The resources on this page that are designed to help you understand the assignment better. Please scroll down to see answers to some frequently asked questions.
Unit One Essay Assignment
Write a 1250 word essay about a single scene from an 18th or 19th century novella or play. Discuss one to three techniques (e.g., dialogue, diction, imagery, action, juxtaposition, pacing). Explain how the writer uses those techniques to make the theme novella or play's themes clear. Follow MLA-style manuscript format and documentation standards.
You may choose to make use of one or two secondary sources, but it's not necessary to go beyond the primary text in your analysis (see http://www.bgsu.edu/colleges/library/infosrv/lue/primary.html for an explanation of primary and secondary sources). Instead, substantiate your claims with examples from the primary text.
Short stories, novellas, or plays to choose from:
- Moliére, Tartuffe
- Voltaire, Candide
- Goethe, Faust
Timeline for this project:
- Send me a message with the topic you've chosen by 31 January 2008. Your message to me will start a conversation - I will approve your topic or ask to chat with you about it before you go any further.
- Visit the Learning Center with a draft of your paper and have a tutor read it and comment on it (or have a partner read it and comment on it) by 15 February 2008
- The final draft of Essay One is due 29 February 2008 @ 11:55PM MST to WebCT's Dropbox
Note: If you choose not to honor the timeline or complete part of the assignment, e.g., the peer review, you'll lose points. All parts of the assignment must be complete in order for your paper to be eligible for full credit.
Topic ideas:
- Choose a comedic moment in Candide and explain how it contributes to the satire.
- In Candide, the narrative moves at lightning speed through the events. Discuss how the narrative pace affects the satire or the comedy.
Where can I find information about various literary techniques?
There are several very good resources dealing with literary techniques. The University of North Carolina at Pembroke's Glossary of Literary Terms or Robert Harris' A Glossary of Literary Terms is a place to begin looking for definitions of the terms I provides (dialogue, diction, imagery, action, juxtaposition, pacing). There's a list of additional specialized web resources through AlphaDictionary.com. If you're interested in something more official, chat with our library staff - our library has reference materials, including specialized dictionaries, that will meet your needs here. Some additional terms that you might consider are satire, setting, and characterization.
What shape should my thesis statement take?
The thesis statement for this essay should name the themes and the techniques, in addition to the author and play or novella, that you're going to discuss, e.g.,
Moliére uses satire and juxtaposition to make the aristocracy's hypocrisy clear in Tartuffe. OR
Through a series of implausible events through which the characters move at a rapid pace and to which Pangloss' consistent response is "live in the best of all possible worlds," Voltaire make his criticism of optimism clear in Candide.
How should I organize the ideas within the body?
The body of this paper should tackle the themes OR techniques one at a time. It's likely that you'll spend more than one paragraph per theme or technique. Develop your ideas so that you have a watertight argument. That is, your analysis must be thorough. Always connect the themes and techniques to the scene you select - specific, well-chosen references to the primary text are helpful to your readership.
Do I have to cite my sources?
Of course you do. You are not required to use secondary sources in this paper, but you must be responsible with the information you present, including quotations, paraphrase, or summary from the primary text. You will include an MLA-style Works Cited page. As part of your process, check your paper to make sure you have included appropriate parenthetical citations for quotations and paraphrased or summarized passages, and that you have included the corresponding bibliographic entries, appropriately formatted, on the Works Cited page.
How subjective is the grading for the paper?
For information about the evaluation of your work, please see the Essay and Term Paper Rubric page of your course packet. Also see the Essay and Term Paper Writing Advice page for information about how to approach this assignment.