Write an analytical or argumentative essay on a topic from the list of options below, meeting each of the following requirements. Read these requirements carefully.
4-6 pages in length, 1200 word minimum (in the body of the essay, excluding
headers, name, date, title, works cited entries, etc.).
Submission of final draft in both hard copy (printed on paper) and electronic
form (on floppy disk or as an email attachment). Failure to meet this requirement
will result in a letter-grade penalty.
Formatted carefully and correctly, following MLA guidelines as outlined on
my "simple stuff" web page.
A minimum of six quotations from the primary work(s) you examine, Beowulf
and/or Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: six is an absolute minimum—you
should probably offer more than six to illustrate or substantiate your primary
claims thoroughly and effectively.
Quotations and other source material must be documented according to MLA guidelines
as outlined on my "quotes and documentation"
page. A works cited page is mandatory even if you cite only Beowulf
or Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
If you use secondary sources—scholarly criticism or commentary, e.g.—you
must turn in printouts or photocopies of each source along with the paper.
Failure to do so will incur a substantial penalty. Note that research is not
required for this assignment, but you may incorporate secondary sources if
they will help your argument or analysis. If you offer quotations from a secondary
source, highlight or otherwise indicate the quoted passages on the printout
or photocopy of the source (not in your essay itself).
On
Tuesday, June 8th, you must turn in a paper proposal in the form of a topic
sentence outline beginning with the question your essay will strive to answer,
followed by each body paragraph's complete topic sentence as it will appear
in the essay itself, and ending with a thesis statement that a) answers the
question you are addressing, and b) ties together the primary points in your
topic sentences. The question you raise for this outline should be a literal
question—an interrogative sentence ending in a question mark, not merely a
statement of what your topic is. For a sample topic sentence outline, see
the one under my Writing Tip #2.
Options:
For clarification or elaboration of any of these topic options, see me during
office hours, send email, or call me at home. If you would like to meet face
to face but my office hours don't mesh with your schedule, let me know, and
we'll make other arrangements.
- The relevance of either Beowulf
or Gawain for contemporary American readers.
- The relevance of Beowulf
and/or Gawain for Citadel cadets in particular.
- Comparison and/or contrast of
the concept of honor in Beowulf and Gawain.
- Comparison and/or contrast of
the heroic in Beowulf and Gawain.
- Comparison and contrast of the
depiction of women in Beowulf and Gawain.
- Comparison and contrast of religion
in Beowulf and Gawain
- Comparison of the nostalgic
or elegiac view of the past in Beowulf and in any other literary
work (or film)—requires my approval of second literary work (via email
okay).
- The pagan heroic code, as elaborated
in Beowulf.
- Chivalry, or the courtly, knightly
code, as elaborated in Gawain.
- Demonstration of Gawain as a classic "chivalric romance"—would require quoted authoritative definition of the chivalric or medieval romance as a literary genre, from a handbook of literary terms or some other scholarly source, not from a general-purpose dictionary or a web site.
Tips:
Offer
concrete evidence (i.e. quotations) to support each of your major assertions.Make
every body ¶'s topic sentence answer the topic sentence outline question
directly. Avoid
plot summary: see nugget 1; introduce all
quotes: see nugget 3. Sweat
the details: use the Golden Rules, Nuggets, Simple Stuff, and Quotes
& Documentation pages and proofread carefully.I encourage you to seek my help with your paper outside of class. Again, if my office hours don't fit with your schedule, let me know. I also encourage you to seek help from the Writing Center on any aspect of the essay: setting up your topic, outlining, developing the draft, revising, or editing. Be sure to take printouts of this assignment page with you to the Writing Center.