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English 1907 Assignments |
Assignment Two
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| Due Dates: | Requirements: |
| Working Draft—April 26, 2002 Final Draft—May 3, 2002 |
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To construct a persuasive, engaging argument about a chosen character from one of the works we have studied this semester using references to specific quotations as evidence in support of your claims.
We often discuss the behavior of characters in works of literature just as we would discuss people in our own lives. We evaluate their actions according to our own set of moral guidelines, and we think about the events that motivate them to behave as they do. Indeed, it is very easy for us to get into arguments about a character's virtues or faults.
In this paper, you will want to choose one character from one of the works assigned in this class. Choose a work that interests you and a character whose experiences or behavior in the work give you a basis for a good, solid argument. The argument can be about the character's qualities or importance or both. Be sure, however, that the thesis of you paper is arguable. The thesis "Edmund is a villain" is not in itself arguable—most readers will readily agree with this claim.
Whereas the first paper required you to focus on a single passage for your argument, this paper will require you to consider the work as a whole in which the character appears. This means that you will include many quotations to support your argument. Such quotations might be from the writer's description of a character, or they might be things the character does or says. To add clarity to your argument, it might be necessary to compare the character to other characters in the book.
Choose from one of the following arguments or choose an argument of your own. Just be sure that you can come up with an arguable thesis statement. I have left some blanks in these statements for you to fill in as you adapt the sentence into a thesis statement. You may have to revise the statement even further in order to make it a workable thesis statement.
People usually think _________ is an evil character, but it is actually possible to justify _________'s behavior if you consider the story in more depth.
The worst decision this character makes is when he/she . . . That is the true cause of this character's misery.
This character only gets to know himself/herself when . . . (insert a key moment from the story that is the turning point in the character's development).
Of all of the characters in this story, _________ is the most virtuous, because . . .
This character's experiences prove that . . . is the best way to fall in love and to assure oneself of a happy marriage.
Do not attempt to answer all of these questions in your paper. These are just to give you some ideas as you attempt to develop your argument. If you do answer some of these questions in your paper, make sure you do so in a way that is consistent with your overall argument.
Does the character have heroic qualities?
Is the character villainous in any way?
How does the character regard his or her own actions? Is this the same as how other characters in the work regard these actions?
What is this character's community like? What are its standards governing behavior? How well is the character integrated into his or her surrounding community? How is this community different from our current community?
Does this character have any idiosyncrasies that are worth our attention?
What is the character's class? Which characteristics serve to define that class? Does the character seek to change his or her class status, or does the character strive to maintain his or her current status?
What is the character's gender and how does this gender restrict or liberate this character?
What are the defining moments in the life of this character? Are there any defining moments in this character's life that take place outside of the literary work in question (i.e. before the beginning of the story)?
Why should an audience of readers in the year 2002 care about what happens to this character?
What does the author of the work think of this character? (Often, though not always, authors reward virtue and punish evil in their characters, so the story's outcome tips us off as to their attitudes toward these characters.)
What distinguishes this character from other characters in the work? What distinguishes this character from other characters in literature? Does this character have any doubles or counterparts in the work?
Take another look at the book you will be writing about for this assignment. Look back over your notes and reread important sections of the book.
Develop a thesis statement that addresses the questions in the above prompt for your book (or choose a different topic after discussing it with me). Of course, this thesis will be subject to revision once you have written an argument.
Write a draft of your argument in support of your thesis. Refer directly to specific words and phrases in the chosen poem in supporting your argument. At some point, write an outline of your argument, so that you can make its structure as clear as possible to your readers.
Bring a word-processed, properly formatted draft to class on April 26 for peer editing.
Revise your draft after that class. Consider the feedback you have received from your classmate as well as your ideas as you rework your argument.
Having completed your revisions, proofread your paper. Watch out for typos, incorrect punctuation and other problems. Do not hesitate to consult a style manual if you have questions (Keys for Writers is one style manual that is easy to find on the UMD campus, but there are numerous others that will work just as well.)
If you wish, sign up to consult with me about this draft in a student conference.
Turn in the completed final draft and peer-edited working draft on May 3 in class.
I have developed these tips from comments I had about Assignment One when I graded it.
Organize your argument around this thesis statement. Think of between two and four sub-points and structure your argument around them. Avoid simply summarizing the work in question.
THESIS: Huckleberry Finn must reject traditional notions of heroism in order to become a responsible adult in Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Follow the MLA format for citations. Include a list of works cited at the end according to MLA format as follows.
