ENGL 3543    Fall 2010                     Second Unit Exam                                          Mercer                        

  

OUT-OF-CLASS ESSAY (50 points possible)

 

Purpose of Essay

Your purpose in writing the essay is to demonstrate your comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the assigned literary works from the English Renaissance.

 

Assigned Topic

In the many assigned works of Renaissance English literature that concern relationships between men and women, particular elements repeat themselves over and over.  Identify at least three (3) repeated elements in male-female relationships in the assigned works from the English Renaissance, and illustrate each repeated element with specific references to at least three (3) different assigned works.  In the essay as a whole, include specific references to at least eight (8) different assigned authors and at least fourteen (14) different assigned works.

 

Explanation of Topic

  1. Repeated elements in the relationships between men and women could involve (but are not limited to) situations, thoughts, desires, prejudices, motivations, attitudes, words, actions, and/or behaviors of men toward women or of women toward men.   
  2. To illustrate what I mean by “repeated elements,” here are some repeated elements in relationships among men (rather than between men and women) in the assigned works of the English Middle Ages (rather than the English Renaissance):
    1. Kings routinely give gifts to the men who fight for them.
    2. Warriors often risk their own lives to fight for their king. 
    3. Men of opposing sides frequently fight and sometimes die in spontaneous combat or planned battles.
    4. When one man murders another, the murderer is obliged to pay wergild to the victim’s family.
    5. Even when they are not fighting, men often question and test the physical courage of other men.
    6. Men compete with each other over women.
    7. Men value their relationships with other men more highly than their relationships with women.
  3. In identifying repeated elements, avoid statements that are so obvious and/or general that they reveal little thought or insight on your part.  Here are some examples of overly obvious and/or general repeated elements in the relationships among men in the assigned works of the English Middle Ages.  Compare these with the much more insightful and specific elements listed above in 2 a-g:  
    1. Kings rule other men.
    2. Men fight against each other.
    3. Men kill each other.
    4. Men compete against each other.
    5. Men value their relationships with each other.

 

  1. “Women” usually means “female human beings.”  Some characters in the assigned works, however, such as Acrasia in The Faerie Queene, Helen of Troy in Doctor Faustus, and Love in Herbert’s “Love (3),” are females but not, strictly speaking, human beings.  You may include such characters in your essay as long as you acknowledge their special status.

 

Criteria for Grading Essay

1.      Adherence to the assigned topic and instructions, including the requirements for the

a.       number of different assigned authors in the essay (at least 8)

b.      number of different assigned works in the essay (at least 14)

c.       number of body paragraphs (at least 3)

d.      number of assigned works per paragraph (at least 3)

e.       overall length of essay (at least 2.5 pages) 

To receive a C, the essay must meet all these minimum requirements.  To receive an A or B, the essay should exceed minimum requirements in some or all of these areas.

 

  1. Clear, logical, insightful, original thinking about the assigned topic

 

  1. Demonstration of your comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the assigned works by including specific references that are
    1. numerous
    2. brief but very specific
    3. logically relevant to the repeated element they are supposed to illustrate

 

  1. Mechanical correctness, especially in
    1. spelling and punctuation of authors and titles of works
    2. form of documentation
    3. avoidance of serious errors, including sentence fragments, comma splices, run-on sentences, subject-verb agreement errors, and errors in principal parts of verbs

 

Instructions for Writing Essay

  1. OUTSIDE HELP 
    1. Work independently.  This is not a group project; do not collaborate with your classmates.  Do not submit an essay that is like a classmate’s in content or organization.
    2. This is not a research paper; do NOT consult sources outside the textbook. If you do use words or ideas from any sources other than the assigned literary works (such as the editors’ introductions in the textbook), informally document them in your essay by introducing each source.  (Any quotations, of course, must be placed in quotation marks.)
    3. To avoid plagiarism, do NOT refer to the model essay for unit 2 that was posted on the class Web page earlier this semester.
    4. For best results, get my advance feedback (preferably in person, but if that isn’t possible, by telephone or e-mail) on your thesis and main points and later on a complete draft.  The best way to get feedback on a complete draft is to make an appointment to discuss your essay with me during my office hours.  The deadline for submitting a complete draft for feedback by e-mail (cut and pasted, NOT by attachment) is Sunday, October 24, at 2 p.m. You may continue to ask questions by e-mail after that time, and you may get my response to your draft in hard copy during my office hours on Monday, October 25.  (Please bring two copies of your draft to your appointment.) 
    5. You may also use the help of the tutors in the NSU-BA Writing Center.  Because I am more familiar with the topic, the instructions, the literary works, and my own expectations, however, contact me directly whenever possible.

