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Response Papers [RP]: The Response Paper will be a key part of your written work in the class. You will be asked to write on everything you read this semester. You will be given a question or a series of questions with each reading or in class activity. Rather than require you to type your answers (as in the Essays and Research Paper), I will allow you to write (legibly) your answers on 8 ½ x 11 inch paper (though a lot of students still choose to use a word processor). I encourage you to clearly date these entries, as I will not be collecting them on a scheduled basis. I reserve the right to ask for a Response Paper by its date at any time during the semester. Therefore, please keep these things well organized (I suggest a 3 ring binder). The Response Papers will be graded on the basis of your interaction with the question—how much thought are you evidencing, how sophisticated are you being? Points for the average Response Papers are typically between 23-19. A 25 is very rare—it means that you have created a flawless masterpiece. A 24 means that you are above average yet not quite perfect. An 18 or lower means that you are slipping beneath the level of work I expect from you. Unacceptable work will receive a 0.
When writing your response paper, please be sure to follow both of the following steps, numbering them clearly in your text. You do not need to include the instructions (I will remember them). If you type these, please use MLA format for the paper margins, name placement, page number placement, and the like (see the sample paper in tthe Blair Handbook or download the pdf file of the sample paper from the Blair Handbook website-I leave it up to you to decide on whether you double or single space the four lines that include your name, my name, the name of the class, and the date). Please, no more than one inch for all margins.Essays 1, 2, & 3: Each of these essays will be a 3-5 page paper focusing on a specific question directly tied to our readings or discussions. These essays must follow the expectation guidelines for written work and conform to the general writing guidelines provided in a later handout.1. Summarize your general experience of the reading (How did it make you feel? Did it remind you of anything in your personal life? Was it difficult or easy and why?). [4 meaty but concise sentences]
2. The last section of the Response Paper will vary from week to week, but it usually will be a specific question or assignment regarding the text that the response paper is about. [at least a paragraph—10-12 meaty but concise sentences]
Research Essay: The research
essay is your most important assignment. It is the primary testing
ground for your developing writing skills and is a critical means of accumulating
points. You will not be allowed to revise your research paper—if
you participate in our workshops and take advantage of your conferences
with me, you should not have to. The research essay must also follow
the expectation guidelines for written work and conform to the general
writing guidelines provided with the first essay.
Revision Policy: Your first
two primary assignments may be revised for additional point consideration.
Your total may be raised a maximum of only one grade (from a C- to a B-). No
late assignments may be revised. Please understand that a revision
is not merely correcting spelling and grammar errors or adding a few sentences—that
is a waste of both our times. To revise a paper is to begin from
scratch, reassessing the question to create a polished argument. Anyone
interested in revising an assignment must have a conference with me in
order for the revision to be accepted. All revisions must also include
the original, graded draft. Work that I consider to be substandard
(lower than a C-) will not be eligible for revisions—this is to prevent
you from taking advantage of my generosity for allowing revisions.
Quizzes: I reserve the right
to quiz you on your daily reading assignments. The number of questions
will vary for each day—sometimes as few as 3 or 4 questions, sometimes
as many as 10. Although these quizzes may seem a small part of the
class, they do add up and affect your grade in the long run.
In-Class Writing: In addition
to quizzes, I also reserve the right to ask you to perform a writing exercise
on any given day. These exercises will vary—sometimes they will be
as relaxed as freewriting on a theme or a question. Sometimes they
will require you to apply critical terms to a specific textual instance. These
assignments will test your ability to think, process, and respond clearly
and effectively in an “on the spot” situation. I may collect these
at any time or ask you to hand them in with other secondary or primary
assignments.
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Using the prewriting work that we did in class, I want you to choose a movie you have recently seen and explain to me what is the most important theme of the movie and why? In other words, beyond the mere plot, what is the movie trying to say or convince its viewers of? Provide an introduction, thesis, body paragraphs with support from the film (please don't use five because you think it's "right"--use the number of body paragraphs necessary to successfully and clearly prove your point) and a conclusion. Try to keep the paper (double-spaced, using 1 inch margins) to at most two pages and at least one page.
In our first essay assignment, you will analyze the form of an essay rather than just an essay’s content. Remember: although your focus is not on what the author argues about (but rather how they argue about it), you may have to touch on the content in the course of your argument. Do this carefully; do not risk becoming too involved in the content and allow it to draw you away from your own thesis regarding the argument’s form. Choose one of the three sets of questions below to guide your argument.
Remember as with all assignments to use the writer’s checklist as well as remind yourself of my grading standards both while doing and after completing the assignment. You should also consult the MLA Citation and Plagiarism page regarding questions for citation technique as well as how you should layout your works cited page.
