Writing Narrative
This is to be a one page, double spaced account of
your writing process.
In narrative style, describe how you set about
writing a paper for a college course.
Imagine the paper is due on a Thursday.
Describe when you start the paper, how you
start it, and when you finish it.
Include where you work (computer lab? in your
room? Library?), how you save your work (on you computer? N drive? flash
drive? other?), where do you print?
Be sure to include any specific strategies you
use such as brainstorming, outlining, asking a peer to review, proofreading,
the Writing Center.
This is to be an accurate description of what
you do, not
what you think you should do
or what you want me to think that you do.
This paper will count for twenty of the fifty
possible points in your portfolio.
Paper 1 Soliloquy Transcription and Paraphrase
Shakespeare’s characters are famous for their
soliloquies and speeches.
These somewhat lengthy passages contain
observations on recent events in the play, and larger meditations on themes
and tropes of the play overall.
By analyzing a particular speech, we can get a
sense of what the character believes, but also what the play as a whole is
about.
In this paper, you will take the Bastard’s speech from
King
John, 2.1.588-626 and analyze it to see how
it connects to one of the themes of the play.
The paper will have two parts.
First, you will create an accurate
transcription of the speech so that it matches the book in spelling and
punctuation.
You will then circle and define, using the
Oxford
English Dictionary (OED),
at least ten words with which you are not familiar.
The definition should give the part of speech,
make sense in context, and should be accurate to Shakespeare’s lifetime
(roughly 1550-1650).
If your text already glosses these words, cross
check that definition with the
OED
and modify the definition as you see necessary to fit
the context.
Next, identify and fully explain important
literary elements (similes, metaphors, allusions, images, personification,
puns, or symbols) that appear in the speech.
Metaphors and personification will be
particularly important.
Then, using your own words, write a line by
line paraphrase of the speech.
This paraphrase must convey the full meaning of
the original, but you cannot use any words or phrases that appear in the
original.
Your paraphrase will most likely be much longer
than the original.
The length of this part will vary, but it
should be no less than three pages.
Second, write a two page essay that identifies
a theme or trope in the play and shows how the speech relates it.
The literary elements will be especially
helpful here.
You will need to be familiar with the events
and characters of the play to complete this part.
The goal will be to show how the speech relates
to the play as a whole.
This section will require you to use quotations
from the text.
The rules for this are on the syllabus.
This assignment is designed to demonstrate your
ability to use the
OED, to read and
understand Shakespeare’s language, and to practice your skills in
paraphrasing. It will be scored on these criteria as well as how well it
follows directions and format rules.
You
are to rely only on the
OED, your text, and
your abilities as a critical reader and writer.
No outside sources may be used.
Any use of outside sources will be considered
plagiarism.
Be sure to follow the rules of format as
described on the syllabus.
This course regards writing as a process.
The process of writing this paper will include
a complete first draft, a side shadow, and a peer review.
Failure to complete one of these elements will
result in the loss of ten points from your final score, up to a total of
thirty.
On the day the final version of this paper is due, you
will turn in the peer review sheet, the side-shadowed version, and the final
version.
Paper 2 Character Analysis
This paper is a literary analysis that uses an
argumentative thesis statement.
Shakespeare’s plays frequently contain two (or
more) characters that seem to posses either similar or divergent motives,
goals, or beliefs.
By comparing and contrasting what these
characters say, what they do, and what other characters say about them, we
can establish a more sophisticated and nuanced understanding of them and of
the play.
In this paper, you will identify two such
characters, compare and contrast them in order to reveal something about
their natures that may not be readily apparent.
You may examine two characters from one of the
plays we have read thus far.
Or you may examine two characters from two
different plays.
The paper will use quotations from the play or
plays to support its thesis.
These quotations are to be cited in-text
following the rules for quoting Shakespeare.
The paper must have an MLA-style bibliography
(works cited page) that lists the text or texts that you used.
Rules for MLA style are in
A Pocket Style
Manual (sec. 28-33, esp. 32).
The paper must have a clear thesis statement.
This thesis will be what you and your reader
learn about a given character based on your analysis.
It must be an argument that your paper will
support.
A statement of fact, such as “There are many
similarities and differences between King John and Macbeth,” is not a thesis
statement.
The paper should be three to four pages long
and follow the format rules described in the syllabus.
The paper should be entirely your own effort;
you are to use no outside sources beyond your text and the
OED.
If I discover evidence that you did use outside
sources, that is, the paper is plagiarized, it will receive a score of zero.
This paper is designed to demonstrate your
understanding of how Shakespeare creates his characters through comparison,
contrast, use of imagery, metaphor and other literary elements, your ability
to establish and support a thesis, your ability accurately and properly to
use quotations from Shakespeare, and your ability to use the
OED.
The paper will be scored on these criteria as
well as how well it follows directions and format rules and use of
paraphrase/summary/direct quotation.
As with Paper 1, the process of this paper will
include an outline, a complete first draft, a side shadow, and a peer
review.
Failure to complete one of these elements will result
in the loss of ten points from your final score, up to a total of thirty.
The day the paper is due, we will meet in
Library 230.
You must bring a paper copy of your completed
paper, an electronic copy, the rubric, and the outline.
