English 2235 / Spring 2008
Bibliographic Essay Assignment
Assignment:
Choose one (1) of the following critical articles found at the end of the Norton Critical Edition of Kate Chopin's novel, The Awakening (note: they are all roughly the same length, 4-6 pages):
Then write a bibliographical essay of 2-4 pages. Your essay should contain the following two main sections:
Samples:
The first sample paper is one that I wrote in my World Literature I survey course in the Fall of 1990. We had just finished reading Virgil’s Aeneid, I had particularly liked Book Five, and I wanted to examine it in more depth; in addition, I noticed similarities between this part of the Aeneid and similar sections in Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey. After doing a search for books and/or articles about the Aeneid in general and Book Five in particular, I found the article, “Was Book Five Once in a Different Place in the Aeneid?” in the scholarly journal, American Journal of Philology.
The second sample paper is one that I wrote in my British Literature I survey course in the Fall of 1991. We had studied Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales earlier in the term, I had particularly enjoyed “The Miller’s Tale” -- its story, its form, and its humor -- and I wanted to explore the genre of the fabliau further. After doing a search for books and/or articles about fabliau in general and Chaucer’s fabliau in particular, I found the article, “The English Fabliau Tradition and Chaucer’s ‘Miller’s Tale,’” in the scholarly journal, Modern Philology.
After studying these first two sample papers, you will notice that the summary section in the Brit. Lit. paper is more thorough than the summary in the World Lit. paper; since I want your summary to have some substance to it, follow the Brit. Lit. example. As for the analysis sections, you will notice that each paper takes a different approach: the Brit. Lit. paper takes an “evaluation” approach while the World Lit. paper takes a more “response” approach -- this is because these two assignments were quite different, given by different professors in different courses. The approach you take in your own analysis section is up to you (and you might even combine both “evaluation” and “response” in your analysis), but be sure your analysis section contains your ideas about the article (and Chopin's novel) and does not simply re-summarize it. But follow the World Lit. paper in terms of length for the analysis section; I want your analysis section to be as long, or even a bit longer, than your summary section.
The third sample paper was written by a student in my English 2230: American Literature to 1865 course in the Fall of 2003. Her assignment was exactly the same as the one you have now, but she had to do research to find her article, and her length requirement was 3-5 pages. She chose to write about Frederick Douglass' Narrative.
The fourth sample paper was written by another student in my English 2230: American Literature to 1865 course in the Fall of 2003. Her assignment was exactly the same as the one you have now, but she had to do research to find her article, and her length requirement was 3-5 pages. She chose to write about Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.
Citing Your Sources:
If you include summaries of passages from the article and/or the novel in your essay, if you paraphrase the ideas in a particular passage, if you quote something, you need to let your readers know exactly where in the text of the article or the novel you found the evidence. Since we are using the MLA (Modern Language Association) documentation system and citation styles, you need to keep track of authors and page numbers. If you include the name of the author in your sentence to introduce the textual evidence, then you only need the page number in parentheses at the end of the borrowed material; however, if you introduce the borrowed material in another way, then you will need both the author's last name and the page number in parentheses at the end of the borrowed material.
Finally, since the Norton Critical Edition (the novel and the articles) are common to everyone in class, I am not going to require a Works Cited page for this essay. Additional research is not required, or even recommended, for this essay.
Evaluation:
Your essay will be evaluated based on (1) the accuracy, brevity, and clarity of your summary, (2) the clarity and strength of your analysis -- the “depth” of your critical thinking in your evaluation and/or response, (3) the clarity and logic of your structure, and (4) your use of language -- reasonable “correctness” in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and mechanics. In other words, in addition to the summary, your ideas and how you present and explain them are most important; “grammar” is only taken into account to the degree that it detracts from your presentation. Making unusual connections, offering rigorous analysis, shedding new lights on the texts, showing imaginative thinking, or sparking controversy are all encouraged. Keep in mind that you are able to use the text of the article(s), the novel, and your notes as you write your essay; not only should you go beyond the ideas we talked about in class, but you should also be careful that you are accurate in your use of the authors' names, quotations, and factual details from the text.
Formatting Requirements:
Your essay should be at least two (2) pages long but no longer than four (4) pages -- double-spaced and word-processed -- with 1.0"-1.25” margins on all sides, and a 12-point “normal” font (e.g. Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri). No title page is needed: simply put your name, my name, the course prefix and number, and the date in the upper-left-hand corner of the first page. Note: the sample papers are single spaced without any indentations simply to save paper; do not follow this formatting on your own paper. I will provide more details later about formatting. Finally, check this page and this page for more information about writing papers in literature classes.
Any Questions?
Due Date: ____________________