Short Essay – Choose Wisely This Short Essay focuses on your own understanding and analysis of the semester’s literature, rather than on your research skills. You are expected to build your essay using only the literature itself. No outside or research sources will be accepted. As this is a short essay, it requires only two body paragraphs in support of its thesis statement. Choose one of the following for your essay topic: 1) Does Dr. Faustus deserve his fate? a. His fate in the play is eternal damnation. b. Be sure your two supporting reasons (i.e. your body paragraph subjects) are worthy of eternal damnation, and that you explain why you think they are worthy of eternal damnation. 2) Does Othello present the ideal of loyalty as positive or negative (choose one)? a. If the play presents loyalty as a positive ideal, your two body paragraph should focus on examples from the play that show loyalty leading to positive outcomes. b. If the play presents loyalty as a negative ideal, your two body paragraphs should focus on examples from the play that show loyalty leading to negative outcomes. 3) Who is the worse villain, Faustus or Iago (choose one)? a. Each body paragraph must include at least one quote from the character’s play you choose as the worse villain (i.e. if you choose Iago as the worse villain, then each body paragraph must include at least one quote from Othello). b. Each body paragraph must discuss both characters (with more focus on the one who is the worse villain). The review of foundational approaches to essay writing offered below is intended to be used alongside the materials provided for our previous assignments, as well as materials regarding writing provided in our Units and in the Writing Resources page in Blackboard. Remember, you are required to demonstrate a complete and appropriate thesis statement as well as supporting topic sentences in your essay. And your essay must adhere to the standard goal of one specific subject per body paragraph. Thesis Statement: You may not argue both sides of your chosen question. You must take a stand. And remember that a thesis statement is the answer to (or a restatement of) the question or prompt that started the assignment. For example, if you choose prompt 1, your thesis should be either: ✓ Dr. Faustus deserves his fate. ✓ Dr. Faustus does not deserve his fate. British Literature I: Short Essay Guidelines Topic Sentences & Paragraph Focus: As in our previous essay, paragraph development and focus around one single, specific subject each is a key goal of this assignment. Topic sentences are a functional and strategic tool for helping with this goal. Example topic sentences for this assignment: ✓ The first reason Iago is a worse villain than Faustus is _____. ✓ Another way the play Othello presents loyalty as negative is _____. Be sure to fill in each blank with a specific subject or action that you can write a complete paragraph about, including both quotations from the play and logical argument and/or reasoning of your own to explain how or why your example supports your thesis statement. Other Notes and Reminders About Writing Literary Essays & About this Project: • This is not a research essay. No outside sources are required or accepted. • This is not a book report. No paragraph or section of your essay should retell the plot of the literature. Assume the person reading your essay is familiar with the basic plot. • Each body paragraph must include at least one quotation from the play you’ve chosen to discuss. o Note: see specific details for Prompt 3 if you choose this prompt. • Quotations must be properly formatted and incorporated, and they should be no longer than three lines of the essay content each. In other words, no block formatted quotes. • For this course, I consider a well-developed body paragraph to be no less than five sentences long, and a well-developed intro/conclusion to be no less than four sentences long. • Discussion of what happens within a piece of literature should be done in the present tense. • First draft does not mean rough draft. I expect your first draft to be complete, revised, edited, and triple checked for things like formatting, typos, length, and other course and project requirements. Essay Project Guidelines (in addition to what is discussed above, and other Engl 201 guidelines, i.e. the syllabus & texts): • A thesis-driven essay with clear and appropriate thesis statement and topic sentences. • 4 total paragraphs long (introduction, 2 body paragraphs, and conclusion). • Minimum one appropriate and well-incorporated quotation from the literature per body paragraph (see the note in Prompt 3 if you choose this prompt). • Accurate and current MLA style in-text citations and works cited page. • Evidence of careful revision and editing. • Essay uploaded as .doc, .docx, or PDF file to the appropriate link in Blackboard. Note: The requirements set forth above are not optional. Essays which do not fulfill all of the requirements discussed in these instructions, and in class for this project, will be evaluated as deficient and will be assigned a grade of D or F based on the severity of the deficiencies without the benefit of the rubric breakdown. 2
Purchase answer to see full attachment