English 2111 paper 2


Write an analytical or argumentative essay on a topic of your own choosing, avoiding plot summary (see nugget 1) and focusing narrowly on Song of Roland, Dante's Inferno, Chaucer's Wife of Bath and Pardoner (prologues and/or tales), or our selections from Don Quixote. Read these requirements carefully.

  • 4-6 pages in length, 1250 words minimum, 1800 words maximum (in the body of the essay, excluding headers, name, date, title, works cited entries, etc.).

  • Formatted carefully, following MLA guidelines outlined on my "simple stuff" page.

  • Including a minimum of eight quotations from the work(s) you examine: eight is an absolute minimum—you may certainly offer more to illustrate your claims thoroughly and effectively.

  • Document quotations and other source material according to MLA guidelines as explained on my quotations page. Definitely include a works cited page.

  • Incorporate some research into the essay, offering quotations from at least two (separate) secondary sources of legitimate scholarly criticism or commentary on the work(s) you examine, or perhaps on some key element in your analysis (Medieval Christianity, for instance, or an article on chivalric romances], etc.) These quotations from two separate secondary sources are above and beyond the eight from the primary work(s) themselves.

    Understand that "legitimate scholarly sources" means truly scholarly research that you get from MGA library resources (GALILEO, e.g.). This means items from the popular press, encyclopedias, personal websites or blogs, and study aids such as SparkNotes, LitCharts, Master Plots, Gradesaver.com, or my favorite, Shmoop, and other such "helpful" websites do not qualify. For access to many, many thousands of scholarly articles and eBooks in full-text electronic form, see the MGA Library website (note especially the "Research Guides," arranged by Subject or Department).

    This may be a challenge, but avoid--emphatically avoid--consulting any world wide web pages     outside of our course materials while composing your paper.

Of equal or perhaps even greater importance, please resist the thought of incorporating any material whatsoever produced by generative artificial intelligence. As a refresher, recall this item from our course syllabus:

Plagiarism includes allowing someone else to prepare work that you present as your own.

Note: "Someone else preparing your work" includes essay-writing services and generative artificial intelligence (AI) such as ChatGPT, MS Copilot, Google Gemini, or any "writing assistance" programs such as Grammarly, paraphrasing tools, etc. All work in this class must be your own except where properly cited or disclosed. The use of artificial intelligence writing tools or generative AI tools is prohibited at any stage of the work process, including discussion posts, informal critical responses, midterm and final exams, and the formal paper. Stay far, far away from generative AI! If you have questions about specific online writing tools, talk with me before submitting any work that may include writing assistance you are not entirely certain about.

  • Paper proposals: as with the first paper, compose a paper proposal in the form of a topic sentence outline
      • beginning with the question your essay will strive to answer,

      • followed by each body paragraph's complete topic sentence in direct answer of that question, as it might appear in the essay itself,

      • and ending with a thesis statement that a) answers the question you are addressing, and b) ties together the primary points in your topic sentences.

        The question you raise to begin this outline should be a literal question—an interrogative sentence ending in a question mark, not merely a statement of what the topic or subject is. For full explanation of topic sentence outlines, including examples that would be good models to follow, see the paper proposal assignment page.

One challenge here will be arriving at a viable topic, one worthy of exploration in a 2000-level course. See especially the first item below excerpted from "grades and grading criteria" handout for this class. I have been of two minds on whether I should assign specific options for you to write on in this paper, but I think it's an important element of any literature class beyond the freshman level that you learn to explore and establish angles of critical analysis in formal papers on your own. I know that assigning an open topic is also problematic because it permits far more opportunities for wholesale plagiarism—I would strenuously advise you to recall the definition of plagiarism we covered earlier in the semester!

Feel free to take any matters from our discussions or critical response writings as a starting point for greater development in this paper, and if you want my input on the general topic before you submit the proposal, email me just the central question you are pondering (to chip.rogers@mga.edu).

