Write a 500-750 word essay on one of the following topics.

1. Based on the readings from weeks one and two, discuss the images of America the European writers constructed to promote colonization and settlement. What kinds of unique natural resources and environmental factors did they extol in their accounts of the New World? Relate these images to natural resources and environmental factors today.

2. Based on the readings from weeks one and two, choose one passage written by one of the authors we’ve read. Identify the author and the title of the work. Then analyze the passage you chose in terms of its significance and historical impact. You should explain why it was chosen, look at the details provided in the passage, and explain in detail what the passage suggests about the work as a whole including its value to American history as well as to American literature.

3. If there's an aspect of the stories from these two weeks that particularly interests you, you may choose your own topic, but you must run it by me first to be sure it is headed in an analytical direction.

Your essay should be formatted in MLA style, including double spacing throughout. All sources should be properly cited both in the text and on a works cited page. As with most academic writing, this essay should be written in third person. Please avoid both first person (I, we, our, etc.) and second person (you, your).

In the upper left-hand corner of the paper, place your name, the

professor’s name, the course name, and the due date for the assignment

on consecutive lines. Double space your information from your name

onward, and don't forget a title. All papers should be in Times New

Roman font with 12-point type with one-inch margins all the way around

your paper. All paragraph indentations should be indented five spaces

(use the tab key) from the left margin. All work is to be left

justified. When quoting lines in literature, please research the proper

way to cite short stories, plays, or poems.

You should use the online APUS library to look for scholarly sources. Be

careful that you don’t create a "cut and paste" paper of information

from your various sources. Your ideas are to be new and freshly

constructed. Also, take great care not to plagiarize.

Whatever topic you choose you will need a debatable thesis. A thesis is not a fact, a quote, or a question. It is your position on the topic. The reader already knows the story; you are to offer him a new perspective based on your observations.

Since the reader is familiar with the story, summary is unnecessary. Rather than tell him what happened, tell him what specific portions of the story support your thesis. The handout on "Literary Analysis" is a must for this aspect of the paper.