Assignments
Format Guidelines for Assignments
Essays must be word processed and formatted according to MLA guidelines, with this exception: play essays should be single-spaced.* The font size for these assignments should not be larger than 12pt, and you should use a scaleable font, preferably Times New Roman. All of these assignments should be proofread carefully and free from grammatical errors; failure to do so will affect your grade on the assignment. Even if not specifically noted in the assignment, you should always use examples from relevant texts to support your claims, use correct in-text citation, and provide a works cited section. The Works Cited section does not need to be put on a separate page.
Assignments should be submitted to the Sakai course website through the Assignments tool. Please include the title of the play in your filename (e.g. othello_essay.doc) and use either Word (.doc or .docx) or Rich Text Format (.rtf).
For more information about using MLA format, see use the resources below:
*Note: the "Creative Adaptation" assignment does not need to adhere to standard essay format, but should still include a Works Cited or Works Consulted section.
Due: Throughout the semester. See the course schedule for specific due date for each play; essays are due by midnight of the date indicated on the schedule through the Sakai course website.
Description: Over the course of the semester, you will write four essays that focus on specific plays. Everyone must submit an essay for the first play, Merchant of Venice, but after that assignment, you may choose which plays of the six we are studying that you wish to write about. Essays must be submitted by the essay due date for that play as indicated on the course schedule. Additionally, there are four types of essay questions for each play:
1. close reading question
2. critical context question
3. historical context/source question
4. creative adaptation question
You must write one essay of each type. Again, the choice is yours as to which type you use for each play, but you must complete one of each type of essay. Individual essay questions, listed by type, are included in the essay section for each individual play.
Your essay should be long enough to thoroughly answer the question, and should not be shorter than 500 words.
Be sure to support your claims with qutations from the text(s). References to plays should be of the form (Act.scene.line(s)) (for example, (III.ii.23-27) or (3.2.23-27) -- either Arabic or Roman numerals for Acts are fine, just be consistent).
If you wish, you may submit additional essays over the course of the term. The top four essay scores of each type will be used in the final grade calculation for the course. For example, if you score poorly on a Close Reading essay, you may submit another Close Reading essay for a different play, and the higher of the two scores will be used in calculating your grade.
Final Paper
Due: Thursday 12/10 by midnight
Format: 10-12 page paper (double spaced) in MLA Format.
Topic: For your final paper, you may choose your own topic, with the following constraints: it should be something you are interested in, it should be something you can discuss in relation to 2-3 of the plays we've covered (you may bring in other sources/texts as well), and you must do some critical research to ground your topic. To assist you with your research, you can find a listing of critical books and articles on the resources page of each play, and there are also many references listed in the Oxford Guide Part III.
Topic Approval: Because you will be doing research for this paper, it is important to get started well before the paper is due. Your topic must be submitted for approval no later than midnight 11/12; you may submit your topic any time before this date if you wish. Submit your topic proposal through the Assignments section of the Sakai course website. Your topic proposal should include a clear thesis, which plays you will be writing about, a brief statement describing how your topic is worked out in those plays.
Turning in the Final Essay: As with the other essay assignments for the course, your final essay should be submitted through the Assignments section of the course website. The paper is due by midnight on Thursday, 12/10.
© 2009 Susan Shelangoskie, Ph.D.