Option #1 prompt is what I would like to use.From Letters From an American FarmerExcerpt of Letter III: “What Is an American”
by J. Hector St. John De Crevecoeur
Taken from http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/letter_03.aspThis Excerpt is the one I want to use to compare a current situation that exit today
Final Paper for American Literature REQUIREMENTS: ● This paper must contain outside research. You will need to show that you have a firm understanding of the problem or situation being discussed. Current magazines, journals and books should help you with this. The minimum number of required sources is 4, not including the story/poem/essay being analyzed, though you are free to use more. For this assignment, you are restricted from using web pages, except for no more than 2 reputable news sites (e.g. NPR.org, CBS.com) and government sites. (Note: journals/magazines/newspapers accessed via Tech’s online database do not count as web pages. These are printed materials that have been scanned into the database for your convenience. Google Books also does not count as a website.) ● You must use a well-known documentation style (e.g. Chicago, MLA, APA), and all sources must be cited according to the rules of that style. If you have any questions about this, then please come see me. ● Each paper must be at least 4 pages long. The page length does not include title, headers, footers and Works Cited page. This means that your text will need to run onto the 5th page. Margins must be set to 1”, and the font should be a double spaced 12pt., Times New Roman. If the paper doesn’t meet these basic requirements, then you will lose MANY points—OR I might not read your paper at all, and consequently, you'll receive a zero. Any paper that is short of the page requirement (even by a line) will automatically forfeit all points. ● You must use ONE of the essays, poems or stories that we read and discussed this semester (except Poe’s “Tell-Tale Heart,” which has been analyzed to death, and the movie, Bagger Vance). Feel free to expound on anything that we discussed in class. While you are organizing your paper, try to remember some of the class discussions we’ve had. ● You need to offer abundant proof from the story/essay/poem—proof that supports your thesis. Don’t turn in a paper that doesn’t have abundant quotes (with substantial intros and explanations) from the text that support your points. ● The work, in its entirety, must be your own. I cannot stress enough how strict I am with plagiarists. As I stated in my syllabus, anyone who is caught plagiarizing will fail the course—no explanation will be acceptable. This means that if you copy or paraphrase someone else’s work, and you do not cite that person, then you will be taking 201 (or the like) again, and possibly at another institution. ● Your paper must be turned in ON TIME. Late papers will not be accepted. However, you are welcome to turn your paper in early. IF ANY OF THE STIPULATIONS LISTED ABOVE ARE NOT FOLLOWED, THEN YOU WILL LOSE POINTS, PERHAPS ALL OF THEM. Name_________________________________ Research Paper Grading Rubric Does the Paper Meet ALL the Basic Requirements (e.g. on time, gets to required page min, 1” margins, 12pt Times New Roman font)? If not, then enter 0/20 for the paper grade. 20 points 10 points 0 points Intro ¶ and Thesis Very clear and engaging; nicely introduces a clear thesis statement Clear but not especially engaging; or doesn’t introduce thesis; or thesis lacks clarity Intro and/or thesis doesn’t work at all—Doesn’t look like you understand this yet Topic Sentences with Transitions Clear and Present in all body paragraphs; clearly shows the next element of the thesis to be addressed Present in one or two body paragraphs and/or only expresses part of the thesis. Doesn’t look like you understand this yet Quotes from Story to Support Topic Sentences All topic sentences are fully supported with quotes from story/poem/play Missing some support or some quotes seem to be off-topic-even after the explanation Missing a lot of support—Doesn’t look like you understand this yet Introductions to Quotes NOTE: If you didn’t have enough quotes, then you couldn’t score well on this. All quotes are introduced well (helps readers understand who’s speaking, who’s being spoken to and context) Most quotes are adequately introduced Many quotes lack adequate introductions—Does n’t look like you understand this yet Explanations for Each Quote NOTE: If you didn’t have enough quotes, then you couldn’t score well on this. All quotes are fully explained (can see what the quotes mean and how they prove/validate the topic sentences) Missing explanations of some quotes Missing explanations for many quotes—Doesn’t look like you understand this yet Research Adequate research