Some grammatical tips:
More about commas. When using a conjunction (and, or, but, because, yet, etc.) you must often put a comma before the conjunction. It depends on whether or not there is a second subject-verb pair after the conjunction. If there is, then you need to put a comma before the conjunction. If there is only a second verb, but for the same subject as before, then you should not put a comma before the conjunction.
Type a hyphen (-) to produce a dash (--). In Microsoft Word(r), a double hyphen will become a dash automatically, if you—trust me on this one—set it to do so in "Autoformat as you type" under the "Autoformat..." menu. However, it is a good idea to avoid using too many dashes in a paper. Commas often accomplish the same thing more gracefully.
Transitions. These are words that serve as signposts pointing out the direction of your argument to your readers. Some of these transitions are like "One Way" signs leading your reader on to the next point. Others are like "U Turn" signs indicating a reversal of direction. There are other more subtle transitions that alter the tone or indicate approval or disapproval of what you are discussing.
One Way Signs (leading from before to after or from cause to effect)
Henry runs away during his first major offensive. Subsequently, he witnesses the death of Jim Conklin.
Edmund feels like his father, Gloucester, mistreats him. Consequently, he plots to over throw his father.
Darcy is rude to Elizabeth during the ball in Meryton. Therefore, we presume that Darcy is an unsympathetic character in Pride and Prejudice.
U-turn Signs (establishing a contrast between ideas)
Whereas Joe Starks refuses to let Janie talk, Tea Cake lets her say anything she wants to say.
Cordelia genuinely loves her father. However, her refusal to fill his ears with false praise makes him mistrust her.
Though Elizabeth would do anything to avoid another encounter with Darcy, she nonetheless stumbles across him while visiting Pemberley with her aunt and uncle.
Other types of transitions
Unfortunately, Civil War officers routinely regarded their men as pieces of machinery.
Strangely enough, Gloucester dies offstage at the end of the play after Edgar has saved him from suicide.
These are just a few examples of the numerous transitions out there that can help you arrange your ideas. Most style manuals will give you a more exhaustive list of options and fuller explanations of how to use them. Your best resource, however, is your own experience with written and spoken language.
Keep in mind also that these transitions are often the most important as you move from one subtopic in your paper to the next. Very frequently, the first sentence in a new paragraph needs to provide the reader a clear transition between ideas in the previous paragraph and ideas in the new one.
Verb tense. Though it may seem peculiar at first, it is customary to refer to events in a story in the present tense. In discussions of the literature in class, you will notice that we tend to follow this rule as well. Keep to the present tense in your papers.
Sometimes, this is hard to do, especially when discussing the author's life: "Jane Austen grew up in a lower-end aristocratic family at the end of the eighteenth century." It makes sense to refer to author's life in the past tense in this case, but return to the present tense when addressing events in the story: "Pride and Prejudice tells the story of a young woman who initially must choose between pressures to marry for love and pressures to marry for money."
Every once in a while, it is necessary to refer to past event in the story that you are discussing in the present tense. The present perfect tense is perfect for this problem: "Henry returns to his camp to find out that his fellow soldiers have given him up for dead."
In grading this assignment, I will use the following criteria. Late papers will lose points according to how late they are. Papers under five pages long will lose points as well.
| A | Confident, persuasive written expression An original approach to the literary work A strong thesis statement that is arguable and interesting Exemplary in the clarity and organization of its argument Engaging to its audience in a manner that commands attention Consistently good use of evidence in support of your contentions and in accordance with MLA format Nearly flawless mechanically (format, spelling, grammar) |
| B | Clear written expression with a few minor breakdowns in sentence clarity Somewhat original approach to the literary work A strong thesis statement that is arguable and interesting Well-organized argument that signals its structure to readers by way of effective transitional sentences Good use of evidence to support your contentions and in accordance with MLA format Only a few mechanical flaws |
| C | Satisfies the basic demands of the assignment Generally clear though with some confusing sentences Makes a clear argument about the meaning of the poem A thesis statement that is arguable and interesting A well-organized argument Use of evidence in support of your contentions and in accordance with MLA format, though not consistently Several mechanical flaws, but not so many that they confuse the meaning of your paper |
| D | Almost satisfies the basic demands of the assignment Numerous breakdowns impairing the clarity of your argument Thesis statement is either not arguable or is uninteresting Argument has minimal organization Use of evidence to support contentions is wildly inconsistent and/or not in accordance with the MLA format Numerous mechanical flaws interfering with paper clarity |
| F | Does not satisfy the basic demands of the assignment Unclear writing style Lacks a thesis statement No clear argument-a seemingly random arrangement of ideas Mechanical flaws throughout the paper No use of evidence to support the argument Plagiarized work |