English 2235 / Spring 2004

Literary Analysis and Synthesis Essay

Background:

Anoka Ramsey Community College has invited author/poet Louise Erdrich to our Coon Rapids campus on Wednesday, February 11, 2004.  (Prior to this semester, English faculty decided to use her novel, Tracks, as the common text in many of our courses.)  Erdrich will be reading her novel, Tracks, and speaking to students, faculty, and staff from 1:00 to 1:45 p.m. in the theater and from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. (College Hour) in B 235.  Book purchase and signing will be available after the College Hour presentation.

Erdrich is the author of eight novels, two books of poetry, a memoir, children's books, and more.   Her novels explore Native American culture and experiences, often through multiple narrators who weave together intricate and vivid stories, many of which occur in the fictional town of Argus, North Dakota.  She has received numerous awards for her work, including the National Book Critics Circle Award for Love Medicine, the Los Angeles Times award for best novel, and the Pushcart Prize.

Assignment:

For this course, I am asking you to write an essay of 4 to 6 pages about some of Louise Erdrich’s shorter work.  More specifically, I am asking you to read and study a variety of short texts, in different genres (nonfiction, short story, and poetry), written by Erdrich, to discover whatever you can find in them about her writing process, her subject matter, her approach to her subject matter, her style, her growth over time, etc.  I do not want you to do any research; instead, I want you to work closely with the primary texts, studying them individually and then collectively.  Look for how the texts “do” similar things, look for how the texts support each other, look for how the texts “speak to” each other, and look for how the texts possibly contradict each other.  You must refer to all of the texts listed below as you write your paper.

Throughout the semester, I have dedicated five (5) days to Louise Erdrich and to this paper.  Below, I have noted which texts we will be studying on which days, when we will have the peer review, and when the paper will be due.  If you have any questions at any time throughout the semester, please ask!

Wednesday, February 11, 2004:

• Louise Erdrich Background Information – NAAL, Volume E, pages 2561-2562
   
• “Fleur” – a short story from her novel, Tracks – NAAL, Volume E, pages 2562-2571
   
• Note: You are required to attend one of the visiting writer sessions on this day.  Take good notes on whatever is interesting to you, especially as it might relate to her writing as a whole; your notes will be collected on Friday, February 13, 2004, and returned to you shortly thereafter.

Friday, March 26, 2004:

• “Turn Signals” – an essay from The New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2003, page 133 – use PALS (www.pals.msus.edu) or another magazine article database to obtain.
   
• “Sister Godzilla: A Short Story” – a story from The Atlantic Monthly, Feb. 2001, pages 96-99 – use PALS (www.pals.msus.edu) or another magazine article database to obtain.

Monday, April 5, 2004:

• “A Love Medicine” – a poem I will hand out to you.
   
• “Indian Boarding School: The Runaways” – a poem I will hand out to you.
   
• “Dear John Wayne” – a poem I will hand out to you.

Wednesday, April 7, 2004:

• No Class / Writing Day – work on drafting your Louise Erdrich essay; I will be available to answer questions in my office (H 131).

Friday, April 9, 2004:

• Peer Review Day for the Louise Erdrich essay – bring four (4) copies of a complete draft to class; failure to appear or to be prepared for the peer review will result in your essay grade being lowered one full letter grade.

Monday, April 19, 2004:

• The final draft of your Louise Erdrich essay is due.

Other Information

Your essay should have an introduction, a thesis statement, several body paragraphs, and a conclusion.  Your thesis should clearly state your overall position about how the texts relate to one another; your thesis might also state the approach you intend to take in your essay (e.g. “forecasting” your main ideas).  Your body paragraphs should give specific examples, details, and explanations to support your analysis and synthesis of the texts.  It might help you to think of the essay as an argument—you are presenting your opinion about how the texts relate to one another.  Perhaps think of your audience as someone who has read the texts but who has not thought about them in the same way that you have.  You want to convince your readers that your understanding of the relationship between the texts is plausible and merits their time and thought.  Because you can assume your intended audience has read the works you will be writing about, do not spend much time, if any, summarizing the work.  Your goal, as alluded to above, is to teach your reader something new, to discuss something they might not have thought about, or to show a different approach to seeing the texts.

Your essay should be between 4 and 6 pages long.  It should be word-processed, double-spaced throughout, and use a 12-point “normal” font (Times New Roman or Arial).  It should have the following information in the upper left-hand corner of the first page: your name, the course information, my name, and the date.  The title should be centered a double space below the date.  Finally, you should observe the conventions of grammar, punctuation, spelling, and mechanics used in standard edited American English.  You will receive an evaluation criteria sheet before the essay is due.

A.R.C.C. Coon Rapids Campus Library Home Page: www.anokaramsey.edu/library/coonrapids.cfm

©2004 Scott R. Stankey / All Rights Reserved