EN251: British Literature I
Fall 2005
First Essay Assignment
The first essay will be due at the beginning of class on Monday, October 24.
The essay should be approximately five pages in length.
In this essay, you should compare and contrast any two of the texts we have read for class. All of these texts are, in part, attempts by Europeans to imagine worlds beyond their own or to deal imaginatively with the discoveries of new continents and new peoples.
The topic is open, but as you develop your thesis keep in mind these issues that we have discussed:
You are free to choose the texts and the topic that you want to address, but here are some suggestions:
A Second Option: The themes of art and drama that are so prevalent in The Tempest can be related to its themes of exploration and colonialism-- but it isn't easy. If you wish, you may write your essay exclusively on the themes of art and drama in The Tempest, without comparing the play to one of the other texts. But again, be as specific and precise as possible in formulating your thesis.
Format: All submitted papers should follow the Modern Language Association (MLA) guidelines for formatting a paper. These guidelines can be found in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th ed., which is available in the Reference Section of the library and in the Writing Center, but they are also summarized on pp. 148-150 of Diana Hacker’s Pocket Style Manual, with sample pages on pp. 151-154. When commenting on your essays, I will refer to Hacker on matters of format and style.
Following the MLA style, all papers should cite their sources on every occasion that they are used, and all paper should include a complete list of works cited.
Thesis workshops: On the morning of Thursday, October 20, class will be devoted to a thesis workshop. Students are required to bring to class a prospective thesis sentence for their essays. (It is understood that the thesis and even the topic may change or evolve before the essay is completed.) The thesis should be typed and should be in the form of a single, complete sentence. In class, we will go over individual theses as examples and we will discuss our theses in small groups.
The thesis is the single, central idea that the essay means to convey to the reader. A good thesis is one that can be proven (that is, it can be demonstrated with evidence from the texts) and that needs to be proven (that is, it is not self-evident). Avoid vagueness! Make your thesis as precise and as specific as possible.