Units 2-3
Criticism
What is Criticism?
Assignment Details

Name of Assignment: B.2. Essay 2
Length: 750 words (3 pp.)

 

Draft Due: 17 July 2007 (2 % of final grade)
Final Due:20 July 2007 (3% of grade)

Topics

In an essay of 750 words (or 3 printed pages), analyze the function of one of the critical terms we have learned by comparing and contrasting its function in two or more of the texts we have read in Unit 2. 

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Purpose

The purpose of this assignment is to provide you with the opportunity…
1. …to become familiar with some of the literature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
2. …to reflect on the similarities and differences between fiction and poetry.
3. …to refine your critical skills by building an argument based on the analysis of one aspect of two (or more) literary texts.
4. ...to help you learn and practice the conventions for citing primary texts.
5 . …to practice some of the analytical skills that I will expect you to demonstrate on the mid-term examination, and to receive feedback on your achievement using them so far.

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Expectations

1. I expect you to read all of the expectations and requirements for this assignment and to ask questions if you have any problems understanding it. You may ask questions in class, during office hours, by telephone, or email.
2. I expect that you will develop a thesis and argue it, drawing evidence from the texts under your consideration and using class discussions to help narrow your topic.
3. I expect that you will use the peer review workshop to refine your own writing and to help someone else do the same.
4. I expect you to use terms that you understand and to understand the terms that you use. In addition to the material you have read for class, I expect you to use SGWL 368-379 (Appendix C. Glossary of Literary Terms) as a resource for this assignment.
5. I expect that both your draft and final essay will follow the Remarks about Manuscript Form (SGWL 280-285).

Requirements

Draft (2 % of final grade): For more information about this part of your grade, please consult the course outline under Graded Writing Assignments. Credit for this part of the assignment is based on a draft essay that follows the Remarks about Manuscript Form (SGWL 280-285) brought to class for peer review on 17 July 2007. Although this part of the assignment will not be formally graded, your effort at this stage will likely indirectly affect your grade. Drafts that are deemed to be inadequate will receive no credit.

Final (3 % of final grade): Your final paper is due in or before class on 20 July 2007. Your final paper must be accompanied by a photocopy of your draft (keep your copy just in case). Before submitting your final paper, please review SGWL 46-51.

Basic Format Guidelines

Your assignment’s format should make it as easy to read and to mark as possible. Your margins should be 2.54 cm (1 inch) on all sides. For your font, use either Garamond or Times New Roman in 12 point. If you are following these guidelines and double-spacing your text, I assume an average of 250 words per page (although your word count will tell you that you have slightly more than this). It is not a good idea to use a larger or smaller font to adjust for verbosity or a lack thereof: this practice will not make your assignment more pleasant to read or—perhaps more importantly—to mark. Use black ink on standard weight 8 1/2" X 11" white or recycled paper. In the first four lines at the top left of your paper, write your name, my name, the course name and number, and the due date of the assignment. Insert page numbers in the top right hand corner of each subsequent page, including your name with it (you may omit including this information on the first page).
           
Your paper should have a clearly identified title on its first page. Use your title effectively: it should indicate to your reader what text you will consider and what your approach will be. Titles can often tie into the concluding sentence for rhetorical impact, though this should never compromise clarity.

Papers at this level should strive for clarity and precision. They should present an organized argument through clearly articulated paragraphs, which should be marked by indentation. The first paragraph should grab your reader’s attention while introducing your topic and approach. It should provide information relevant to your particular argument.

Schedule of Learning for Unit

Week 2

 

What is Criticism? (Part 1)

09-Jul

 

J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

 

 

SGWL 77-103 (What is Interpretation? What is Evaluation?)

10-Jul

B1 (F)

J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

 

 

SGWL 104-125 (Writing About Literature: An Overview)

11-Jul

 

Katherine Mansfield, “The Garden Party”; James Joyce, “Araby”

 

 

SGWL 139-155 (Plot and Character; Foreshadowing, Setting and Atmosphere)

12-Jul

 

Kate Chopin, “The Story of an Hour”; E. A. Poe, “The Tell-Tale Heart”

 

 

SGWL 155-176 (Point of View; Theme); Review of Explication and Analysis

13-Jul

 

Robert Browning, “My Last Duchess”; Christina Rossetti, “In an Artist's Studio”

 

 

SGWL 205-211 (The Speaker and the Poet: Diction and Tone)

 

 

 

Week 3

 

What is Criticism? (Part 2)

16-Jul

 

John Keats, “Chapman’s Homer”; Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Ozymandias”

 

 

SGWL 211-217 (Figurative Language)

17-Jul

B2 (D)

Robert Herrick, “Upon Julia's Clothes”; John Donne, “The Flea”

 

 

SGWL  217-227 (Structure, Irony, Paradox; Explication)

18-Jul

 

Samuel Johnson, from The Idler No. 81; Jonathan Swift, “A Modest Proposal”

 

 

SGWL 129-138 (Writing About Essays)

19-Jul

 

Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, “Love That Doth Reign”; Lady, Mary Wroth, “Am I Thus Conquered?"

 

 

SGWL 227-239 (Versification and Rhythm)

20-Jul

B2 (F)

William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Act 1)

 

 

SGWL 184-189 (Types of Plays)