 

  1. MANUSCRIPT FORM
    1. Font: Use Times New Roman 12.
    2. Spacing: Double-space your paper. Do NOT leave additional spaces between paragraphs.  If you are using Word 2007, change the default settings to remove the extra space after each paragraph. (Select “Page Layout” and then “Spacing,”  change the “After” setting from 10 pt. to 0 pt., and make this your new default setting for all documents you produce for this class.)
    3. Justification: Use left (not right or full) justification.
    4. Margins: Use one (1)-inch margins on all four sides of the page.  The default margins in Word 2003 (and earlier versions) are 1.25 inches; please change your margins to one (1) inch.  You may, however, reduce your margins to one-half (0.5) inch if necessary to squeeze your paper onto three (3) pages, the maximum allowed length.
    5. Paragraph indentation: Indent each paragraph one-half inch (five [5] spaces) from the left margin.
    6. Identification: Because I do not want to know whose essay I am grading, do NOT put your name anywhere on the paper.  Omit the usual heading from the upper left of the first page.  Instead, insert as a header your nine (9)-digit SSN followed by one space and the page number in the upper right of each page, beginning with page 1. To protect the security of your SSN, you may change any of the numbers except the last four (4).  
    7. Because everyone is writing on the same assigned topic, do not give your essay a title. 

 

  1. THESIS
    1. The thesis should

                                                              i.      clearly respond to the topic stated at the top of this document under “Assigned Topic.”

                                                            ii.      be the only sentence (or possibly two sentences) in a separate opening paragraph.  

    1. If your thesis includes a list of the repeated elements to be covered in the body of the essay, they should all appear

                                                              i.      in the same sentence

                                                            ii.      in the same order as in the body

                                                          iii.      in parallel structure 

    1. No other introduction is desired or necessary.  Use your limited space to develop the body of the essay rather than to write an introduction.

 

  1. ORGANIZATION OF BODY
    1. Organize the body of the essay into at least three (3) paragraphs (preferably more, but no more than about five [5] or six [6]).
    2. Devote each body paragraph to a different repeated element in male-female relationships in the assigned works of the English Renaissance.  
    3. Begin each body paragraph with a topic sentence that

                                                              i.      covers the entire paragraph (and therefore does NOT refer to only one work).

                                                            ii.      makes clear that you are identifying a repeated element in the male-female relationships in the assigned works of Renaissance English literature.  Begin your topic sentences with statements like these:

(1)   “A common situation in the male-female relationships in the assigned works is . . . .”

(2)   “Another repeated element is . . . .”

(3)   “In Renaissance English literature, men and women also frequently . . . .”

    1. Be sure that the body paragraphs do not illogically overlap each other.  (For example, “Men try to seduce women” and “Men do everything possible to get women” are too closely related to be the main points of separate paragraphs.)
    2. It’s fine, however, to refer to the same work in more than one body paragraph.

 

  1. DEVELOPMENT OF BODY PARAGRAPHS 
    1. In each body paragraph, use logically appropriate examples from the assigned works to illustrate the repeated element identified in the topic sentence.
    2. Develop each body paragraph with brief but very specific references to as many assigned works as possible (at least three [3] assigned works per paragraph, preferably more).
    3. Refer to the works in your own words and in very brief quotations introduced and integrated into the paragraph.  Although brief quotations can often provide excellent support, each example does NOT need to include a quotation.
    4. In this short essay, do NOT quote more than three (3) lines of poetry or more than four (4) typed lines of prose at a time.  Quotations of this length would have to be indented within the text of your essay.    
    5. In the essay as a whole, make specific references to at least fourteen (14) different assigned works by at least eight (8) different assigned authors, preferably more.

                                                              i.      Do NOT count King Lear as an assigned work unless you have read the play. 

                                                            ii.      Count each poem as a separate work, even if two poems come from the same sonnet sequence or volume of poetry. 

                                                          iii.      Do NOT fail to include longer works, such as The Faerie Queene, Epithalamion, Doctor Faustus, Volpone, and Paradise Lost.

                                                          iv.      Do NOT fail to include shorter works that were assigned but not discussed in class.

    1. Be sure to spell, capitalize, and punctuate correctly the names of authors, characters, and titles of works.  Punctuate titles as they appear on the assignment sheet for the unit:

                                                              i.      Place the titles of short works inside quotation marks.

                                                            ii.      Italicize titles of works long enough to be published separately.   

    1. When you refer to the plots and characters of the works in your own words, use present tense verbs. When you quote, leave verb tense as it is in the original.

 

  1. DOCUMENTATION:  Observe MLA form for quotations and parenthetical documentation. 
    1. Smoothly introduce all quotations; don’t just start quoting at the beginning of a sentence.

Like this:  In “The Wife’s Lament,” the speaker grieves the loss of her relationship with her husband when she says, “Our friendship is as if it had never been” (114).

NOT like this: “Our friendship is as if it had never been” (114).

