and be sure you have complete publication information (and the location where you found each source). You will be required to submit all your sources in a two-pocket folder along with the final draft of your essay. Essays will not be accepted without the sources.
Four (4) copies of a rough draft will be due in class – see the course schedule – for a peer review. Failure to have copies ready for distribution or failure to attend the peer review will result in the paper grade being lowered one letter.