Paper Assignments

You will write two moderate-length papers, which will give you the opportunity to explore the texts in some depth, and to draw connections among them. As with the brief essays, the exact topics will be left for you to determine, based on your own interests and insights. The only restrictions on content are:

  1. Each paper must make substantial contact with at least one idea that’s important to at least one of the two authors listed:
    Paper #1 – Todorov and/or Rodriguez
    Paper #2 – Williams and/or Allison
  2. You should make sure that the topic you choose is worthy of sustained development and exploration.

Specific possibilities are otherwise the same as with the brief essays – you can treat one text on its own, relate two texts to each other, and/or apply one or two of the texts in some concrete way.

Coming up with an interesting question or issue is often the most difficult element of an assignment like this, and hence the formulation of each topic should be approached with great care. You are strongly encouraged to work with me, Laura Hanson, and/or other students in developing your topics and arguments.

Style: Your papers must take the form of standard academic essays. Depending on the nature of your topic and your approach to it, you may supplement your paper with other forms of writing, creative artwork, or anything else that will help communicate your ideas.

Author’s Note: At the end of your essay, on a separate sheet, please describe in detail your own thoughts about your essay. You should explain what you think are the most successful aspects of your paper and which aspects concern you most, and also how the writing process went for you – what came easily and what didn’t. Your Author’s Note won’t be read until after I’ve come to an evaluation of your paper, and what you say there won’t affect your grade. The goal is simply to allow me provide more focused and helpful feedback for you. Be honest!

Length: Your paper should be just as long as it needs to be to explain the ideas and support your claims about them in a clear, thorough, and yet concise manner. Length itself will not affect your grade. (As a very rough guideline, I expect that most students will need about 5-6 pages successfully to address an appropriate topic.)

Format:

  • Your paper should be typed, using 12-point Times New Roman or a similar font.
  • In the upper left-hand corner, single-spaced, you should list your name, the course number, and the date.
  • Next, there should be an interesting and informative title, centered and in bold.
  • The body of your paper should be double-spaced.
  • Pages should be numbered.
  • If possible, please print on both sides of the paper.
  • Multiple pages must be stapled together

Citation (very important!): If you use someone else’s exact words, you must put them in quotation marks, and you must give proper acknowledgment. You must also acknowledge any specific passages or ideas that you paraphrase. For this assignment, informal citation is fine. After the end of the quote or paraphrase, include a brief parenthetical citation in the text. For assigned readings, author and page number are all that’s needed. For outside sources, just include enough information for your reader to find the original source.

Paper #1 Due: Friday, March 2 by noon
Paper #2 Due: Friday, April 13 by noon
Papers should be submitted in my mailbox in the main Olin office - not slipped under my office door.

Extensions: This course is a lot of work, and it is very dangerous to fall behind. However, there is still some room for flexibility, so that everyone has a chance to produce her or his best work. Hence, anyone may get a brief extension for any reason, on either or both papers. There are only 3 conditions:
1. You must request an extension at least 48 hours before the paper is due. Your request should include a specific proposal for your new due date and time.
2. Don’t tell me why you need more time – I really don’t want to know.
3. The new due date and time that we set are absolute and unchangeable.
* Exceptions to these policies will be made only if there’s an absolute emergency. (I hope not!) In that case, you must first talk with one of the Powers That Be, and I will gladly make any reasonable accommodation.

Grading: It is important to recognize that the quality of your understanding and insight cannot directly be graded. All that can be graded is the product of that understanding and insight: your paper. These are the standards of evaluation that I employ:

An OUTSTANDING (A-level) paper:

  • Reveals a thorough and careful reading of the texts.
  • Contains sophisticated and penetrating insights into the texts and issues.
  • Draws interesting and thought-provoking connections among ideas.
  • Moves well beyond our class discussion.
  • Provides compelling textual, interpretive, and/or argumentative support for all of its claims.
  • Is written in lucid and elegant prose.
  • Is well-organized, with a logical flow.
  • Displays a clear structure, with helpful and accurate introduction and conclusion, and an explicit thesis statement, topic sentences, and transitions.
  • Is virtually flawless in its mechanics: almost no typos, misspellings, or mistakes of grammar or punctuation.

A GOOD (B-level) paper:

  • Indicates a good understanding of the texts and issues.
  • Shows independent reflection on the texts and issues.
  • Provides textual, interpretive, and/or argumentative support for all of its claims.
  • Develops a coherent line of argument.
  • Is written clearly enough to convey its points.
  • Follows a discernible structure.
  • Has few mechanical errors, such as typos, misspellings, or mistakes of grammar or punctuation.
  • May compensate for weakness in some aspects with particular strength in others.

A POOR (C-level) paper:

  • Displays some understanding of the texts and issues.
  • Indicates a reasonable attempt to address the assignment.

But has serious flaws, such as:

  • Incomplete or importantly mistaken views about the texts or issues.
  • Too little substance beyond summarizing the texts.
  • Assertion of basic claims without significant textual, interpretive, and/or argumentative support.
  • Lack of a central line of argument or discussion, instead jumping from topic to topic.
  • Writing that is frequently unclear.
  • Major mechanical errors - too many typos, misspellings, and/or mistakes of grammar and punctuation.

UNACCEPTABLE (failing) work may include any of the following:

  • A complete misunderstanding of the texts and/or issues.
  • A lack of substance normally found in college-level work.
  • Incomprehensible writing.

 

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