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English 2300
Analytical Essay 1
Spring 08
Patrick Erben
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1) Goals of the Assignment
Although very few literary critics today would describe themselves as practitioners of the
“New Criticism,” the “close reading” techniques championed by this 1940s and 50s
school of American literary criticism are still practiced in virtually any college level
research paper. Even more, most professional literary criticism published today, at least
in part, still relies on close reading techniques. Thus, our first essay will be a 3-4 page
concise analysis of a specific scene, character, or other feature in our first primary text,
The Tempest. Here, you should actually focus on the text alone, without considering
scholarly sources or historical/cultural context.
Following the notions of the New Criticism, you should develop all your ideas with
strong support and analysis of textual features, including word choice/diction, dialogue,
imagery, levels of speech, etc. However, my greatest interest lies in helping you to
develop strong critical arguments that advance a significant and original theory about the
text we are discussing. While formal analysis serves the point of providing evidence, I
want you to concentrate on your ability to write a paper that is convincing, forceful,
appealing, interesting, and significant.
2) Length and Format
Your essay should be at least 3 full pages long (typed, double-spaced, 12-point font, such
as Times New Roman) and not considerably more than 4 full pages. Your essay must
begin with an original title that is both descriptive and provocative!
Your paper should structurally be organized in the following fashion (MLA style, see
below!:
1) First page
- upper left-hand corner:
- name of student
- name of professor
- name and number of class
- date
- Title (centered)
- page numbers: upper right-hand, including last name of student (e.g.
Erben 1)
2) Body paragraphs
3) Revision and proof-reading
Organize your time to plan for distinct stages in the writing process, including
- reading and note-taking (preparing for the paper may require that you revisit the
text(s) you’ve already read for class!)
2
- pre-writing (brainstorming, free-writing, outlining)
- drafting
- revising
- proof-reading
In particular, you should distinguish between revising and proof-reading. In the revision
stage, you refine the structure, argumentation, development, evidence, and tone of your
essay. In the proof-reading stage, you focus exclusively on the mechanics of language
(grammar, spelling, punctuation) and formatting (margins, documentation, etc.).
4) Submitting your paper
Please submit your paper ONLY as MS Word attachments to an email, sent to my
perben@westga.edu address.
5) Grading standards
All standards provided in the English Department document “GRADING CRITERIA
FOR ALL ASSIGNMENTS 2000-LEVEL AND ABOVE” apply to this assignment.
Please review this document carefully (http://www.westga.edu/~engdept/fr/Ruby.doc)!
Beyond these grading criteria, I will reward/expect the following qualities in your essays:
- sophistication and originality; in other words, the degree in which you move
beyond summarizing and stating obvious facts about the text (tell me something I
don’t know…!)
- a clear and forceful discussion of the significance of your argument and analysis
(how you answer the famous “so what?” question; why/how does it matter?)
- effectiveness of using and incorporating textual quotations into your argument
and prose