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Essay Instructions: This research essay will discuss one of the following authors->(Edgar Allen Poe, Washington Irving, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Harriet Beecher Stowe, James Fenimore Cooper, Mary Rowlandson, or Walt Whitman)describe his or her writing style, and a discussion of one literary work. The paper should discuss the writer's biography and time period, characteristics of writing style, and a brief analysis of one literary work. The biography, writing style, and/or historical influences should be evident in the brief analysis/discussion of the literary work. All aspects should be interrelated.
*To support the essay, 4 sources from critics, scholars, and experts in the literary field must be used. The web site for evaluating sources is-> http://www.asha.org/sitehelp/websites.htm
**Be sure to incorporate "Good Scholarly Sources" while writing this essay. One requirement for this essay is parenthetical citations. An excellent web site is the Bedford/St. Martin's site for MLA In-text citations: http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/resdoc5e/RES5e_ch08_s1-0001.html The bedford st martins site also offers an excellent model that I prefer for the required outline. No use of the 1st person & grammar must be EXACT!!
Suggestions to begin your essay-
1)Choose your author
2)Select at least 5 sources: One may be THE LITERARY WORK ITSELF, AND THE 4 OTHER SCHOLARLY SOUCRCES (NO WIKIPEDIA) **1 primary source - THE short story 4 secondary sources ? THE research - (literary criticisms on the selected story) 2 of the 4 secondary sources should be from scholarly articles or literary periodicals or journals!
3)Gather the information
4)Decide on the thesis.
5)Write The body paragraphs (8 sentences at least per paragraph): author's biography, writing style, a literary work
6)Write an introduction ending with the thesis
7)Write a conclusion beginning with the restated thesis
8)Write a PROPER Title Page
9)Write an Outline (this can be done after the essay is written if it is easier)
10)Write a PROPER Works Cited - (The Works Cited will be evaluated carefully for this essay.)
"Writing About Literature": Analysis vs. Summary
Avoid plot summary. Assume the audience has already read the story or seen the play when writing. When writing about literature REMEMBER to focus on analysis, rather than plot summary. The writer must interpret a text for meaning and narrow the focus around a thesis.
Review Writing for a Literature Class. For help in grammar and writing, select Guide to Grammar and Writing and review suggestions for writing about literature.
Before a thesis can be created or an essay written, all research must be completed. Be sure to have at least three sources of information on the story. Below are suggestions and links to assist on the search.
Documentation
Visit MLA Style for guidelines on documenting online sources. Find the link for MLA Style on the right hand side of the screen. Then go to the link for Frequently Asked Questions.
Visit the Bedford/St. Martin's site for MLA In-text citations and MLA List of works cited.
For additional help in writing a works cited entry for online sources visit Electronic sources.
Visit A Guide for Writing Research Papers. Be sure to see the side navigational links. Visit the link for "Parenthetical Documentation," and the link for "Preparing a Works-Cited Page,"
Paper requirements:
Title page, outline, essay, works cited
minimum of 750 words
5 secondary sources - lit. criticisms or websites on the selected author
a short story, poem, novel, etc.
***Carefully consider the essay's organization.
The following links may help those with the blank page syndrome.
* Perspectives in American Literature
* Scribbling Women
* American Literature Links
* American Literature VOS
* Literature on the Net
* Guide to Literary Criticism on the Web
* A Celebration of Women Writers

Essay Instructions: Select three of the literary periods we have studied this term and discuss how they influenced one another as well as the development of American literature. Be sure to reference specific authors and readings. Use MLA format and include a Works Cited page. The periods above can only use the following stories: Olaudah Equiano ?" p 390-392?, Phillis Wheatley ?" p. 400-402, ?“On Being Brought from Africa to America” ?" p. 403, ?“To His Excellency General Washington” ?" p. 406?, Philip Freneau ?" pp. 415-417, ?“To the Memory of the Brave Americans” ?" p 418, ?“On Mr. Paine’s Rights of Man” ?" p 419?, “The Indian Burying Ground” ?" p 421, “The Wild Honey Suckle” ?"p. 421,?“On the Universality and Other Attributes of the God of Nature” ?" p. 422?, Charles Brockden Brown ?" p 491, “The Romantic Temper” ?" pp. 505-513, ?Red Jacket ?" p 513, Tecumseh ?" p 515, ?Washington Irving ?" p 517-520?“, The Author’s Account of Himself” ?" p 520, ?“Rip Van Winkle” ?" p 522?, James Fenimore Cooper ?" pp. 568-570, ?The Pioneers, Chapters 1, 3, and 4 ?" pp. 570-592, ?Catherine Maria Sedgwick ?" p 729, ?Hope Leslie: or Early Times in the Massachusetts, Chapters 2-7, pp. 730-770?, William Cullen Bryant ?" pp. 779-781?, “Thanatopsis” ?" p 781?,“Inscription for the Entrance to a Wood” ?" p. 784, ?“To a Waterfowl” ?" p. 785, Transcendentalism ?" pp. 1277-1279?Ralph Waldo Emerson ?" p 1279, ?“The American Scholar” ?" p 1309, ?“Self-Reliance” ?" p 1334?, “The Over-Soul” ?" p 1350, ?Margaret Fuller ?" p. 1384, ?Woman in the Nineteenth Century ?" p 1386?, Henry David Thoreau ?" p 1410, ?From Walden, p. 1412?, and “Civil Disobedience” ?" p 1577.

