Previous essay topics: English 1213H, spring 2006


Paper 1

Read every word below carefully, more than once, before starting your essay.
Choose one of the three options below and respond in an argumentative essay of 750-1200 words.  Raise a central question in the introduction that the rest of the paper strives to answer in the persuasive format.

For details of the physical formatting of your paper on paper—margins, headers, titles, etc.—see the simple stuff page.  For guidelines on quotation and documentation, see the quotes and documentation page.  All options require that you offer a minimum of six quotations from our readings to illustrate or substantiate your claims, so a works cited page is required. Note that six quotes is an absolute minimum—you can certainly offer more than six to illustrate or substantiate your primary claims thoroughly and effectively.

Note that you must submit the final draft in both hard copy (printed on paper) and electronic form (on floppy disk or as an email attachment).

I encourage you to seek my help with your paper outside of class. If my office hours don't mesh well with your schedule, let me know, and we'll make arrangements for other times.

Options:

1) Construct an argument debating the issue of whether A Raisin in the Sun is more concerned with racial issues or universal issues, issues that apply to people of all races.  The idea here is to argue that Hansberry's play is more about one set of issues or the other, so draw the lines of argument clearly and precisely, with emphasis on the word "more."  Quote the play six or more times in illustrating your assertions—at least two of the quotes should support the opposing viewpoint, and of course you should use quotes to back up your own major points on your side of the argument.

2) Pygmalion focuses on issues confronting Shaw's society in early twentieth-century England, a very different world from ours here in the U. S. in 2006.  Construct an argument between the point of view that Pygmalion has little significant relevance to us, Americans in the twenty-first century, and the viewpoint that the play is highly relevant for us despite the differences between Shaw's time and culture and our own.  Give specific examples from "our world" that either show connections between our world and Shaw's or demonstrate the difference between our world and that depicted in Pygmalion.  Quote the play at least six times in the course of the argument (opposing views and/or your views, wherever seems appropriate).

3) Shaw's Pygmalion was adapted for film in My Fair Lady, a movie now considered classic.  There are significant differences between the play and the film.  Consider the most notable differences between the play and the movie and build an argument debating whether the film is more successful than the play in delivering Shaw's social criticism or less successful. It will not be enough to argue simply that one version is more entertaining than the other: the key will be to identify what Shaw's specific "message" is and to explain how the movie's alterations of Shaw's plot either strengthen or weaken the delivery of that message.

Caution: This last option requires careful and insightful critical thought.  Following the script while viewing the film is a must in identifying the specific changes in plot, and it can be difficult to argue both sides of this issue.  This option is recommended only for the most ambitious, and I strongly urge you to see me in the planning stages or with a draft before turning in the paper.

Reminders:
The single most important sentence in your essay is the central question you set up in the introduction: be sure this question addresses the assigned topic squarely and directly.
Every body paragraph's topic sentence should answer this central question directly.
Sweat the details: use the GR, N, SS, QD and WP "handouts" and proofread closely.


Paper 2

Read the assignment very carefully before starting your essay.

Choose one of the options below and respond in an analytical or argumentative essay of 800-1250 words.  Whichever option you address, your introduction must culminate in a literal central question that the rest of the paper strives to answer.  For topics that call for argument between one point of view and another, structure the argument in persuasive format.

For details on the physical formatting of your paper on paper—margins, headers, spacing, etc.—follow the simple stuff.  For guidelines on quotation and documentation, see the quotes and documentation handout, paying special attention to the mechanics of citing poetry as outlined in QD4.

Note that you must submit the final draft in both hard copy (printed on paper) and electronic form (on floppy disk or as an email attachment).

I encourage you to seek my help with your paper outside of class. If my office hours don't mesh well with your schedule, let me know, and we'll make arrangements for other times.

Options:
1) There are stereotypes and cultural expectations applied to each of the sexes which influence how we act as individual men and women.  Consciously or unconsciously, we adhere to these stereotypes and expectations or react against them.

For women, these stereotypes and expectations include the notions that women are intellectually inferior to men; that women should be attractive; that women belong in the house, not in the workplace; that strong, independent women are "bitchy"; that women who acknowledge and act upon their natural sexual desires are morally "loose"; that women are supposed to be "ladylike"—passive, submissive, demure, cooperative, nurturing, polite, etc.  For men, the stereotypes and expectations include the ideas that men are tough and unemotional; that "given the chance, all men would be whores"; that "real men" must be independent and aggressive; that men are not "real men" if they don't have latent cravings for violence and if they don't love football, power tools, and cars with big engines. Men are also expected to be financially successful breadwinners for their families.  In short, the stereotypes generally say that women should be selfless, pretty, and dainty, and that men should be "macho."

These cultural myths and stereotypes are but a few of the many by which our culture imposes its ideals of masculinity and femininity upon us as individuals.  You should consider other significant myths about men and women as they are expressed in the poetry from our syllabus.

Your task for this option is to elaborate what you see as the greatest obstacles stereotypes and cultural expectations pose for each of the sexes (This means you deal with both sexes.).  The central question you must argue is who suffers more, men or women, from the cultural expectations these stereotypes impose upon them: in other words, who has it worse? Men or women?

You should probably deal with only one major stereotype or cultural expectation for each sex per body paragraph—this means you will need to be selective and discuss only the two or three most damaging or difficult stereotypes or expectations for each sex. With each major point you should 1) explain what the stereotype or cultural expectation is, and 2) show how the stereotype or cultural expectation poses obstacles or problems for the individual.
You must quote at least four poems that illustrate either the stereotypes or expectations you discuss or the obstacles that these cultural expectations bring about. You are not restricted in your selection of poems, but those assigned for discussion on Monday, February 13th and Wednesday, February 15th are intended for this topic option.


