Overview
Write a five-page essay that builds upon your work in any of your first five blog posts of the semester. The specific form and various components of your essay will vary from person to person depending upon your professional and personal objectives.
Objectives
- Cultivate an individual voice and perspective in your selection of an essay topic for exploration and discovery
- Demonstrate awareness of how literary studies can inspire or inform multiple personal and professional endeavors (from creative writing to teaching)
- Practice basic conventions in English studies (close reading, lesson planning, disciplinary contexts, quotations and citations)
Methods and Tips
- If you haven’t already, make an appointment to meet with your professor one-on-one. Your professor can tailor this assignment to your unique needs
- Make use of sections / sub-headings to organize your content:
- the main section (3-4 pages) might feature a creative or critical artifact (a short story, a lesson plan, a close reading)
- the final section (1-2 pages) might contain a critical reflection of that artifact (how does your artifact reflect the kind of educator / literary critic / creative writer that you aspire to be? how does your artifact demonstrate 2 or more of the objectives identified above?)
- Submit your work as a formal essay that has been proofread and that contains appropriate citations of primary and secondary sources
Assessment
Your essay will be assessed according to the following parameters:
- Perspective & Audience: you demonstrate awareness of your audience (me, a college English professor, who values a combination of both professional practices and bold creativity)
- Density of Content: you develop your ideas beyond superficial observations and commentary, and because of this depth you often surprise your reader
- Organization of Content: you demonstrate careful planning and revision in the presentation of your ideas, thus leaving the reader with a feeling of completion or satisfaction
- Style & Language: you experiment with language, turns of phrases, vocabulary, often pushing yourself beyond what you thought possible, occasionally making errors–but that’s okay, because they’re ambitious errors!
Submission of Work
Follow MLA guidelines when formatting your essay
Submit your final essay to Assignments on Blackboard by 11:59pm on March 13.