ENGLISH 1102
DRAMA ESSAY -
The Doll House
Minimum: 1000 words not including works cited
Purpose:
This is your capstone project, demonstrating what you have learned
throughout this semester. Completing it will improve your critical thinking and
organization (logic) skills as well as your ability to analyze for meaning. In addition, this
essay will help to improve your writing skills, from grammatical correctness to varying
your sentence openings and structures. Finally, this paper will help you practice and
gain experience with proper quotation and citation style, all of which is invaluable
knowledge for your future classes and for your ability to write in many careers and life
situations.
Task:
Four outside sources (at least one critical book--usually online but print is
also permissible--and three critical database articles) must be quoted in this
paper. Internet sources are prohibited. Be sure you cite correctly all information
taken from sources both in the text (parenthetically) and in your Works Cited page using
the Citation Style handout.
You should also use quotations from the play to demonstrate your points. Each
quotation and analysis must be clearly related to your
thesis and topic sentence
and to
the sentences before and after it. Be sure you have at least one sentence of explanation
after each quotation to show how it relates to your thesis and topic sentence. Follow
proper quotation and citation style as reviewed in the Quotation handout and Citation
Style handout (also available as a Powerpoint presentation).
As always, your essay must have a strong, clear thesis.
For example, “There is
symbolism in ‘A Doll House’” is not making a strong point. A better thesis would be:
“The play’s symbolism helps strengthen Ibsen’s point that individual freedom is more
important than social conventions.”
As always, the thesis should be the last sentence in
your introduction and each body paragraph of the essay should have a topic sentence
that relates clearly to the thesis.
The reader of your essay should always be able to read
only your thesis and topic sentences and still see a clear outline of the essay.
You may discuss characterization (how the character changes throughout the
play works especially well for this assignment), symbolism, irony, or theme(s) for this project.
One way to find a thesis is to discuss the characters in a drama with strong characterization, such as the characters in A Doll House. Again, some of the aspects to consider for a character analysis are:
What details in the drama show you what kind of person the character is?
What are some of the personality traits of the character and how are these suggested in the play?
What does the character interaction (the way the character reacts to other characters) tell you about the character?
What function does the character serve in the play?
How does the author use the character to reveal the play’s theme or the issues it presents?
How does the character change throughout the play and why?
Another way to find a thesis is to discuss the theme of a drama. Here you are
discussing what the drama means and what the author is using the drama to suggest.
An example of this would be, “In A Doll House, Ibsen shows the influence that money
can have on marriage.” Again, all essays should be in third person and double-spaced using MLA format. As always, AVOID summarizing the plot. Assume that the reader of your paper
has read the drama and remembers it well. Don’t tell the reader what happens in the
play; instead, explain the meaning of the drama (or some aspect of the drama such as a
character or symbolism).
Remember to allow sufficient time to research and to read and incorporate your sources.
See the Guide for Evaluating Essays for details on the grading system. Areas
evaluated will include content, organization with thesis and topic sentences, support
using quotations and examples from the play, quotation and citation style, use of
sources, and variety of sentence openings and styles. You may use the Drama Essay
Self-Quiz to remind yourself of all the aspects of the paper that you need to include.
DO YOU HAVE A GOOD RESEARCHED DRAMA ESSAY?
Take this quiz and see!
1. Is your paper double-spaced throughout?
If so, give yourself one point.
2. Do you have the correct information in MLA format in the upper left-hand corner?
If so, give yourself one point.
3. Is your last name and the page number in the upper right-hand corner of each page?
If so, give yourself one point.
4. Do you have a title, centered but not underlined or in quotation marks?
If so, give yourself one point.
5. Does your title include the name of the author or the work you are discussing?
If so, give yourself one point.
6. Is the last sentence in your introduction your thesis—the main idea you are proving in your essay?
If so, give yourself one point.
7. Is there a transitional word, phrase, or sentence at the beginning of each body paragraph and the conclusion?
If so, give yourself one point per paragraph.
8. Is the first sentence (or if there is a transitional sentence, the first sentence after that) of each paragraph your topic sentence—what you are discussing in that paragraph?
If so, give yourself one point per paragraph.
9. Does the first sentence of each paragraph (the topic sentence) relate clearly back to the thesis? Does it mirror the thesis—for example, by repeating a main word or idea from the thesis?
If so, give yourself one point per paragraph.
10. Do you have at least four quotations from critical books or articles in your essay?
If so, give your self one point per quotation.
11. Do you have at least three quotations from the work you are discussing in your essay?
If so, give your self one point per quotation.
12. Do you have an introductory phrase before every quotation?
If so, give yourself one point per quotation.
13. Do you have an explanatory sentence after every quotation?
If so, give yourself one point per quotation.
14. Do you have a summary sentence for each body paragraph?
If so, give yourself one point per paragraph.
15. Does your conclusion sum up your discussion without introducing new ideas?
If so, give yourself one point.
16. Is your essay at least 1000 words without the Works Cited page?
If so, give yourself one point.
17. Is the Works Cited (or "Works Consulted," if appropriate) page attached to your essay?
If so, give yourself one point.
18. Is the title "Works Cited" (or "Works Consulted," if appropriate) centered on the page but not underlined or in quotation marks?
If so, give yourself one point.
19. Is the Works Cited (or "Works Consulted," if appropriate) double-spaced without extra lines between entries?
If so, give yourself one point.
20. Is your Works Cited in alphabetical order by last names without being numbered?
Start with a real thesis and write a real analytical paper with proper quotation and citation style.