Essay #2 (750-1000 words—fifteen percent of your final average)—see syllabus for due date
Write a critical response to the readings from units tenthrough fifteen based on one of the topics below. You are encouraged to focus on only one reading (depending on the topic chosen). If you choose to write about more than one reading, limit yourself to no more than three readings.
You must use examples and quotations from the text; therefore, a work(s)-cited page and in-text citations are required. Do not simply regurgitate ideas from discussionboards. Be original. If you do not like the topics given, you may come up with your own topic, but I must approve your topic before you write the paper.
The basis for this essay should be your interpretation of the reading you choose as your focus, not anyone else’s. You are not allowed to use secondary sources for these essays. In fact, you are not allowed to look up what anyone has to say about the readings because accidental plagiarism happens far too easily.
The basis of this essay is also not personal experience; your focus should be whichever reading you have chosen. Most importantly, the basis of your writing is not plot summary. You are not being asked to recount the events of the story; your goal is to analyze the story to create a literary argument. Look at the information on the writing checklist for stylistic help with composing your essays.
Essay topics (the topics listed are rather broad—make certain to narrow your topic as you begin writing)
1. The horrific
2. The importance of moral lessons
3. Slavery and hypocrisy
4. Slavery and family
5. Religion and slavery
6. Fact and fiction— similarities between the life of an author and his (or her) writing (or) the inherent differences between “slave narratives” and fictional texts about slavery
Remember that you can come up with your own topics, but you must obtain my approval. All work for this course must be original; no work submitted for another course (or another section of this course) can be submitted.
1. INTRODUCTION
Introduce the author and title of the reading that you have chosen to analyze.
YOUR THESIS should be a statement that tells what you are going to prove about the work you have chosen (in other words, make certain that you tell how the text will be analyzed). In order to make sure that your thesis is arguable, you might want to begin the sentence with because or although.
2. BODY
Each aspect or element of your evaluation should be developed in a paragraph, with a topic sentence, explanation, and specific examples.
Make certain that you explain how each idea that you take from the text helps prove your point. In other words, do not simply retell the plot of the text. You must use at least one quotation from the text while constructing your analysis; therefore, MLA becomes important. Make certain that any quotations taken from the text are cited correctly using MLA format.
3. CONCLUSION
Offer a well-developed paragraph that reflects all the evidence in your paper.
4. SET UP
• Make certain that your essay follows the set up shown on the sample essays.
• Times New Roman 12-point font must be used for all parts of the essay (from the header through the work(s)-cited page)
• One-inch margins on each edge of the page
• Header (your last name and the page number) half an inch from the upper right corner of each page
• Heading on the first page in the proper order with the proper information (see the sample essays for the example—your section number is on our course page)
• Double spaced with no extra spaces within the essay (if you are using a newer version of Word, make certain to delete the extra spaces between paragraphs)
• Proper in-text citations used for any quotations used from the reading
• A work(s)-cited page at the end of the essay utilizing proper MLA citation
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