Showing posts with label Essay Prompt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Essay Prompt. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Final Essay Prompt

Choose from one of the following options:

Option A: Something Old

Select one of your previous essays to revise. You may choose from any one of the three major paper assignments, including your diagnostic essay. You must make significant revisions to create a polished essay. Paper Length: 4-5 pages.

Option B: Something New

Using the techniques we discussed in class, perform a close reading on any one of the texts that we’ve read, viewed, or listened to during the year. Make sure your essay has a clear argument. Paper Length: 3-4 pages.

General Guidelines:

Your essay must have a clearly stated thesis: don’t be afraid to telegraph this statement by including language like: “This essay argues/examines ___________.” Your essay will be evaluated on the clarity or your argument, the soundness of your evidence, and how well you use the close reading techniques we discussed in class. Be judicious in your choices, and make sure to select a text you can adequately analyze in 3-4 pages.

This essay should be in 11 or 12 pt Times New Roman font, with conventional margins. For other questions regarding stylistics or formatting, consult the link to Duke University’s MLA Style Guide on the course blog.

For any other questions, please email me.

As always, Good Luck!


Draft Due Date: November 23 (5%)
Final Revisions Due: December 2 (25%)

Monday, September 6, 2010

Essay 2 Prompt

Draft Due Date: 9/23 (5%)
Final Revisions Due: 10/05 (10%)

Using the techniques we discussed in class, perform a close reading on ONE scene from The Birdman of Alcatraz (1962). You may choose to examine the linguistic, semantic, structural, or cultural elements of this scene, but you must limit yourself to one and only one scene. A scene, for our purposes, can be considered a 30-90 second self-contained episode in the film; examples may include: the introductory credits, the marriage scene to Stella, the death of Reddy, etc. The choice of scene selections is entirely left up to you. However, be certain to choose a scene that you can thoroughly examine in 3-4 pages.

Further, your essay must have a clearly stated thesis: don’t be afraid to telegraph this statement by including language like: “This essay argues/examines ___________.” Your essay will be evaluated on the clarity or your argument, the soundness of your evidence, and how well you use the close reading techniques we discussed in class. , be judicious in your choices, and make sure to select a scene you can adequately analyze in 3-4 pages.

This essay should be in 11 or 12 pt Times New Roman font, with conventional margins. For other questions regarding stylistics or formatting, consult the link to Duke University’s MLA Style Guide on the course blog.

For any other questions, please email me.

Good Luck!