LIBS 4900 Midterm Exam
This midterm assessment builds upon the type of reading and writing that we have done throughout the semester. By this point in the term you should feel confident in your abilities to read, analyze, and interpret a text.
From the prompts below, choose ONE and write an essay in response.
Locate the specific question that is asked in this prompt and answer it in one complete sentence (this is your claim/thesis).
Next, develop 4-6 sub-claims that support this overall claim.
You must support these sub-claims with examples from the text(s)/film(s) under discussion and analysis of each example (Support your assertions with evidence from each text and explain each example’s relevance to your claim/thesis). Be sure to cite quoted lines and complete a works cited page. Write in complete sentences shaping your response in essay form.
NOTE: you must support your assertions with quotes from the texts and explain how those quotes illustrate the point you are attempting to make as well as how they connect to your overall claim (thesis).
Please give your essay a title. All answers should be typed and double-spaced, a min. of 4 FULL pages up to 6 pages (this does page requirement does not include the works cited page).
Your answers should be presented in formal essay form with an introduction, body, and conclusion. What you are presenting is formal literary criticism, so all the rules that typical apply to that type of writing apply here as well (no first person, no contraction, no personal pronouns, no plot summary, etc.). See the specifics below about purpose and audience.
PROMPT #1 : What does Plato’s Allegory of the Cave suggest to us about the ideas of appearances and reality (i.e. truth) and how is this connected to the concept of freedom? In your answer use a min. of 2 texts from List A and a min. of 2 texts from List B. NOTE: Should you choose to discuss a film from list A, you may not discuss more than one.
PROMPT #2: According to Aristotle in Nicomachean Ethics, how do we acquire moral virtues and what does such a view suggest about our relationship with the concept of justice? In your answer use a min. of 2 texts from List A and a min. of 2 texts from List B. NOTE: Should you choose to discuss a film from list A, you may not discuss more than one.
LIST A
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs
“Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston
“Ain’t I a Woman” by Sojourner Truth
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
The Color Purple (dir. Steven Spielberg)
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Do The Right Thing (dir. Spike Lee)
For Colored Girls Who’ve Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enough by Ntozake Shange
LIST B
Plato’s Republic
The Nicmachean Ethics (Book 2, Book 5, sections 1 &2) by Aristotle
Introduction to the Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir
“Notes of a Native Son” by James Baldwin
I am Not Your Negro (Documentary about James Baldwin)
Toward a Feminist Theory of Freedom (introduction) by Nancy Hirschman
“Freedom of the Will and the Concept of a Person” by Harry Frankfurt
NOTE: THE IDEAS FOUND IN THIS PAPER MUST BE YOUR OWN. YOU MAY NOT USE SOURCES OTHER THAN THOSE LISTED ABOVE!
What is Literary Criticism and How Do I Write a Paper of This Nature?
At its very basic definition, literary criticism is a written evaluation of a work of literature or art that attempts to enlighten a reader about the underlying meaning of the text, whether it is a play, poem, short story, novel, painting, or film.
Purpose
In this type of paper a writer is forming an academic argument. As the writer you are arguing that your interpretation of the text is a valid - not the only interpretation - in an attempt to aid the reader in “seeing” the text in a new light or from a different perspective that perhaps may be different from their own.
Audience
Your audience is made up of academics, scholars, literary/film critics, professors, and students (who are academics, scholars, and literary/film critics). You should assume that they have read the text or viewed the film and are familiar with its contents. Because of this you would never merely retell the story because your audience is already familiar with it. This would also conflict with the purpose of this type of paper. You are to discuss underlying meaning, not retell the events of the story.
Because your audience is a scholarly one, your paper must be presented in a formal manner. You should use high diction and avoid first person, personal pronouns, and contractions.
NOTE: When relating events of the film or discussing the content of an academic article, use words such as, "Williams develops the major characters in the story..." or "Williams argues..." Notice the use of the active verbs "develops" and argues.
Format
•Your essay should have a title. It should also be typed, double-spaced, with one inch margins all around, Times New Roman Font, & 12 pt. Your essay should be a minimum of 4 FULL pages and no more than 6 FULL pages. Again, the ideas in your paper must be your own. You may not use any source that is not listed in Lists A or B above. You should end your essay when you feel it is FULLY DEVELOPED.
Your grade for this assignment will be determined as follows:
Total Possible Points: 50/
Final draft of one paper written as a group evaluated on the following criteria:
Focus (16 points): Does essay have a clear purpose? Overall claim stated in intro and restated in conclusion? Focus on a single idea or aspect of the literature/film? Is it clear how examples in body are related to the overall claim? Does the writer explain the broader implications of this claim to the text(s) as a whole? Are the subclaims clearly related to the claim? When read together, do the intro and conclusion form one idea?
Development (16 points): Does writer support interpretation with evidence from text(s(? Avoid giving a plot summary? Does writer explain for the reader how the evidence supports interpretation (and as a result the claim)? Does writer quote accurately from the source, including citing specific page numbers?
Organization (16 points): Do first few sentences arouse the reader’s interest and focus their attention on the subject? Are readers expectations set and clearly met? Do paragraphs have clear focus, unity and coherence? Effective transitions? Does the writer guide the reader from beginning to end?
Style (6 points): Is language clear direct and readable? Are sentences clear, concise, and easily read by intended audience? Is word choice appropriate for audience? Do sentences reveal and sustain appropriate voice and tone? Does writer use the literary present tense to describe events in the story or content of the academic article?
Mechanics (6 points): Are there obvious errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar? Are there patterns of error?
NO FIRST DRAFT (-5 POINTS)
NO OUTLINE (-5 POINTS)
NO ST REPORT AND REVISION PLAN (-5 POINTS)
NO REFLECTION (-5 POINTS)
Grading scale:
A 54-60
B 48-53
C 42-47
D 36-41
F 0-35
