Writing Assignments: Options for Essay One:
Directions: Choose ONE topic from the list below to use as the basis for writing a thoughtful, focused, fully developed, well-constructed and grammatically correct essay. Read the question closely and be sure to address the topic directly and completely. Use plenty of quoted or paraphrased evidence from the text(s) to support your analysis, but keep quotes relatively brief (most of the writing should be your own words). Please note: this essay is NOT intended to be a research assignment; aside from the quotes you provide from your primary source(s)—the stories themselves—the words and ideas should be ENTIRELY YOURS. DO NOT do ANY “research” for this assignment!
Follow Modern Language Association (MLA) format in distinguishing quoted material from your own words and ideas. That means BOTH in-line citation AND a Work(s) Cited list at the end (though some papers will have only a single work to cite). A link with information about MLA format can be found on the Web Links page.
Take a look at the link on “Writing about Literature” (again, on the Web Links page) for some helpful guidelines before you start. Also, grammar, spelling and punctuation count, so be sure to proofread and edit your work carefully. The minimum length requirement is 750 words; you are encouraged to exceed this minimum limit.
Discuss one of our first three stories “Young Goodman Brown,” “The Tell-Tale Heart” or “The Yellow Wallpaper” as it relates to the genre of literary romance. In what specific ways is the story a clear example of this genre (and/or not)? You’ll want to ground your argument in relevant portions of the passages where Hawthorne describes that genre of fiction (especially as a kind of “neutral territory” between the “real” and the “imagined”– see the Powerpoint lesson on Hawthorne), and support your claims with quotes from the story itself and explanation of how those quotes illustrate the story’s status as “romance” (or not). No page numbers or MLA necessary for quotes from the Powerpoint lesson.
Analyze the way ONE of these writers uses SETTING in the story. How is the physical landscape (exterior and/or interior) described, and what effect does it have on the story? To what extent do the terms of this description, along with the time of day, the time period (with its cultural values and attitudes), and other aspects of setting help establish and support what you take to be the story’s central theme?
Analyze the NARRATIVE POINT OF VIEW (first-, second- or third-person; omniscient or limited omniscient; which specific character, etc.)in ONE of these tales . How does the narrative perspective shape the reader’s experience of the story? Why do you think the writer chose this particular narrative point of view, and not another? How does this narrative perspective help establish and support what you take to be the story’s central theme?
In “The Importance of the Single Effect in a Prose Tale,” Poe claims that a writer of short fiction conceives “with deliberate care, a certain unique or single effect to be wrought out”; the author “then combines such events as may best aid him in establishing this preconceived effect…. In the whole composition there should be no word written, of which the tendency, direct or indirect, is not to the pre-established design”(1692-3). Identify what you feel to be the central “effect” of ONE story we’ve read so far, and analyze the writer’s use of any THREE of the following “elements of fiction” to achieve that effect: narrative point of view, characterization, setting, style, symbolism, and/or allegory.
Sending your essay: You should write (AND SAVE) your essay as a Word file on your computer, and send it to me as an attachment to this Assignment (begin by clicking the title of “Paper One” above on this page).
One final word—on plagiarism (though I wish I didn’t have to):
Everyone here is probably aware of the temptations many students face regarding plagiarism. You may already know that representing someone else’s word-for-word published statements as your own constitutes plagiarism. However, the following can ALSO constitute plagiarism:
– using a close imitation of someone else’s published statements, or someone else’s published ideas (including material found online), without proper documentation;
– passing off as your own the unpublished writing of another; or
– submitting a paper written for another course and evaluated by another instructor without prior permission from me.
If a student is found guilty of plagiarism, the discipline can be very severe. It is official English Department policy that all cases of plagiarism MUST receive a failing grade for the assignment, and MUST be reported to the head of Counseling, who keeps a record of such incidents; more than one instance of plagiarism can mean more serious penalties.
Please understand that I take plagiarism seriously, and so should you; if you plagiarize, you endanger your entire college career. My advice to you is, “Don’t even think about it.”
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