Mitch's Core Section - Brief Essay Assignment

Brief Essay Assignment

The purpose of the brief essays is to give you a forum throughout the semester to develop and express your own thoughts about the course material. The only restrictions on content are:

Your essay must make direct contact with at least one specific idea or passage from the text.
Your essay must make a point: explain and support a particular claim about that text.

Some of the possibilities include:

Explore one or two of the assumptions behind the author’s view.
Express a concern or objection to one of the author’s ideas.
Provide further or different support for one of the author’s ideas.
Explore the connections between two different aspects of an author’s view.
Relate one author’s ideas to another author, either that we read or that you’ve read in another context.
Expand on or respond to a point made in class about an author’s view.
Apply one of the author’s views to your research topic.
Apply one of the author’s views to some current event or issue.
Apply one of the author’s views to your own experience (but be careful that your discussion still advances the analytical goals of the course).

These are only suggestions; any other topic is fine, as long as it satisfies the two requirements listed above.

Length: There is an absolute maximum length of 600 words.
** Longer essays will not be accepted for credit!

Due: Essays are due at the beginning of class on the due date – no extensions.
** Late essays will not be accepted unless 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.

Format:

Your essay 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, centered and in bold, there should be an interesting and informative title.
The body of your paper should be double-spaced.
At the end of your essay, you should include a word-count.
If possible, please print on both sides of the paper.

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. If you draw on outside sources, just include enough information for your reader to find the original source. You should not include a separate list of works cited.

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 will be employed:

The essay expresses sophisticated insight into the text or issues, or draws unusual and profound connections between texts or ideas.

The essay gives an adequate presentation of ideas that go beyond the text and our class discussion.

The essay indicates some reflection on the material, but does not go far enough beyond a recap of the text itself or our class discussion, does not make adequate contact with the text, or is based on an important misunderstanding of the text or issues.

The essay does not constitute a serious attempt to fulfill the assignment: the substance, expression, and/or mechanics fall far short of normal college-level work.

In calculating your overall grade for this assignment, your lowest three essay grades will be dropped. You may skip any one you wish, but I recommend that you do so only if you absolutely have to: it is a good idea to have a cushion in case you don’t do as well as you’d like, or need to miss one unexpectedly later in the semester.

back to: [ syllabus ] [ core main page ]

Brief Essay Assignment The purpose of the brief essays is to give you a forum throughout the semester to develop and express your own thoughts about the course material. The only restrictions on content are: Your essay must make direct contact with at least one specific idea or passage from the text. Your essay must make a point: explain and support a particular claim about that text. Some of the possibilities include: Explore one or two of the assumptions behind the author’s view. Express a concern or objection to one of the author’s ideas. Provide further or different support for one of the author’s ideas. Explore the connections between two different aspects of an author’s view. Relate one author’s ideas to another author, either that we read or that you’ve read in another context. Expand on or respond to a point made in class about an author’s view. Apply one of the author’s views to your research topic. Apply one of the author’s views to some current event or issue. Apply one of the author’s views to your own experience (but be careful that your discussion still advances the analytical goals of the course). These are only suggestions; any other topic is fine, as long as it satisfies the two requirements listed above. Length: There is an absolute maximum length of 600 words. Longer essays will not be accepted for credit! Due: Essays are due at the beginning of class on the due date – no extensions. Late essays will not be accepted unless 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. Format: Your essay 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, centered and in bold, there should be an interesting and informative title. The body of your paper should be double-spaced. At the end of your essay, you should include a word-count. If possible, please print on both sides of the paper. 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. If you draw on outside sources, just include enough information for your reader to find the original source. You should not include a separate list of works cited. 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 will be employed:
A	The essay expresses sophisticated insight into the text or issues, or draws unusual and profound connections between texts or ideas.
B	The essay gives an adequate presentation of ideas that go beyond the text and our class discussion.
C	The essay indicates some reflection on the material, but does not go far enough beyond a recap of the text itself or our class discussion, does not make adequate contact with the text, or is based on an important misunderstanding of the text or issues.
F	The essay does not constitute a serious attempt to fulfill the assignment: the substance, expression, and/or mechanics fall far short of normal college-level work.
In calculating your overall grade for this assignment, *your lowest three* essay grades will be dropped.** You may skip any one you wish, but I recommend that you do so only if you absolutely have to: it is a good idea to have a cushion in case you don’t do as well as you’d like, or need to miss one unexpectedly later in the semester. back to: [ syllabus ] [ core main page ]