Final

English Literature III
Fall 2001: Final Essay Exam (4 pages)
30% of Overall Grade
Due December 6 at 2:00 p.m. Overview
This course has introduced a critical and historical approach to literature. For the final essay, I want you to take one idea or concept from The Norton Anthology of English Literature and apply it to your reading of the text. Before embarking on this assignment, you should review your reading responses for analytical and compositional issues that have surfaced in your writing. Review your notes and the presentations in class. This information will help you to generate ideas. I expect you to revise your work based on peer review in order to advance a sophisticated argument.
Option 1: Jude the Obscure: I am more interested in the application of a theme, such as education, rather than a recounting of the novel.
Option 2: Tennyson's "In Memoriam" or Browning's "Caliban Upon Setebos"
Discuss the influence of evolutionary and scientific ideas and apply concepts from Darwin and/or other figures of the Victorian Period. Whichever text you choose (Tennyson or Browning), you must make a specific and sustained connection to Victorian culture. This connection may include a couple of well chosen quotes and an elaboration on those quotes as they inform our reading of the text.

Requirements: Submissions that do not meet all of these requirements will be given a zero.
1. Write a polished, 4 page word processed draft for Thurs., Nov. 29; make two copies for the peer critique
2. Make revisions according to Peer Critiques.
3. Submit 4 page final with drafts and peer critiques on December 6 at 2:00 p.m.
No extensions. No late work will be accepted. If you want your essay returned, include a self-addressed stamped envelope.

Approach:
1. Choose either Jude or Tennyson/Browning
2. Focus on one historical idea or concept and apply it to one specific chapter or passage in the text.
(Don't try to do too much; rather, you should analyze fully the topic you do have).
3. Announce the thesis in your introduction, support the thesis in the body, and make sure you have a conclusion.
4. Once you have narrowed your topic, you should then elaborate on your interpretation.
Assume that your reader knows the text intimately, especially the plot. Jump into your analysis, in media res-- in the middle of things.
5. Begin your paper by announcing your thesis: "This essay addresses Darwin's theories of evolution as they pertain to Browning's "Caliban Upon Setebos" or "This essay looks at how tradition operates in Jude."
6. Address the following compositional issues:

Use active verbs (get rid of the "to be" verbs: is, are, was were, be being, etc.)
Get rid of expletives (there are, there were, it is, it was, etc.)
Use literary present tense ("Tennyson both questions and affirms the role of science in the Victorian period")
Use transitions between paragraphs to connect ideas
Use author, page citations (see MLA below)
Limit quotes to one or two a page and integrate them (introduce them and respond to them)
Avoid first person

7. Provide a meaningful title

Format of Work: Word process your work with a computer.
Double space all hard copies; Use 12 point font, Times New Roman; 1 inch margins all around
(no padding with wide margins)
Use the Modern Language Association Style to document outside sources, including web pages.
Include the following information (no title pages, please):

     Your Name
     The Date
     Dr. Ramirez, California State University
     English Literature III
     Title of the Essay

It is essential that you make constant back-ups of your work. Misplacing or losing files can be frustrating and it does happen with frequency. Moreover, computers freeze and power outages are not uncommon. However file problems or any other kind of computer and printing problems will not excuse late work. Print drafts as a safety measure and save a copy on a NEW disk.

Scholastic Responsibility: You should document your texts with "author's last name, page" citations: (Hardy, 285 ). When you use the Norton, be sure to properly quote and paraphrase, rather than plagiarize. Use the Writer's Reference as a guide. Plagiarizing (submitting work that is not your own or failing to document other people's analyses or using their words) or any other form of scholastic dishonesty (cheating) will result in an F in the assignment and possible failure of the course. Plagiarism happens frequently when students are not prepared, when they are confused or rushed, or when they assume the professor will not know. But this is a poor assumption.

Sample Essay Format
Introduction
State the thesis (one or two paragraphs)
This essay addresses Hardy's use of letters in Jude the Obscure. More specifically, I examine three letters in the novel which reveal. . . .
Body
Two paragraphs on letter #1
    support for letter #1, support for letter #1, support for letter #1, support for letter #1,
support for letter #1, support for letter #1, support for letter #1, support for letter #1,
support for letter #1, support for letter #1, support for letter #1, support for letter #1,
support for letter #1, support for letter #1, support for letter #1, support for letter #1.
    support for letter #1, support for letter #1, support for letter #1, support for letter #1,
support for letter #1, support for letter #1, support for letter #1, support for letter #1,
support for letter #1, support for letter #1, support for letter #1, support for letter #1,
support for letter #1, support for letter #1, support for letter #1, support for letter #1,
support for letter #1, support for letter #1, support for letter #1, support for letter #1.
Two paragraphs on letter #2
    support for letter #2,support for letter #2,support for letter #2,support for letter #2,
support for letter #2,support for letter #2,support for letter #2,support for letter #2,
support for letter #2,support for letter #2,support for letter #2,support for letter #2,
support for letter #2,support for letter #2,support for letter #2,support for letter #2,
support for letter #2,support for letter #2,support for letter #2,support for letter #2,
support for letter #2,support for letter #2,support for letter #2,support for letter #2.
    support for letter #2,support for letter #2,support for letter #2,support for letter #2,
support for letter #2,support for letter #2,support for letter #2,support for letter #2,
support for letter #2,support for letter #2,support for letter #2,support for letter #2,
support for letter #2,support for letter #2,support for letter #2,support for letter #2,
support for letter #2,support for letter #2,support for letter #2,support for letter #2.
Two paragraphs on letter #3
    support for letter #3, support for letter #3, support for letter #3, support for letter #3,
support for letter #3, support for letter #3, support for letter #3, support for letter #3,
support for letter #3, support for letter #3, support for letter #3, support for letter #3,
support for letter #3, support for letter #3, support for letter #3, support for letter #3.
    support for letter #3, support for letter #3, support for letter #3, support for letter #3,
support for letter #3, support for letter #3, support for letter #3, support for letter #3,
support for letter #3, support for letter #3, support for letter #3, support for letter #3,
support for letter #3, support for letter #3, support for letter #3, support for letter #3,
support for letter #3, support for letter #3, support for letter #3, support for letter #3,
Conclusion
One to Two paragraphs:
Wrap up your ideas and make sure you have related your thesis to the concerns or the culture of the Victorian period.
    Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up,
Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up,
Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up.
    Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up,Wrap it up,
Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up,
Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up,
Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up, Wrap it up!