American Literature

Instructions
Complete
a researched critical essay of a minimum of 1,200 words on one of the
two essay topics below. You are writing one essay of at least 1,200
words that addresses either
Essay Topic 1 or
Essay Topic IInot
both.
The
critical essay must follow classic essay structure: the introduction
with thesis, the body, and the conclusion. The body of the essay
must support the thesis by using information and examples from the
assigned readings and must include additional, documented information
from six primary and secondary credible sources. Your textbook may
count as only one source, regardless of the number of literary works
that you cite from it. You are required to obtain at least four
sources from the librarys databases, such as the Literature
Resource Center and the History Study Center. Wikipedia, Shmoop
University, and Spark Notes are not
credible sources for academic writing.
All
paraphrases and quotations from your sources, including your
textbook, must be documented in strict accordance with MLA standards.
The documentation must include attributive phrases and/or in-text
citations and a works-cited page. You may refer to the Online
Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University for updated MLA information
and examples.
To
eliminate plagiarism, you are required to submit at least one draft
of your essay to obtain the Safe Assign Originality Report. The link
for submission of the draft is in the Week 7 folder. You may submit
the draft multiple times without having the link re-set. The draft
is excluded from the Safe Assign database. In the Originality
Report, do not be concerned if sources are highlighted. This
highlighting merely indicates that other students have located the
same credible sources as you have located. Also, do not be concerned
if quoted material is highlighted. You must be certain, however,
that you have enclosed quoted material in quotation marks and have
provided corresponding attributive phrases and/or in-text citations.
Paraphrase again any highlighted material that is not a source and is
not a quotation. This highlighting indicates that the percentage of
similarity is too high, and you must eliminate the similarity by
paraphrasing again. Continue to re-submit your drafts until you have
eliminated the similarity.
Your
completed, researched critical essay must be posted to the Safe
Assign Midterm Critical Essay link in this folder: Week 7: The
Midterm Assessment: The Researched Critical Essay. To be graded and
to receive credit, your essay must be submitted as a Microsoft Word
document (.doc or .docx) to this link. An essay submitted to the
draft link and not to the Safe Assign Midterm Critical Essay link
will not be graded and will not receive credit.
Essay Topic I
The
early writings of colonial Americans reflect the hardships that they
faced in coming to a new land and in forming a new country. Choose
three
writers from the list below; and, from analyses and interpretations
of their writings and from research, discuss what they communicate
about the hardships of this new land, new government, and new
culture. Be specific to the assigned readings in the textbook,
and provide examples from those readings. As you explore pertinent
contexts, be careful to use appropriate literary, political, and
cultural terminology in your writing.
John
Smith
William
Bradford
Anne
Bradstreet
Benjamin
Franklin
Thomas
Paine
Thomas
Jefferson
Phillis
Wheatley
Essay Topic II
The
writings of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson
reflect distinct cultural and political characteristics of America as
patriots develop a revolutionary mindset. Analyze the literary works
of Franklin, Paine, and Jefferson for evidence of these cultural and
political characteristics. Be
specific to the assigned readings in the textbook, and provide
examples from those readings.
Enhance and support your findings with research. As
you explore pertinent contexts, be careful to use appropriate
literary, political, and cultural terminology in your writing.

Last Completed Projects