to support the topic/points in each body paragraph (also clear how the research helps inform/explain the quote from the story/poem/play that precedes it) Lacks research in many places or lacks a clear relation to the quote from the story/poem/play that precedes it. No research used or none of the research supports the topic sentences or body paragraph points. MLA Format All quotes have in-text citations and a Works Cited entry Missing some in-text cites or problems with the Works Cited page Many problems with in-text citations and and/or Works Cited page Conclusion Interesting and doesn’t repeat the thesis Not especially interesting, but at least it doesn’t repeat the thesis Doesn’t look like you understand this yet Total Points__________ ÷ 8 = . Final Grade __________/20 COMMON PROBLEMS ON THE NEXT TWO PAGES COMMON PROBLEMS AND ADVICE TO KEEP IN MIND TITLES ● In a title, all words are capitalized except for prepositions, conjunctions, and the articles "a," "an" and "the"--unless any of these are the first word of the title. ● Titles are never simply the title of the work you’re analyzing. That’s already a title, so get your own. Instead, try to be creative and clever. INTRO PARAGRAPHS ● Don’t simply jump right into discussing the story. Help readers understand WHY you're about to discuss the story. Provide a little context. Start by discussing the topic that you see the story/poem/play addressing, and then segue into what the story/poem/play has to say about this topic. ○ SAMPLE: If the paper is explaining how the story, “Marcus,” helps readers understand poverty, then you might start by talking about poverty in the U.S. After that short discussion, you might end with the following thesis-- Interestingly enough, Jane Smith’s short story, “Marcus” offers readers a better understanding of poverty by showing us why people are forced to live in poverty, how this problem is being ignored and what needs to be done to remedy the problem. ● Notice in the last example that because the story is the focus of the paper, the thesis makes that clear. BODY PARAGRAPHS ● Clear topic sentences ○ SAMPLE: One way that “Marcus” helps readers understand poverty is by showing them why there are so many impoverished people in America. ○ SAMPLE: In addition to giving readers a better understanding of why people are forced to live in poverty, Smith also points out that this problem is being ignored by many people. These examples show 1) the story/author is the focus of each body paragraph and 2) the paragraph will deal with one element of the thesis. ● Supporting quotes from the story/poem/play ○ QUOTES RELEVANCE Make sure the quote is validating the topic sentence (Read the topic sentence. If your quote isn’t addressing that topic, then that quote is, by definition, “OFF TOPIC.”) ○ INTRODUCTIONS/LEAD-INs FOR QUOTES Make sure you have an intro to the quote that helps readers understand who’s speaking, who’s being spoken to, and the context of the quote. ■ Example of a poor intro: Then the story says, “She ain’t got no idea what we go through” (Smith 32). (Notice that with this intro, the reader has no idea who the “she” and “we” are and why this is being said.) ■ Example of solid intro: Once the rich woman leaves the alley, the homeless man turns to all his homeless friends and says, “She ain’t got no idea what we go through” (Smith 32). ○ EXPLANATIONS FOR QUOTES Make sure you offer readers an understanding of what the quote means, why certain word choices are interesting/important and, most importantly, how the quote proves/relates to the topic sentence. ● Research Quotes ○ Like the quotes from the story/poem/play, the research quotes need solid intros and explanations ○ Make sure your research quote helps explain/inform the quote from the story that precedes it. ○ Make sure your research is secondary to the story/poem/play. Don’t turn this into a paper about the topic. The paper is about what the story is telling/teaching us. CONCLUSION PARAGRAPH ○ Don’t simply repeat what you’ve already said in the paper. ○ Help readers better understand why all the analysis they’ve read might be helpful to them. ○ Make the paper relevant to your readers. 1 From Letters From an American Farmer Excerpt of Letter III: “What Is an American” by J. Hector St. John De Crevecoeur Taken from http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/letter_03.asp I wish I could be acquainted with the feelings and thoughts which must agitate the heart and present themselves to the mind of an enlightened Englishman, when he first lands on this continent. He must greatly rejoice that he lived at a time to see this fair country discovered and settled; he must necessarily feel a share of national pride, when he views the chain of settlements which embellishes these extended