Please E-MAIL ME the working thesis for your essay by 8am on Tuesday, February 24th. 10 points will be deducted from your final paper grade if you fail in getting the thesis to me on time (sounds small, but notice that it does drop you one whole grade--for instance, from a B- to a C-).
- Using the criteria of unity, support, and coherence, critique one of the essays we have read in terms of its form. Can the essay honestly be called unified, well-supported, or coherent? Where does it succeed and where does it fail? What could be changed within the essay to make it better conform to the given rules? Provide ample examples from the text to prove your case.
- Focusing in on one of the criteria of unity, support, and coherence, compare the form of two of the essays we have read. Which essay has a more successful form (and therefore a more successful argument) based on one of these concepts? What could the other essay have done to have been equally if not more successful? Use specific moments from both articles to support your argument.
- While unity, support, and coherence may be helpful guidelines, do they ignore any other important aspects of form? Is there a criterion that they leave out that is just as important to the success of an argument’s form? Using one of the essays we have read, suggest what this criterion might be by downplaying the importance of the essay’s need for unity, support, and coherence (where it might fail) in favor of this other criterion. Please offer examples from the text to support your claim. You may also consider doing some additional research to assist in your argument.
Essay 1 is due AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS on Thursday February 26th.
In our second essay assignment, you will generate an argument from one or more of the essays we have recently read concerning how the author(s) convince you of how they know what they know (in other words, how their epistemology manifests itself in their arguments). Using your close-reading skills, choose one of the options below regarding how you see these essays “speaking” to one another or to other texts. This means using the best specific examples as your evidence.
You will be working with small writing groups (appointed to you in class) as part of this assignment. Using the sample peer editing worksheet provided online (identical to the one we already used in class), you will critique the work of the other members of your group, exchanging your essays electronically before the actual due date. You will hand in with your final paper the peer editing reviews provided to you by your group members. Note that part of their final grade (10 point deductions) will involve you remembering to do this. I am expecting these papers to run 3-5 pages in length, so be nice to the other people in your group and get them your essays no later than March 30th by midnight.
Remember as with all our assignments to make use of the writer’s checklist as well as go over my grading standards both while doing and after completing the assignment. You should also consult the MLA Citation and Plagiarism page regarding questions for citation technique as well as how you should layout your works cited page.
Please E-MAIL ME the working thesis for your essay by 12 pm on Friday, March 19th. 10 points will be deducted from your final paper grade if you fail in getting the thesis to me on time (sounds small, but notice that it does drop you one whole grade--for instance, from a B- to a C-).
- Choose one of the essays and do some additional research in terms of the author or the topic. Using our essay as your primary text, discuss how well, in light of your research, the author represents this topic particularly regard to how they represent knowledge. Do they remain consistent (in other words, do they do different things in other texts)? Are they different from how others in their field represent knowledge?
- Comparing two of our essays, discuss whether or not our authors exhibit differences in regards to epistemology and gender. In other words, do two authors of different genders display differences in terms of how they know what they know? Do two authors of the same gender reveal similarities or subtle differences in terms of how they acquire knowledge?
- From our essays, choose two that contain discussions of or reveal by means of their argumentation how the author achieves certainty. What are the criteria by which these authors are certain of what they know and how are they similar or different?
- Using two of our authors, discuss the relationship between knowledge and ethics. What does one need to be certain of in order to know how to act ethically? Is the focus of ethics similar or dissimilar to the focus of epistemology? Is one more important than the other or do the two work side by side?
Good luck and e-mail me with any questions.....Essay II is due at the beginning of class on Thursday, April 1st.
Topic: This essay will be argumentative in nature and based on a debatable issue of your choice (approved by me). Your thesis statement for this paper should consist of a persuasive statement about the topic you have chosen. Remember your thesis must be as focused as possible on a debatable subject for which you supply evidence to prove your thesis. Remember that you are not writing an encyclopedia article. You must define a thesis and prove it through presented research.
Required Length: 10-12 pages minimum.
Required Primary Sources: Your primary source or sources must be clearly identified by the scope of your project.
Required Secondary Sources: Minimum of 6—At least 2 must be books. At least 2 must be Scholarly Articles or Periodicals (scholarly rather than popular). Books may take the place of Articles or Periodicals. Any online sources (not including periodicals retrieved from online databases) must be in excess of the 6 required sources.
Required Source Packet: As part of my never ending program of cruelty, I am asking you to turn in with your paper a photocopy of the pages from which you are citing or summarizing text. In other words, you will photocopy the page in the book, journal, magazine, or database where the quote you use appears. The quote will be highlighted or underlined and the page reference (the page the quote appears in your paper) will be written in the top or lower right-hand margin of the photocopy. These pages do not have to be clean of all your other marks—as long as I can quickly locate the quote you are using in your paper, I do not care how messy they are.