2) What is love?  What a question!  Poets and philosophers have been trying to explain what love is for centuries—poets especially.  Not that you should "explain love" in full, but making specific reference to at least three poems (i.e. quoting three poems), construct an essay describing romantic love as you understand it—that is, say what you think love is or what love "feels like" and use the poetry to illustrate your claims.

You should concentrate on presenting your own opinions as the paper's main points, bringing in the poetry only in support of your assertions.  The idea is not to focus primarily on the poetry, but to use the poetry in developing or illustrating your own points just as you would use secondary sources in a research paper.  Consider the poets as experts or authorities on love, and cite their poems as evidence in support of your claims.

If the discussion presents argument between your ideas and those expressed in one or more of the poems, follow the persuasive format.  If the discussion does not present views that you disagree with, you should still structure the essay to raise a literal question in the introduction that the rest of the paper strives to answer—what the literal question ought to be seems fairly obvious . . . but check with me before you get started if you're uncertain about it.

Note: You may use poems not assigned on the syllabus.  If the poems are not included in our Norton text, bring a copy of the poem to peer response and turn it in along with the finished draft. The poems assigned for discussion on Monday, February 6th are intended for this option.

Caution: This topic is not so easy as it might first appear.  Note that the assignment asks you to discuss what love is or is like, not what love should be or should be like.  Also note that the assignment restricts the discussion to romantic love—as opposed to familial or parental love, love between friends, etc.


3) Close behind love, death appears to be a hot topic among poets.  Discuss the depiction of people grieving or dealing with death in three or more poems from our Norton text.  What do the poems say about death or grieving?  What do they have in common?  How do they present their "messages" differently?  How are the messages themselves fundamentally different?  Raise a literal question in the introduction and quote each poem at least twice.

Note: Unlike the first two options, this one requires close attention to the poems themselves as the subject of your discussion. You are not restricted in your selection of poems, but those assigned for discussion on Wednesday, February 8th are intended for this topic option.

Additional poems: For any of the options above, so long as you have my approval in advance you are welcome to use poems from our Norton text that are not on our syllabus.  If you have a strong desire to address a particular option but have difficulty finding poems that fit your ideas on the topic directly, I may be able to point you to other poems that would work well for each topic.

The two most important sentences in your paper will be the "intro question," because it sets up the lines of argument or analysis that the rest of the paper addresses, and the "thesis," which should simply be the fullest and most direct answer to the question raised in the introduction.  I encourage you to run your intro question and thesis sentence by me for approval.  See me during office hours, send email, or call me at home to make sure you're on the right track.

Reminders:

Every topic sentence should answer the intro question directly.
Offer concrete evidence (quotes) in support of each of your major assertions.
Note that we hear the speaker's voice in poetry, not necessarily the poet's.
Poems are "works," so don't forget the "Works Cited" page.

Call or email if you have questions or problems. 

Paper 3
Write an analytical or argumentative essay on a topic of your own choosing, focusing narrowly on some significant aspect of Death of a Salesman or A Streetcar Named Desire.

You must meet each of the following requirements.  Read these requirements carefully.

900-1300 words (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" page.

A minimum of six quotations from the play. Six quotations is an absolute minimum—you may certainly offer more 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 required.
You must do some research and incorporate quotes from at least two sources of legitimate scholarly criticism into the discussion of the play(s).  ("Legitimate" means truly scholarly sources, so items from the popular press, reviews of performances, encyclopedias, and study aids such as Cliff's Notes, SparkNotes, Master Plots, etc., are not acceptable.) No world wide web sources of any sort are valid—only sources available through the RSU library or its subscription databases are acceptable.

You must turn in photocopies or printouts of each secondary source from which you take quotes.  Highlight the quoted passages (on the photocopy of the criticism, not in your paper).


Note: Before you begin writing the essay, construct a topic sentence outline just as we did for the second writing exercise (recall the question, "How is life difficult for teenagers?"). Begin the outline with the literal question your paper addresses, then give full topic sentences that answer the question directly for each primary point in your paper (i.e. for each body paragraph), just as they will appear in the essay itself, and conclude the outline with the the paper's overall thesis, answering the central question directly and combining your essential points from the various topic sentences. On the date of peer response, in addition to bringing a complete draft of the paper to class, you will turn in this topic sentence outline for reading quiz credit. For a sample topic sentence outline, see Writing Tip #2. For full explanation of a topic sentence outline, including examples, follow this paper proposal link.

However, this essay should not raise a literal question in the introduction of the essay itself, but instead the introduction should culminate in a full and complete answer to the unstated question your paper addresses—i.e. a thesis statement.  If your topic is argumentative, even though the introduction presents a thesis statement, you should still explain the opposing viewpoint in one or more body paragraphs before presenting your own views (as in the persuasive format).

Very important note: Papers that do not meet the research requirements—at least two secondary sources of literary scholarship or criticism, with photocopied pages attached—will automatically receive failing grades.

Topics to consider:

The greatest challenge with this assignment is arriving at an appropriate topic.  Basically, any significant theme, motif, issue, technique, or aspect of either play is fair game.  You are by no means restricted to the suggestions below, but here are a few ideas to consider:

Death of a Salesman:
A Streetcar Named Desire:
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.