Out-of-Class Essay #2
Summer 2009--English 1101-03
Choose ONE of the following topics for your second essay. You must generate your own thesis statement in response to the prompt. Your thesis statement will set out the argument of the essay. The rest of the essay must back up the thesis statement. The main body paragraphs must be in 3 Ied Monster format.
Your essay should be 1000-1200 words, typed, double spaced, in 12 point Times New Roman font, with 1-inch margins. It must be on paper; I will not accept papers submitted by e-mail. Please include the word count at the end of your essay. The essay is worth 25% of your final grade.
Failure to fulfill the workshopping/peer editing requirements will result in a penalty of 5% from the final grade of the essay and will forfeit your right to revise and resubmit the essay if it gets a C- or below.
The rough draft is due Sunday, July 5, by noon, on WebCT. Publish the draft so that everyone in the class can read it.
The final draft is due Tuesday, July 14, at the beginning of class. This assignment is worth 25% of your final grade.
Remember, since this is a literary essay, write in the present tense and do not use “I”, “we”, or “you”.
1. Choose ONE of following poems -- Margaret Atwood’s “Habitation,” Audre Lorde’s “A Lover’s Song,” or Pablo Neruda’s “Love Sonnet XL” -- and explain how ONE OR MORE literary devices (for example, meter, imagery, structure, tone, and/or setting) help develop a central idea of the poem.
2. Compare and contrast the portrayals of love and/or marriage in any TWO of the following poems -- William Shakespeare’s “Let me not to the marriage of true minds,” Margaret Atwood’s “Habitation,” Audre Lorde’s “A Lover’s Song,” or Pablo Neruda’s “Love Sonnet XL”.
3. You are welcome to develop your own topic on any of the texts named in the above prompts. If you choose this option, you must see me in my office before the first draft is due to discuss your working thesis statement.