Required Steps:
- You will e-mail
me your final topic and 2-3 potential theses (so that I may approve your
focus) by noon on Wednesday, March 31st. (-15 points)
- Turn in an
annotated bibliography of at least ten sources to class on Thursday,
April 8th. (-30 points)
- Bring a working outline of your paper to class on Thursday,
April 15th.
This outline must include 1) the topic sentences to your paragraphs 2)
your key
quotes 3) early drafts of your introduction and conclusion. The exact
format of your outline is optional--organize the outline in such a way
that it works
for you. My only requirement is that your quotes, introduction, and conclusion
are typed (the font and format are again your choice). (-25 points)
- Exchange
a working draft (physical or electronic) with the other members of your
writing group by noon on Monday, April 19th. Bring your
draft along with
the completed peer editing worksheets for your group members to class
on Tuesday, April 20th. (-25 points)
- Be prepared to briefly present on your topic in class on Tuesday,
April 20th: Inform the class of a) your thesis, b) the necessary steps in your
arguments,
c) the sort of sources you are looking at, and d) one interesting fact
about your topic. (-20 points)
- There will be a mandatory 15-minute conference on the 21st,
22nd, and 23rd of April at which point you will present to me a) the paper as it
stands so
far [should be pretty much done], b) a final draft of your works cited
page [including only the sources you are using in your paper], and c)
your source
packet. (-20 points)
- The paper, your draft, and your source packet are all due at the beginning of class on Tuesday, April 27th.
Failure to complete ALL of these steps on the aforementioned dates means that points will be deducted from your final possible total. Remember: there can be no “Rewrites” for the research paper.
Pitfalls:
• Start early and follow the required steps. It is physically impossible for you to do a “rush” job on this paper (as you can see by the requirements above)—this is designed both for your sanity and my own. You do not have time to wait—begin researching immediately. Also, don’t forget about the writing center (831-1168). You’ll notice that you pretty much have some part of the research paper due everyday until the final copy is due—be very careful of your time and do not wait until the last minute.
• It will seem very easy while writing to fall into “encyclopedia mode.” Remember that you are arguing or persuading or proving something to your reader. Do not just summarize facts about a given topic—summarize or present facts with the purpose of furthering your argument. Your topic must be debatable and you must convince me through your evidence that you have chosen the correct position.
For our final essay assignment, you will work with a medium that conveniently brings together many of the issues surrounding knowledge and certainty we have discussed over the course the semester: film. The two films we watched in class—Fight Club and Girl, Interrupted—use their medium to convey their themes of uncertainty, madness, and psychological realism. Your last paper will be an argument that incorporates your interpretation of films form (through shots, editing, special effects, and the like) with a discussion of a particular theme. Please use specific examples of scenes from the films to bolster your argument. Also, feel free to use quotes from any of the texts we read on the films or film theory.
Remember as with all assignments to use the writer’s checklist as well as remind yourself of my grading standards both while doing and after completing the assignment. You should also consult the MLA Citation and Plagiarism page regarding questions for citation technique as well as how you should layout your works cited page.
Please E-MAIL ME the working thesis for your essay by 12 pm on Wednesday, May 12th. 10 points will be deducted from your final paper grade if you fail in getting the thesis to me on time (sounds small, but notice that it does drop you one whole grade--for instance, from a B- to a C-).
Choose from one of the questions below to focus the topic of your essay. Note that all of the questions require you to discuss BOTH of the films:
- Unleashing trauma on yourself (and others—or perhaps on yourself through others) motivates most of the plot for both films. How do the films go about representing violence and what are they hoping to teach their viewers about it?
- The primary concern of both films is recovery and especially how individuals can often locate strength in communities only made up of those of their own gender. What are the strengths and limitations of this concept, as represented in the movies? Can we really get by with a little help from our friends? As Tyler argues, is someone of another gender “really what we need”?
- Madness, how it is defined and represented, is a pivotal part of both films. How do the films go about representing madness? Is one film more self-consistent than the other regarding insanity or do both films create their own methods for allowing the viewer to participate in the protagonists’ mental states?
- When your power animal tells you to “slide,” what exactly are you supposed to do? Using moments from both films, discuss how the protagonists “slide,” and what we the audience should gather from this practice.
- Both films choose a different metaphor for how their protagonists perceive life. In Fight Club the metaphor is filmic (epistemology is a lot like a film—it can be edited, stopped, restarted), while in Girl, Interrupted the metaphor is written (Susanna’s journal, her unending quest to be a writer). How do both films go about exploring their own metaphor for existence. Do these metaphors remain consistent or do they break down in some way during the course of the film?
Good luck and e-mail me with any questions.....Essay III is due at the beginning of class on Tuesday, May 18th.