About Wikipedia

Avoid citing Wikipedia in academic essays. Since it is not edited by reputable experts, it often has errors and isn't reliable. It's okay to use it as a starting point for your own research, but go on and find other sources to verify the information, and cite those in your essay.

Writing Assignment 1--The Short Story

Choose one of the following stories and discuss the ways in which the author uses the elements of the story (plot, character, point of view, setting, tone, symbolism, and imagery) to help express the theme of the story. Be sure to support your statements with details, examples, and direct quotes from the story, and be sure to document correctly. Required length: 2-5 pages (500-1250 words).

This assignment is due Friday, October 3.

For help writing this assignment, see the models in your book, go to Writing About Literature, or contact me.

Writing Assignment 2--Poetry

Choose one of the following questions and write a complete, considered answer. Be sure to support your statements with evidence from the text, and be sure to document correctly. Required length: 2-5 pages (500-1250 words).

This assignment is due Friday, October 24.

1. Choose several poems (at least three) by the same author: what consistencies of style and theme do you find?

2. Choose two poems on the same subject, but by different authors. Compare and contrast their styles and themes. (For example, you might compare John Donne's "Death Be Not Proud" with Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night." Both poems deal with the subject of death; but are both poets looking at death in the same way?)

3. Just as poets tend to establish patterns in style and theme, so do readers establish patterns in their preferences. Look at the poems you have liked and responded to: do you tend to prefer certain styles or themes over others? Is there any consistent pattern to your preferences? (Since this topic requires a personal essay, you may use first person in your essay.)

For help writing this assignment, see the models in your book, go to Writing About Literature, or contact me.

Writing Assignment 3--Drama

Choose one of the following topics and write a complete, considered answer. Be sure to support your statements with evidence from the plays. Required length: 2-5 pages (500-1250 words).

This assignment is due Friday, November 21.

1. In A Midsummer Night's Dream, what is Shakespeare saying about the nature of love? Is Strindberg saying the same things about love in The Stronger?

2. In A Streetcar Named Desire, the family is broken up. Is one person responsible for this? If not, how do the others contribute?

3. Compare Blanche, from A Streetcar Named Desire, to Catherine, from Proof. How are they similar or different?

4. Both A Midsummer Night's Dream and Trying to Find Chinatown address the theme of the difference between appearance and reality. Choose one of the two plays and show how the author uses the elements of the play to help explore this topic.

5. Choose one of the following plays and discuss the way it addresses the issue of identity: Trying to Find Chinatown, Proof.

6. How are the themes of betrayal and trust addressed in Proof?

7. The subject of Proof--high-level mathematics--is one that most people find incomprehensible and boring. How does Auburn make the play interesting?

8. Choose your own topic; clear it with me first.

For help writing this assignment, see the models in your book, go to Writing About Literature, or contact me.

Final Exam

Directions:

This assignment is due Monday, December 15.
NO LATE FINALS WILL BE ACCEPTED!!!

Part 1:

1. Are The Secret Life of Bees and The Feast of Love saying similar or different things about the power of love?

2. Analyze Baxter's use of symbolism in The Feast of Love. Don't try to cover it all in this short paper. Narrow your discussion down to one set of symbols--the mirrors, for example, or the use of light and dark, or one of the other symbols in the novel.

3. In a great deal of contemporary literature, the underlying assumption is that there is no God and life is meaningless. Is this the case with The Secret Life of Bees and The Feast of Love? Explain.

4. In The Secret Life of Bees, how are the issues of responsibility and forgiveness explored?

5. Choose your own topic which relates to one or both of the novels we read. Be sure to clear it with me first.

Part 2:

Of the works we have read this semester, which have you liked the least? Why? Which have you liked the best? Why?

For help writing this assignment, see the models in your book, go to Writing About Literature, or contact me.

How to submit your work

Your essays will be submitted to me via e-mail. Write your assignments in your word processing program. Save the file as a Word document (.doc) or as a Rich Text File (.rtf). Then attach that file to your e-mail message. When sending assignments, your e-mail message should include your name, the class number (English 102), and the name of the assignment which is attached.

Use correct MLA format for the appearance of your essay and your documentation.

Eliminate spelling, grammar, and other mechanical errors from your writing.

Send your e-mail to me at annw708@earthlink.net.