If your paper is not complete at this time, ten
points will be deducted from the score.
As with Paper 1, you will sideshadow, peer
review, and revise your paper during the class period.
On Tuesday 9 March, you are to bring to class
an outline that identifies your thesis statement and at least three
quotations that you intend to use to support it. This is to be typed on a
single sheet of paper.
For tips on generating an argumentative thesis
statement, see:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/545/01/
Or
A Pocket Style
Manual (sec. 28).
Paper 3 Review
For this paper, you will write a four to five page
review of the film of
A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
This will not be an informative or descriptive
review.
Based on your knowledge and your interpretation of
A
Midsummer Night’s Dream, you will present a
critical analysis of the interpretation the film presents.
The paper will have two parts.
The first part should begin with a brief
paragraph that communicates basic information about the film: the release
date, the director, the lead actors, and anything else that your reader
needs to know to understand your review.
The next several paragraphs should briefly
summarize the opinions of at least three reviews you found in class.
One review must be from a newspaper, one from a
news magazine, and the last from a scholarly journal.
In general, what did the reviewers like and/or
dislike about the film?
Do the three reviews have anything in common?
The second, and longest, part of the review will
present your analysis
of the director’s interpretation of
A Midsummer
Night’s Dream.
There are several strategies for doing this.
One is to begin with the themes of the play and
ask how the film treats these themes.
Does it prefer one more than another?
Does it ignore one completely?
(For example, imagine a film of
Macbeth
that emphasizes the role of the Weird Sisters and makes Macbeth seem like a
puppet without free will.
How would this fit with your own view of the
play?)
A second strategy is to look at the performance cruces
within the play.
Compared to your own idea of a particular
moment or element, how does the film portray it?
(Imagine a film of
Macbeth
that has the Weird Sisters played by old men.
How would you evaluate that decision?)
A third strategy is to look at what the film
leaves out and/or what it adds.
On average, a Shakespeare film uses only about
thirty percent of the original text, obviously omitting important material.
How does this affect the play?
Films will also change the setting (Macbeth
in Brooklyn in the 1970s) or emphasize
certain characters by giving them more screen time or more lines.
It is generally best to think about how the
performance cruces and any changes affect the themes of the play, in other
words, use a combination of all three strategies.
Your thesis statement for this paper will present your
evaluation of the film’s interpretation.
For example, “By emphasizing the roles of the
Weird Sisters and Lady Macbeth, this film of
Macbeth
makes Macbeth seem weak and lacking free will of
his own.”
The paper would go on to describe at least
three moments in the film that demonstrate how overly influential the female
characters are and how Macbeth’s character ends up seeming too powerless.
(To help with this, a DVD of
A Midsummer
Night’s Dream is on reserve at the library,
and clips from the film are available on Blackboard.)
This assignment is designed to demonstrate your
ability to interpret a filmed performance of a Shakespeare play, to
establish and support a thesis, to locate and incorporate useful resources
using
Lexis/Nexis and other library resources, as
well as those analytical skills described in papers one and two.
It will be scored on these criteria as well as
how well it follows directions and format rules.
As with previous papers, this paper should follow all
the usual rules of format.
The process of this paper will include an
outline, a first draft, a side shadow, and a peer review.
Failure to complete one of these elements will
result in the loss of ten points from your final score, up to a total of
thirty.
On the day the final version of this paper is due, you
will turn in the outline, the peer review sheet, the side-shadowed version,
and the final version.
Editing Journal
This is to be kept in a blue book. I will make
comments on each paper you turn in.
After you receive a paper back, make an entry
for that paper in the blue book. The entry should be divided into four
parts.
First it should describe any
grammar/spelling/punctuation/usage/format errors and their corrections.
I will note these with check marks in the
margin of your paper and as a category on the rubric.
Second, it should note any problems with MLA
citations or the bibliography page.
Third, you should write two or three sentences
describing what you would do differently if you were to re-write the paper.
I expect you to refer to your writing narrative
and to the side shadowing you have done on that paper.
The more specific these sentences are the
better.
Do not write that
you need to avoid there/their/they’re errors.
Describe how
you will do this.
For your second and third papers, I expect you
to refer back to your previous entries.
Fourth and last, write two or three sentences
about how the peer review process did or did not help you improve your
paper.
The goal of the editing journal is to create a
critical record of your own writing so that you can better address your
strengths and weaknesses.
You will have an entry for each of the three
papers this term.
Your score will be determined by the
comprehensiveness and organization of your journal. I will collect and check
the journals periodically so be sure to bring it to class every day.
Portfolio
This is due on the last day of class.
It should contain each of the three papers that
you wrote, with my comments on them and the rubric.
It should also contain your writing narrative,
completed editing journal and the usage exercises done in class, and all of
the quizzes.
Most importantly, it should have a one to two
page personal statement, following the format rules, in which you describe
how your writing has progressed from the first paper to the last.
You must cite specific examples of improvement
or lack of improvement from your papers.
Your editing journal and writing narrative will
be helpful in composing this.
Please assemble this in a paper folder, do not
use three ring binders.
Except for quizzes, points will be deducted for
any missing items.
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