Dracula Reading, Literature Essay

Description

Below are the instructions of the essay, please email me the final document and I will submit the document accordingly.

Short Paper 1

** In the absence of an approved excuse, late papers will be docked 10% increment per day.

Following the Course Calendar, you will be expected to write a paper 3 to 4 pages (1000-1200 words) in length to one of the readings completed thus far for class. In doing so, you should generate original insights about the story that you support with citations from the story (you must cite the story, so I recommend making marginal notes as you read). You must focus on a specific element of the literary text in detail and change the way your reader thinks about that element by continually pursuing the questions: Why? So what? Why should anyone care?

Choosing your Topic

If you see a topic that you talked about extensively in discussion section, please do not choose that as the topic for your paper. If a brief section discussion of one of these topics sparked an interest you’d like to explore further in the paper, make sure that you are going enough beyond what was covered in class. Likewise, your argument should not reproduce points made in lecture. This is your chance to advance your own interpretation of a text.

Format (for both rough and final draft)

Essays should be 3 to 4 pages (1000-1200 words), double-spaced, one-inch margins, Times New Roman font with pagination on the right top of each page and a header on the left for the opening page (follow the regular MLA style formatting). Works Cited page is not required. Each paper must have an original title that includes the title of the text(s) addressed.

Methods

In crafting an argument to write your paper, please choose between two and three specific passages for evidence. You may refer to other parts of the novel, of course, but be sure to have two to three main passages whose form and content (how they are written, and what they are about) serve to support your claims.

Most of the possible topics can be described as thematic—you may develop an argument about a feature of what the text says. That does not mean that you should write only about what the text says; indeed, it is crucial to discuss how the literature says whatever it says, no matter what topic you choose. This would include analysis of diction, the use of metaphor or simile or other figurative language, the juxtaposition of scenes, the form of the narrative, what the author chooses as beginning and ending, and where the narrative is divided, or has a pause, the point of view chosen—just to name a few of the literary techniques that writers use to shape their narratives. Remember that these papers are not to be used for plot summaries.

Expectations

Long papers will not necessarily earn higher grades than short ones. A one-page argument presented in three pages will lose points for verbosity. That said, you can mount a nifty and complicated argument using four pages; if you have such an argument to make, go ahead and make it. Otherwise a snappy three will do it.

Rubric

A rubric for assessment has five categories.

· First, your thesis. A good thesis is specific, grounded in fact, debatable, and offers the reader a sense of the organization of your essay. The originality of your thesis statement will also be judged. The best essays will offer an interpretation that disrupts first-glance interpretations of the novel. In short, this essay centers on a conceptual problem—you must change the way your reader thinks about a specific aspect of the novel, about a character, the setting, style, or a plot point.

· The complexity of your analysis will be judged based on the specificity and amount of information you use, and how well you analyze specific passages from the text. The essay should confidently engage with its sources, rather than merely summarizing. Use direct quotations judiciously. You will be graded based on how closely you read the text—as with the explication, no outside information is necessary.

· Arrangement will be central to the coherence of your essay. The analysis must include an introduction and a conclusion, and there must be body paragraphs that cite specific textual evidence in order to prove your thesis and generate insights. Additionally, all paragraphs must transition well one to the next, your thesis must indicate the organization of your essay, and every paragraph must include topic sentences.

· Style and grammar go hand in hand. Stylistically, you will lose points for passive voice, poor sentence-to-sentence transitions, redundancy and repetition. Those students who attempt more memorable phrases and wording will, of course, be rewarded. Grammatically, pay special attention to comma usage, semicolon usage, colon usage, fragments, and run-ons. These tend to be problem areas—serious problems because these rules order our language logically.

· And your format matters. Be sure to follow the MLA conventions for paper format and in-text parenthetical citations. A works cited page is unnecessary.