Compare/Contrast “Midterm Break” with “Barbie Doll.” Tone and diction (differences and how the overall tone is achieved) are good choices for thematic exploration, as is the initiation or coming of age theme.
Your Lit text has a great section at the end (1885-1970) showing you how to write an essay from topics to Works Cited. This Intro to Lit course assumes you have passed courses in Comp I and II, which should have taught you the general skills you need to write a literature essay. If not, you must work harder to get the format correct.
c. An example of a research essay starts on page 1961 of your Lit text.
If you don’t have a book, at least use the format I provide under Contents (Sample Essay), although it’s just an example and doesn’t go into HOW to write the paper. Note that I have copies of the three required books for this course on reserve in the UWF library—you can check any of the out for 2 hours
2. Write an essay of 3-5 pages on an assigned topic.
a. Include another separate, whole page for your Works Cited entries.
i. Alphabetize all entries and include your primary source in the list (e.g., Frankenstein, or any stories from the Lit anthology).
ii. Include URLs for all Internet sources (it’s optional in the stylebook; I am requiring URLS for each entry from the Internet).
iii. DO NOT USE WIKIPEDIA and similar “editable” sources as a reliable secondary source; we all use Wikipedia for quick definitions and references, but such sites can be edited and are thus not considered reliable in formal papers.
iv. Blogs are useful sometimes, but not very reliable either. Double space the whole essay, through Works Cited.
3. Include Quotations.
a. Include at least 3 quotations, to illustrate or support your theme/support paragraphs
from the primary source(s) (what work you are writing on).
b. Include at least 2 secondary sources from library databases or reliable sources from the
Internet.
c. Cliff notes, Enotes, etc., are not good sources for a formal essay, although they may be
helpful in understanding the primary text.
d. Choose Internet sources that end with or include “edu” in the URL, and you will likely
have a good college-related source.
d. I expect that you will have referred to the pages in your text for formatting your paper.
If we receive papers that are not formatted correctly with correct documentation and
Works Cited, it’s likely the paper will be returned to you without a critique.
e.
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e. All essays will be submitted to Turnitin.com, the plagiarism vendor UWF subscribes to. You will be warned on the first plagiarized section of your paper, and if you continue to plagiarize, you will receive a zero on the paper and possibly for the whole course.Turnitin.com doesn’t miss anything. We can also find plagiarized material easily without Turnitin.com, so don’t take chances. Just DOCUMENT. If you are not sure, email me or your T.A.
Procedure for Rough Drafts:
1. Write your rough draft or final essay by the due dates.
a. The rough draft is optional, but you would be very irresponsible not to take advantage
of the opportunity to have your paper critiqued. Essays 2 and 3 will not be critiqued by your TAs nor me; however, you can use OWL for any critiques if you follow the Writing Lab’s instructions. You are responsible for reading the rules for paper submission to OWL (online writing lab). It’s free.
b. Put your essay in the Dropbox (first one) under Assessments.
c. Upload your file from Word. DO NOT SUBMIT A PDF FILE. PDF files are difficult to mark.
Use double-spaced WORD doc. or docx or RTF. If you submit a PDF file, it will be returned to you, and if you don’t resubmit as Word by the due date, your paper will not be critiqued.
d. Mr. Miller will critique the rough drafts (and later grade the final papers) for Groups 1-3; Ms. Trevino will do the same for Groups 4-6. I will critique and grade papers for Groups 7-12.
e. Your critiqued paper will be uploaded to the same dropbox under Assessments where you submitted it, where you will download it to your computer and work on it directly or print it.
f. You will make revisions and rewrite your essay for a final grade and put it in the dropbox for the Essay. If the dropbox is closed when you are ready to upload your essay, put your essay in the Late Dropbox (last one) where it will be graded with late points taken.
Types (Patterns) for Essay Development:
1. Choose a pattern for your research literature essay
a. See Lit text 1890-1933
b. Have a clear thesis in paragraph 1
c. Include documentation from the primary text and outside sources (see #3 under Format
above) in your “middle” paragraphs which are your explanations or analysis of what you
are trying to explain, argue, compare/contrast, argue, etc. in your thesis.
d. Write a paragraph of conclusion which does not introduce new information or quoted
sources. Use the conclusion to summarize your points, which support your thesis.
e. Don’t forget the Works Cited page
Course Book- The Norton intrduction to Literature by Kelly J Mays
ISBN- 978-0-393-93892-0
