Midterm essay (1700 words, including Works Cited)
Write an essay analyzing a text or texts—for example, you may want to discuss two poems together—that we haven’t discussed thoroughly in class, in their social, political, cultural, or economic context. Students must make a strong argument at the outset of their presentation and carry it through to the end. They are defending a thesis, not giving us a summary of the text. They must conclude their essay by placing their topic in a broader context, namely, by drawing connections to other works studied this semester. You are required to use at least two additional scholarly sources, contextual rather than critical.
The introduction should identify the primary text, author, topic, method (relevant textual passages plus context), goal (the knowledge the student seeks to produce), and thesis (claim plus reasons).
Essays must be typed in 12 pt. Times New Roman font and double-spaced and adhere to proper MLA format. See pp. 405-07 of the St. Martin’s Handbook for proper MLA formatting.
