Essay Instructions: Topic for essay:
Slavery and the definition of humanity
Book Used: The Norton Anthology of American Literature" Shorter Sixth Edition.
Write a comparison/contrast essay incorporating "Uncle Toms Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe (pg 774-806) and "The Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass" by Fredrick Douglass" (pg 942-73)using the topic above and the guidlines below.
You will write a 1,250-word essay for your second essay assignment. I will grade this essays on writing mechanics as well as content, so you should pay attention to those matters, allowing yourself time within the allotted period to proofread your work. You will find the topics listed below.
Essays should be comprised of detail/example-filled paragraphs. Make certain that you answer the question posed in the assignment; keep your essay objective, and do not wander to tangential topics. Each essay should contain a thesis sentence. Use quotes sparingly. Because your assignment is not a research paper, do not include material from secondary sources, including material in the texts (such as footnotes and biographical materials) other than the specific literary pieces that we have studied. Avoid making biographical speculations about the authors unless you are writing about autobiographies or personal histories; avoid speculation over how their lives might have shaped work that is not autobiographical. Unnecessarily extensive plot summary will adversely affect the grade your essay earns. Finally, all assertions should be substantiated by evidence from the texts.
Get all of your examples from the literature--do not make vague assumptions about the social milieu of the works' settings. For example, if you choose to write about characterizations of the danger of unexamined tradition in Douglass? autobiography, do not make general statements about American slavery; instead, pay attention to how his narrative describes, for example, slaveholder?s attempts to splice their religious practices with their worldly inhumanity. Rather than offering vague commentary, you should develop a specific argument substantiated by the specific texts at hand.
Sample Format:
Title of Essay, Which Might Include an Italicized Title of a Longer Work and ?The Title of a Smaller Work in Quotation Marks?
Note that the remainder of your essay should have double-spacing. This process will allow room for comments between the lines. The title should be centered, and you should not put your own original title in italics or quotation marks. However, if an element of your title should be in italics or quotation marks, follow the sample above. If you are not certain how something should be quoted or italicized, look at the syllabus for this course. As noted in the policy statement, I will be following the conventions of the MLA Handbook. I will send you a sheet that corresponds to that handbook when I return your essay.
Before you submit your essay, make certain that you review the class documents that address style, concrete language, and avoidance of cut-and-paste plagiarism. When you quote material, make certain that you introduce the quote and that you offer a thorough explanation of its relevance. Do not assume that your reader will interpret the material as you have (Charlie Manson listened to The Beatles [a. k. a. The White Album] and thought that album called for starting a race war in America). If you cannot explain how and why the quote has influenced your reading of the source material, then you are not performing your necessary task as a writer. Remember to offer parenthetical citations, page numbers for prose and line numbers for poetry. Indent extended quotes (forty or more words of prose, four or more lines of poetry), and do not add extra quotation marks.
Let?s pretend that this quote is long enough, o.k.? Do not assume that your reader will interpret the material as you have (Charlie Manson listened to The Beatles [a. k. a. The White Album] and thought that album called for starting a race war in America). If you cannot explain how and why the quote has influenced your reading of the source material, then you are not performing your necessary task as a writer. Remember to offer parenthetical citations, page numbers for prose and line numbers for poetry. Indent extended quotes (forty or more words of prose, four or more lines of poetry), and do not add extra quotation marks. (page number)
And, while I?m at it, I?ll quote a poem: ?PictuTopics for essays:
Slavery and the definition of humanityre yourself on a boat on a river / With tangerine trees and marmelade skies? (1-2). Now, here?s a longer quote from another song:
How can you tell me that you miss me
When the last time I saw you, you wouldn?t even kiss me?
That rich guy you?ve been seeing,
He must have put you down.
So welcome back, baby, to the po? side of town. (1-5)
Of course, in a real essay, I?d go to the trouble to identify these quotes and discuss their relevance. This sheet just offers a sample of what essay layout should be.