 

    1. Always quote accurately.  Do not omit words in the middle of a quotation (unless you use ellipsis marks) or add or change words within a quotation (unless you put them inside square brackets, NOT parentheses).  Do not alter punctuation (except as explained in “f” below).  

 

    1. Immediately after each brief quotation of prose, document in parenthesis the page number.  Do NOT use page numbers, however, to introduce quotations.  (In this class, it is not necessary to document the page numbers of references to assigned works that you put in your own words.)

Like this: In “The Dream of the Rood,” the cross refers to Christ as “the young Hero” (28).

NOT like this: On page 28, the cross in “The Dream of the Rood” refers to Christ as “the young Hero.”

 

    1. Immediately after each brief quotation of poetry, document in parenthesis the page number followed by a semicolon, one space, the word “line” or “lines,” and the line number(s).  Do NOT use page and/or line numbers, however, to introduce quotations.  (In this class, it is not necessary to document the page and line numbers of references to assigned works that you put in your own words.)

Like this: The narrator of Beowulf says the Danes sometimes worshipped at “pagan shrines” (37; line 175).

NOT like this: In Beowulf, line 175, it says the Danes sometimes worshipped at “pagan shrines.” 

 

e.   Place periods and commas INSIDE, not outside, closing quotation marks. 

Like this: In “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale,” Chaucer reveals even more about marriage than in “The Miller’s Tale.” 

NOT like this: In “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale”, Chaucer reveals even more about marriage than in “The Miller’s Tale”.

 

    1. When parenthetical documentation immediately follows quotation marks, drop the punctuation mark at the end of the quotation (with the exception of a question mark or exclamation point), and after the parenthetical documentation place the punctuation your own sentence requires. 

Like this: The Wanderer laments, “All delight has gone” (112).

NOT like this: The Wanderer laments, “All delight has gone.” (112)

Like this: The Wanderer asks, “Where is the giver of treasure?” (113).

NOT like this: The Wanderer asks, “Where is the giver of treasure” (113)?

 

    1. Leave one space between closing quotation marks and opening parenthesis.

Like this: Nicholas yells, “Water!” (251).

NOT like this: Nicholas yells, “Water!”(251).

 

    1. When you quote two (2) or three (3) consecutive lines of poetry, place a slash mark (preceded and followed by one space) to show where one line ends and the next line begins.  Do NOT use a slash mark, however, between quoted lines of prose.

Like this: Hrothgar says, “So now, Beowulf, / I adopt you in my heart as a dear son” (53; lines 945-46). 

NOT like this: Hrothgar says, “So now, Beowulf, I adopt you in my heart as a dear son” (53; lines 945-46).

NOT like this: Hrothgar says, “So now, Beowulf,/I adopt you in my heart as a dear son” (53; lines 945-46).

 

  1. CONCLUSION
    1. Conclude the essay with a one- or two-sentence paragraph that restates the thesis (in different words).
    2. No other conclusion is necessary.  Use your limited space to develop the body of the essay.

 

  1. LENGTH
    1. The essay should be no shorter than two and one-half (2.5) typed, double-spaced pages and no longer than three (3) pages.  
    2. Essays shorter than two and one-half (2.5) pages will NOT receive a satisfactory grade.
    3. To write a superior essay, you will probably need the full three (3) pages you are allowed.

 

  1. LIST OF WORKS CITED
    1. On a separate page following the essay, number and list the assigned authors and assigned works (correctly spelled and punctuated) to which you refer in the essay.  No particular order is required.  Organize your list like this:

Author 1: ____________

            Title of 1st work by author 1: ____________

            Title of 2nd work by author 1: ____________

Author 2: ____________

            Title of 1st work by author 2: ____________

            Title of 2nd work by author 2: ____________

Etc.

    1. At the end of your list of works cited, report the number of assigned authors and assigned works in your essay, as illustrated here:

Total number of assigned authors: ___  Total number of assigned works: ____

    1. If the essay includes any unassigned Renaissance authors and works from the textbook, place those names and titles in parenthesis in your list of works cited, and do not count them as assigned authors or works.
    2. Superior essays will probably refer to far more than the minimum number of assigned authors and works.

 

  1. EDITING AND PROOFREADING
    1. Carefully edit the draft of your essay sentence by sentence.
    2. Before you print the final version of your essay, carefully proofread and use spell-check.
    3. After you have printed the paper, carefully proofread it again.  If you can’t reprint, make corrections in black or blue ink.

 

  1. SUBMISSION OF ESSAY

a.       To assemble your essay for submission:

                                                              i.      Staple the pages of your essay and list of works cited.

                                                            ii.      Separately from the essay, staple the pages of a clean, unmarked copy of this document. 

                                                          iii.      Paper-clip your essay in front of this document.

b.      Submit your essay in class at 4:30 p.m. on October 26.  Even if your essay is not finished or printed, be sure you are present in class at 4:30.