ENGL 201: World Literature (Sections 01 and 02)
Spring 2016
Professor E. Derek Taylor
Due: 4-29-16 (final Friday before Final Examination week)
Instructions. Write an argument essay (at least three full pages, but no more than five) based on the following topic. All essays must be typed (12-point font, double-spaced) and must follow MLA format. No outside sources (beyond course texts) are required.
Topic. If you could select two texts that we have read this semester and pass them along to future generations of ENGL 201: World Literature students, which texts would you choose?
Note that, soon enough, your life will start to become increasingly and inextricably linked with the lives of those who (as of April, 2016) have yet to reach college, or high school, or—truth be told—underwear. Put differently: there is a good chance that once you hit about 35 years of age, your child’s teacher, or your primary care physician, or your car repair specialist, will be younger than you.
What would you want these future Citizen Leaders—and future parents, voters, co-workers, running buddies, neighbors—to have studied in their World Literature course? What would you want them to have discovered, enjoyed, struggled with, learned? Why? What’s in it for them? For you? For the future?
Here are a few guidelines for writing a successful essay:
1. Your first paragraph will need to address directly the assigned topic, probably by precisely explaining your frame for the assignment and by identifying the text or texts that your essay will be examining. However you choose to begin, this opening paragraph should conclude by making an overarching point, also known as a thesis. In this case, your thesis should be a precise answer to some version of the following question: "Why these two texts?"
2. This is a relatively short essay, so do not attempt to cover too much ground. Instead, organize your very best ideas into cohesive units of meaning that can then be developed into a few full, choice paragraphs. Paragraphs that lack clear topic sentences invariably falter.
3. Commit to a close reading of the text in question so that you can persuasively support your choices. Directly quote words, phrases, and passages that best support your ideas. Essays that do not quote the text under examination will seem rushed and feeble, and they will be graded accordingly.
4. Approach this assignment with creativity and verve. Do not hesitate to shape, bend, or mold the assignment in such a way that it becomes interesting to you; do be careful, however, not to abandon the assigned topic.
5. Proofread carefully for grammatical and mechanical mistakes.
Spring 2016
Professor E. Derek Taylor
Due: 4-29-16 (final Friday before Final Examination week)
Instructions. Write an argument essay (at least three full pages, but no more than five) based on the following topic. All essays must be typed (12-point font, double-spaced) and must follow MLA format. No outside sources (beyond course texts) are required.
Topic. If you could select two texts that we have read this semester and pass them along to future generations of ENGL 201: World Literature students, which texts would you choose?
Note that, soon enough, your life will start to become increasingly and inextricably linked with the lives of those who (as of April, 2016) have yet to reach college, or high school, or—truth be told—underwear. Put differently: there is a good chance that once you hit about 35 years of age, your child’s teacher, or your primary care physician, or your car repair specialist, will be younger than you.
What would you want these future Citizen Leaders—and future parents, voters, co-workers, running buddies, neighbors—to have studied in their World Literature course? What would you want them to have discovered, enjoyed, struggled with, learned? Why? What’s in it for them? For you? For the future?
Here are a few guidelines for writing a successful essay:
1. Your first paragraph will need to address directly the assigned topic, probably by precisely explaining your frame for the assignment and by identifying the text or texts that your essay will be examining. However you choose to begin, this opening paragraph should conclude by making an overarching point, also known as a thesis. In this case, your thesis should be a precise answer to some version of the following question: "Why these two texts?"
2. This is a relatively short essay, so do not attempt to cover too much ground. Instead, organize your very best ideas into cohesive units of meaning that can then be developed into a few full, choice paragraphs. Paragraphs that lack clear topic sentences invariably falter.
3. Commit to a close reading of the text in question so that you can persuasively support your choices. Directly quote words, phrases, and passages that best support your ideas. Essays that do not quote the text under examination will seem rushed and feeble, and they will be graded accordingly.
4. Approach this assignment with creativity and verve. Do not hesitate to shape, bend, or mold the assignment in such a way that it becomes interesting to you; do be careful, however, not to abandon the assigned topic.
5. Proofread carefully for grammatical and mechanical mistakes.