Matters of course: the bedrock basics (from chipspage.com, "grades and grading criteria").
In order to receive a passing grade:

  • An essay must first and foremost address a viable topic, meaning that if you are given a specific assignment for the essay, your paper must address the assigned topic squarely, directly, and fully. In the absence of a specific assigned topic, the essay must set up and address a topic genuinely worthy of exploration at the college level. We will deal with this issue later in the semester, but here's one quick illustration: a beautifully written paper proving that Hester Prynne is treated harshly in The Scarlet Letter for her sin of adultery would receive a quick F because the point is too obvious to need elaboration: any reader of the novel would know that Hester is treated harshly simply from reading the book. Your essays should develop a thesis that will enlighten your readers: you should present and develop significant argument or analysis that goes beyond simply stating the obvious.

  • Secondly, every essay should meet all specified assignment requirements. For instance, if an assignment stipulates that you must incorporate a personal anecdote from your own life and you do not include one, your essay has no chance of passing however brilliant it may be in other respects. Or if you are asked to incorporate quotations from four sources and you cite only two? No chance to pass.

  • An essay must be adequately developed in order to receive a passing grade. At the very least, essays must exceed the minimum word count—in the text of the essay itself, excluding the title, header, works cited page, etc. If you are asked to write an essay of 500-750 words, 498 words will receive an automatic F. The word minimum means absolute minimum in this class.

Note well: Feel free to contact me by email or telephone for help. If you would like to meet face to face but my office hours don't mesh with your schedule, let me know, and we'll make other arrangements. We can always meet over video or by telephone. Don't be bashful! I am happy to help each of you set up and develop strong, successful papers.

Okay . . . here are a few quick topic possibilities. You are by no means restricted to these ideas, and I sincerely hope many of you will explore other options beyond those listed here:

  • Contemporary relevance of any of the works eligible for this paper, from Song of Roland through Don Quixote.
  • The biased portrayal of Christians and Muslims in Song of Roland.
  • Roland's positive and negative character traits
  • The relationship of Roland and Oliver
  • Aspects of Dante's Inferno in conflict with modern Christian views.
  • The Inferno's representation of medieval Christianity.
  • In-depth analysis of particularly crucial characters or scenes in Inferno.
  • Chaucer's depiction of women in the Wife of Bath (the good and the bad, maybe the ugly too)
  • The Wife of Bath's masculinity (i.e. in her traits, psychology, or behavior, etc.)
  • Chaucer's critique of the medieval church in the Pardoner and his tale
  • Humor in Chaucer's prologues for the Wife of Bath and the Pardoner
  • The different functions of Sancho Panza in the narrative (or novel)
  • Analysis of different comedic devices in Don Quixote.
  • The need for more "Don Quixotes" in our contemporary society
  • Don Quixote as an admirable character
  • The pretenses of "realism" in Don Quixote: the early European novel
  • Other possibilities on these works are welcome: email me the central question for a topic not covered here that you are interested in exploring

Reminders:

blue bullet Make every topic sentence answer the central question directly.
blue bullet Introduce all quotes: see nugget 3.
blue bullet Sweat the details: use the Golden Rules, Nuggets, Simple Stuff, and Quotations pages and proofread carefully.
blue bullet Offer concrete evidence (quotes) in support of each of your major assertions.
blue bullet See me in the office or email if you have questions or problems. 

Use the Writing Center! Tutoring, in person and online, is available in the Writing Center and in Student Success Centers (SSC) on all campuses. The Macon campus Writing Center is in TEB 226 and the SSC is in the lower level of the Library building. You can book tutoring sessions on the Macon or Cochran campus or fully online at mga.mywconline.com/. The SSC website also posts tutoring schedules for other centers across the five campuses, including the Writing Center (in Macon, TEB 226: 478-471-3542). All tutoring centers across the five campuses are free of charge. Be sure to show your tutor a copy of this assignment in any tutoring session.