English 207 American Literature I Writing Assignments

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Directions:

Please submit your writing assignments to me via e-mail. Save your file as a Word, Works or RTF file, and attach the file to your message. When sending assignments, your e-mail message should include your name, the class number (English 207), and the name of the assignment which is attached. Use correct MLA format to set up your pages and document your sources; for more information see The Writing Tutorial Services at Indiana University. Make sure that you eliminate spelling, grammar, and other mechanical errors from your writing. Send your e-mail to me at annw708@earthlink.net

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.

The Research Paper

Remember: ONE of your assignments during the semester must be a research paper. You may choose any one of the assignments--Essays 1, 2, or 3--for this project. You must use information from a minimum of 5 outside sources (i.e., sources other than the readings we used for the class), and you must use that information to help support your ideas in the essay. Use correct MLA format and citation techniques in your essay and your Works Cited list. Required length: 4-6 pages (1000-1500 words). For more information on this paper, see the Writing About Literature page.

Online Tutoring

You can now get tutoring online, as well, if you want help with your papers. This is free to students registered in classes at Harbor College. Click on the NetTutor image and you'll be taken to a registration page. I hope this will be helpful to you; this is a new service for Harbor College, so please let me know how it goes if you use it.

Writing Assignment 1

Choose one of the following topics 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). (If you choose to use this essay for your research paper, you must use information from a minimum of 5 outside sources (i.e., sources other than the readings we used for the class), and you must use that information to help support your ideas in the essay. Use correct MLA format and citation techniques in your essay and your Works Cited list. Required length: 4-6 pages, or 1000-1500 words.)

This assignment is due June 29.

1. Based on the selections you have read, how was the world-view of the Native Americans different from that of the Europeans who explored and settled the New World? In your opinion, did these differences make conflict between the two groups inevitable?

2. Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism was written in 1905. Now, a century later, do the ideas Weber discusses still motivate us in the United States?

3. Compare creation myths from two cultures, one American Indian and one other. What cultural values and attitudes do they reveal? How do those values and attitudes compare to each other? (For example, you might compare Navajo and Hebrew creation myths; or Egyptian and Huron creation myths; or Inuit and Japanese creation myths.)

For information on using MLA format to cite and document correctly, see The Writing Tutorial Services at Indiana University, or The Purdue University Online Writing Lab.

For help writing this assignment, go to Writing About Literature ; for more specific help, feel free to e-mail me with questions.

Writing Assignment 2

This assignment is due July 15.

1. By the time Thomas Jefferson lived and wrote, the world was a very different place from that of the early Puritans. What would John Winthrop have thought of Jefferson's ideas?

2. Olaudah Equiano, Harriet Jacobs, and Frederick Douglass present powerful indictments of slavery in their narratives. Choose one, and explain how s/he creates emotional involvement on the part of the reader.

3. Why is "Rip Van Winkle," like so much satirical fiction, popular as a children's story?

4. At first glance, Poe's tales of horror and his detective stories seem to have little in common. Upon closer inspection, do you find they share any of the same themes or techniques?

5. Irving and Poe both wrote stories in which there was a good deal of suspense. What were some of the techniques they used to create suspense? How were their techniques similar or different?

For information on using MLA format to cite and document correctly, see The Writing Tutorial Services at Indiana University, or The Purdue University Online Writing Lab.

For help writing this assignment, go to Writing About Literature ; for more specific help, feel free to e-mail me with questions.

Writing Assignment 3

This assignment is due July 29.

1. By the 1800s, many American writers were exploring the theme of alienation, each in his or her own way. Yet the country was growing and expanding, with what seemed to many to be endless possibilities. Are these writers saying that the American Dream had gone sour already? Choose one of the following--Thoreau, Emerson, Hawthorne, or Melville--and discuss his handling of this issue.

2. The mid-1800s in the United States saw a literary explosion: Poe, Hawthorne, Melville, Emerson, Whitman, and Thoreau all wrote their most powerful works between 1835 and 1855. (Well, okay, Billy Budd was later--but Moby-Dick was written in 1851.) We know that they all read each other's work. Did they share the same ideas and opinions? (You may leave Whitman out of your discussion, if you wish, and you may narrow your discussion to a comparison of 2 writers, if you choose.)

3. Irving, Poe, Hawthorne, Emerson, Thoreau, Melville, and Whitman lived 200 years later than Winthrop, in a world Winthrop wouldn't have recognized. Did any of Winthrop's influence remain in the ideas of these writers? You may deal with these writers as a group, or choose one and examine his work closely in respect to this question. (You may leave Whitman out of your discussion, if you wish.)

4. Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Melville, and Whitman are all strongly conscious of the conflict between the real, concrete world and the life of the mind. Choose one, and explain how this conflict is reflected in his or her writing.

5. In The Scarlet Letter, is Hester Prynne "Emersonian"? That is, for her, is there "at last...nothing sacred but the integrity of her own mind"?

For information on using MLA format to cite and document correctly, see The Writing Tutorial Services at Indiana University, or The Purdue University Online Writing Lab.

For help writing this assignment, go to Writing About Literature ; for more specific help, feel free to e-mail me with questions.

Final Exam

Write a brief answer to the following question:

Of the works we have read this semester, which one have you liked the best? Explain. Which one did you like the least? Explain.

This assignment is due Thursday, August 6, by midnight.
NO LATE FINALS WILL BE ACCEPTED!!!

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