Essay #1 Dates

• proposal - Feb. 19
• first draft - Feb. 26
• peer review letters - March 3
• second draft and portfolio - March 10

Remember that an excellent place to start finding critical articles is on the University of Arizona's library web page under the section called "Research by Subject" (the last icon on the web page). Click on this icon and find the link to Language and Literature, and then choose English Language Literature, where you'll find several helpful links put together by the UA librarian, Louise Greenfield. I've included a link below to the MLA Style for online sources, but you can also find links to citation guides on Louise Greenfield's page.

Description

Both essays should be 3-5 pages long, and while the first essay must be a critical one, the second essay may be critical or may take a more creatively expansive form. Both essays invite you to use a peer review process for rewriting. For Essay #1, please write on either Bobbie Ann Mason's In Country or Duong Thu Huong's Novel Without a Name (or both). For Essay #2, please write on Toni Morrison's Beloved, al-Tayyib Salih's (Tayeb Salih) Season of Migration to the North, or Manuel Puig's Kiss of the Spider Woman. Because this course is called "Modern Literature," a paper solely on Shakespeare's Othello does not qualify; however, if you choose to write about Season of Migration to the North, feel free to incorporateOthello in your analysis.

Consider your audience for these pieces of writing (peer reviewers and me) and focus on what intrigues you, on topics you'd like to explore further. I appreciate reading papers that surprise me with insights, which have been crafted into a clearly organized argument and written in a persuasive manner. My experience has shown me that shaping a manageable thesis statement constitutes a good deal of the creative process. And here, honing your topic into an effective thesis for a three- to five-page paper is the real challenge. Here's an example:

You're interested in the role of popular culture in Bobbie Ann Mason's In Country. You do a number of invention or pre-writing techniques to come up with more ideas, and after a couple of freewriting sessions, and one looping session (we'll discuss these techniques and others in class), you realize that the topic of popular culture involves a huge number of things. Finally, you decide that Mason's use of the TV show M*A*S*H interests you the most. So you play around with a few thesis statements and finally come up with something like this: "Mason's use of M*A*S*H explains the central concerns of the novel." (I'm not convinced that's a fantastic thesis statement, but only further writing can tell.)

After you have done some invention and shaped a possible thesis, you're ready to write the proposal. Your proposal is a one- to two-page narrative, which answers the following questions:

• why did you choose the text and topic of your paper?
• what is your working thesis?
• how do you propose to persuade your readers?
• what critical resources do you already have at hand and what do you anticipate needing?
• what obstacles or challenges do you anticipate?

Your paper then convinces your readers of your thesis through reasons backed up by textual evidence and critical sources. In-text quotations are cited correctly (refer to the MLA format) and your Works Cited page clearly documents all sources of quotations and ideas used. The title of your paper and your introduction both hook my interest, and when I get to your thesis statement, I recognize it immediately, especially since your introduction has prepared me for your main point. Clear transitions from paragraph to paragraph as well as effective topic sentences lead me through your paper in a logical way, and I'm impressed with the evidence and examples you use to support the reasons backing up your thesis. Your conclusion does not restate your thesis or other points but gives resolution to your paper.

I enjoy reading the clean copy and effectively proofread text of your paper. You've double spaced, used a 12-point font size and one-inch margins. You also include a cover page with your name, title of your paper, statement of your purpose, acknowledgements, and three questions you pose to your readers. After you receive feedback from your peer review group and me, you are ready to write your second and final draft, which is turned in with your essay portfolio. Please use a pocket folder with your name written on the front and include:

• final version of paper
• copies of peer review letters you have written for your peers
• first draft