Essay on Emerson’s “The Poet” and Poe’s “Philosophy of Composition” Assignment
In an essay compare and contrast the beliefs about poetry and poets expressed by
Emerson in his essay “The Poet” and Poe in his essay “Philosophy of Composition.”
DUE DATES
Monday 11/21/11 – Rough draft with arguable thesis. Worth up to15 points (should have
thesis and enough detail to show you have put in some beginning effort. Needs to be
legible!)
Wednesday 11/30/11 – FINAL DRAFT FOR A GRADE. Worth 95 points
How do I do this essay?
Step One: Read both essays through once.
Step Two: After reading each essay free write your thoughts and feelings about what the
author said.
Step Three: Reread each essay underlining details, taking notes over what you think
expresses the basic ideas the author is trying to communicate.
Step Four: What conclusions can you draw about the beliefs concerning poetry and
poets of each author?
Step Five: Make a comparison of the conclusions expressing the agreements and
disagreements you see in the belief systems. (This could even be in the form of a rough
chart or diagram of some kind.)
Step Six: Write a rough draft to turn in on 11/21/11. To get to a rough draft you may
need to make an outline or make a diagram, or any combination of these, showing how
quotes and textual evidence lead to your conclusions. This rough draft needs to have a
clear thesis for us to work with when we discuss your essay.
Step Seven Write drafts through how many are needed for completion: Rewrite and edit
essay.
Step almost the last: Neatly write final draft in accordance with rubric and attach all
previous work behind final draft.
Step The Last: Turn in essay on Wednesday 11/30/11.
Grading Rubric for Final Exam Essay: Total points 95
ANSWERS PROMPT – 5 points
 Content
0 1 2 3 4 5
INTRODUCTION – 15 points
 Contains an appropriate attention getter
 Information tells reader what essay is about
 Creates expectation in the reader (thesis)
0 1 2 3 4 5
0 1 2 3 4 5
0 1 2 3 4 5
BODY PARAGRAPHS – 35 points
 Each paragraph has a topic sentence
 Contains transitions at sentence level
 Contains transitions between paragraphs
 Logical organization of ideas
 Paragraphs are of appropriate length/depth
 Contains a minimum of two supporting quotes
from each essay
 Uses examples and specifics from text of
the essays to support thesis and topics
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CONCLUSION – 15 points
 Restates what essay was about
 Avoids introducing new material
 Creates sense of closure/completeness
0 1 2 3 4 5
0 1 2 3 4 5
0 1 2 3 4 5
MECHANICS – 20 points
 Names of places and people spelled correctly
 In text citation of quotes
 Uses proper spelling, punctuation, capitalization
 Uses Standard American Edited English grammar
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FORMAT – 5 points
 Follows requested formatting instructions
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 Double spaced, one inch margins, 12 point Times New Roman font, minimum of
3 typed pages OR neatly handwritten using dark blue or black ink on one side of
ruled paper, do not skip lines, minimum of 6 pages.
EXTRA CREDIT: 5 points for an exceptionally thoughtful and executed essay.
DOWNER ALERT: Plagiarized material will of course receive a zero.