ILS 2215 Essay 1
This assignment provides you an opportunity to further engage with the texts and ideas that we have read thus far this term ("What if We Stopped Pretending" by Jonathan Franzen, Thoreau, Solnit, Quammen, The Planet Earth episode, & Hawthorne) and the ideas found within them.
PROMPT:
Using two of the texts what we have examined thus far this term, how is the Earth presented as metaphorical "paradise" and "prison?" What is the significance of such a comparison in the texts you have chosen? What does this comparison reveal?
Purpose
In this type of paper a writer is forming an academic argument. As the writer you are arguing that your interpretation of the texts is a valid argument - not the only interpretation - in an attempt to aid the viewer in “seeing” those texts in a new light or from a different perspective that perhaps may be different from their own. Your claim should point out whether the texts under discussion present nature as paradise or prison and what you think is significant about that.
Audience
Your audience is made up of academics, scholars, film critics, professors, and students (who are academics, scholars, and film critics in training much like yourselves). You should assume that they have read the texts and are familiar with their contents. Because of this you would never merely summarize the plot of the narrative/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 (or potential impact), not retell the events.
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: DO NOT USE OUTSIDE SOURCES, ONLY THOSE WE READ AS A CLASS. YOUR IDEAS MUST BE YOUR OWN.
Essay Focus & Organization
The Essay Purpose and Your Overall Claim:
Your essay should directly respond to the question that is posed in the prompt.
Your answer to this question becomes the overall claim/thesis for your essay (the point you are attempting to prove).
Title: Did you give your essay a title? Keep in mind that this title should reflect the entire content of your paper and set up an expectation for your reader about your paper’s topic. It should mention three things: 1) The title of the work(s) you are discussing 2) The author's name (of that work or works) 3) Mention what you see as the important idea or answer to the question that is posed.
Introduction: Your introduction should be a general preview of the entire content of your essay (and never present specifics/quotes). In your opening line, you also need to mention the author and titles of the text(s) you plan to examine. You must also state an overall claim/thesis in the intro (usually toward the end of the paragraph). You also need to include a “so what” statement. In other words, explain the signficance of your claim in the broader context of the text(s) as a whole. Remember that what you are writing is academic argumentation. Convince your reader that your interpretation is valid. You shouldn’t argue that it is the only interpretation. You are simply claiming that it is the most important one. The intro is your chance to explain why you think so.
Body: The body of your paper is where you must provide the reader with all of the minute details of your argument and interpretation. Here you will make sub-claims (statements and assertions that support your overall claim/thesis). These are the equivalent of topic sentences for a paragraph. Just remember that each of these statements must relate back to your claim/thesis and don’t’ leave it up to your reader to guess what this connection may be. They are readers of literary criticism and academic argument, not mind readers. Explain to them what you think the connections are. Do this for each example that you provide.
Remember, you want to repeat these steps throughout the body of your paper:
1)Make an assertion (subclaim) about the text(s) you are discussing. This becomes a topic sentence/subclaim that you will place at the beginning of your paragraph.
2)Provide evidence from the text that illustrates or supports this assertion (a quote or quotes from the text or texts).
3)Explain how this evidence illustrates the assertion/point you are attempting to make. Explain this example’s connection to your thesis/overall claim.
Steps 2 & 3 are the supporting points of the paragraph for the suclaim you created in step one.
Essay Conclusion: The conclusion should be a general summary of the entire content of the body of your paper and restate the claim/thesis. It should also re-emphasize the “so what” explanation. You cannot present new information in a conclusion.
NOTE: WHEN READ TOGETHER THE INTRO AND CONCLUSION SHOULD FORM ONE IDEA.
Also be sure that:
-You use present tense verbs when relating the events of, and ideas within, a text.
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 paper should be 3 FULL pages and no more than 5 pages. You do not need to use citations or have a works cited page as all ideas are to be your own and I know which texts you are using.
Final Draft, evaluated on the following criteria:
Total Possible Points: 40/
Focus (11 points): Does essay have a clear purpose? Focus on a main idea and clearly identifiable thesis? Are reader’s expectations set and then met? Ideas, examples, and reasons developed in the body of the paper are clearly related to the main focus?
Development (11 points): Are supporting examples, showing details, and data rich and relevant to the main idea? Are the writer’s assertions immediately followed by supporting evidence? Appropriate research supports the writer’s main idea or thesis? The writer shows how or why evidence is relevant to main idea or claim?
Organization (11 points): Do ideas and paragraphs proceed in logical and apparent sequence or pattern? Does writer use sufficient audience cues to let the reader know what has been discussed, what is being discussed, or what will be discussed? Does writer use attention-getting title and lead-in, essay map, summary and forecasting statements, paragraph hooks, transitional words and phrases? Do effective conclusions guide the reader from beginning to end?
Style (4 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?
Mechanics (3 points): Are there obvious errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar? Are there patterns of error?
NO 1ST DRAFT ON DUE DATE (-7 POINTS)
NO REFLECTION (-7 POINTS)
NO PEER CRITIQUE (-7 POINTS)
NO PROCESS OR PROPER CITATION OF SOURCES=NO GRADE
Grading scale:
A 72-80
B 64-71
C 56-63
D 48-55
F 0-44