The book used for this class: George and Perkins, Barbara. The American Tradition in Literature, 12th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print. please notify me if you have any questions.

Essay Instructions: A four page comparison contrast paper. This may be a comparison of two authors, two works by the same author, or two works by different authors. You will need a minimum of three sources for this paper. The paper should have a clear thesis statement (i.e., Poe and Hawthorne are masters at revealing the dark side of the human psyche.) Please don’t use the one given as example… The paper should either using the point-by-point or subject-by-subject method. A minimum of four quotes from the sources should be used. The paper should be written following MLA guidelines.

List of choices for authors ??"
Puritan Era -
John Smith, William Byrd, William Bradford, John Winthrop, Roger Williams, Cotton Mather
Mary Rowlandson, Anne Bradstreet, Edward Taylor, John Woolman, and Jonathan Edwards

Neoclassic Era ??"
Michel de Crevecoeur, William Bartram, Phyllis Wheatley, Philip Freneau
Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine

Romantic Era ??"
Washington Irving, William Cullen Bryant, Edgar Allen Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Methods of Organization for a Comparison/Contrast Paper:
Subject-by-Subject
Introduction: Thesis provides information regarding the works you are comparing/contrasting
Point One: First Subject
Point Two: Second Subject
Point Three: Comparison/Contrast of Subjects
Conclusion: Restatement of points

Point-by-Point
Introduction: Thesis provides information regarding the works you are comparing/contrasting
Point One: First Point, both subjects
Point Two: Second Point, both subjects
Point Three: Third Point, both subjects
Conclusion: Restatement of points

I would plan on about three-quarters of a page for the introduction, half a page for the conclusion, and about a page for each “point” in the outlines above.

Citing the work: you need only give the page number for any quote from a story and the line numbers from any quote form a poem. For your outside sources, you will need a Works Cited page. Give the author and page number (Brown 42) for any quote in the test; the full bibliographic information will appear on the Works Cited page. Follow MLA standards.

Essay Instructions: (DIFFERENT WRITER THAN FOR WASHINGTON IRVING PAPER)
(WRITER, PLEASE BE SURE TO ADDRESS ALL 5 OBJECTIVES PROVIDED, THANK YOU :D)

Brief Project Overview:

Write a detailed interpretive report on this specific work of fiction that uses people and events from Colonial America as subjects. Essay will be graded on all the usual features of formal writing (grammar, spelling, structure, etc.), but will focus especially on your engagement with the material. What was going on in America when the novel was written? What does the novel tell about the time in which it was produced? What might later generations have liked about this view of history? How does the novel’s take on history positively contribute, yet perhaps differ from history textbooks? What does the prose, invention, and imagination of fiction writing add positively to our view of the event(s) portrayed in the novel? These are some of the questions you will ask and answer in the essay. See the Detailed Instructions provided below for more specific information.

Detailed Instructions:
(BRIEF ANSWER TO OBJECTIVE #5 IS: I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN INTRIGUED BY EARLY GOTHIC MYSTERY AND ADVENTURE IN LITERATURE, FOR WHICH POE IS ONE OF THE INNOVATORS AND MASTERS OF THE GENRE :D)

Interpretive report on a work of historical fiction. Essay should be 7-10 pages in length, double-spaced, in Times New Roman font, with 1-inch margins all around. Please do not include a cover or a title page ??" just a title at the top of the first page. In the paper, you should explore the following questions:

1. In what way(s) does the book explore or reflect one or all of the following themes:
• Nationalism and American Identity?
• Attitudes toward race, ethnicity, religion, or gender?
• Romance and romanticism?
• American mythology and myth-making?
• Current events at the time the book was written? You may have to do a little research ??" look at a history textbook to refresh your knowledge about this.
2. What information does the novel include that is not featured in history textbooks or history classes? Why does the author think these things are important? In other words, which real historical elements are usable and not usable?
3. Why did the author choose this time period and topic over other time period and topics? What does the topic and time period add to the story?
4. Who is the intended audience for this book? Is the subject matter effective or ineffective at reaching that audience?
5. Why did you choose this book over others? (Note: Writing that you simply “liked the subject” or something similar is not enough. This is your opportunity to explore your own sense of historical memory. Dig deep ??" be honest.)

Remember that this is a formal essay. Even though you are not making an overall argument, you must still follow all the formal rules of grammar, structure, and composition. This is similar to a book report, but do not spend too much time summarizing the plot of the book. One paragraph is enough for that. The purpose of this assignment is to give you an opportunity to engage with a popular use of a historical subject. The paper will be graded on style and form, but more importantly, you will be assessed on your engagement with the material. Think about how history is being used, remembered, and changed to produce a popular work of fiction.