Welcome, ENG 215 students! Essay Assignment #1

Hi, class, and welcome to our class blog. Below is the first essay assignment:

ENG 215 – Literary Analysis Essay #1 – Begun in class Thursday, 2/5

We will spend at least 30-40 minutes of class time working on this essay this week. The final version, TYPED, will be due on Thursday, February 12. 

If, for any reason, you are absent, the final version must be emailed to me by the due date. You may also slip your paper under my office door--ROOM 1150 (RED AREA). The assignment is to write an essay (of 3-4 pages with additional Works Cited page attached). Late papers—those submitted with a Friday, 2/13 OR LATER time stamp—will receive 2 permanent points off for lateness. Thus, do not wait until the last minute--that's when computer issues, Internet problems, etc., arise--it is your responsibility to have your work in on time. You will be given a week from the time your paper is returned to you to revise, if necessary. Otherwise, the original grade stands.

ANSWER ONE OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS.

1)    Some critics view Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as exposing anxieties in the British Empire, with the main conflict as symbolic of threats regarding race, class, sexuality (including homosexuality), and immigration at the end of the 19^th Century. Find and analyze one or more passages within the story and write an essay to support or refute such claims. Also, support your analysis with quotes from at least one of the secondary critical sources in the Norton Critical Edition. Cite specifically to the source, using standard MLA-style documentation.

2)    In the section, “Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case” in the Norton (49-62), Henry Jekyll writes of  the “…thorough and primitive duality of man,” which causes him to explore that duality through his scientific experiments: “Even at that time, I had not yet conquered my aversion to the dryness of a life of study I would still be merrily disposed at times; and as my pleasures were (to say the least) undignified, and I was not only well known and well considered, but growing towards the elderly man, the incoherency of my life was growing daily more unwelcome, It was on this side that y new power tempted me until I fell into slavery. I had to but drink the cup, to doff at once the body of the noted professor and to assume, like a thick cloak, that of Edward Hyde” (52). In an essay, find passages to compare the repressed and dry life of Dr. Jekyll with the exciting and unhallowed pleasures of Edward Hyde. Why, in the final analysis, do you think Edward Hyde triumphed of Jekyll? Also, support your analysis with quotes from at least one of the secondary critical sources in the Norton Critical Edition. Cite specifically to the source, using standard MLA-style documentation.

3)    Throughout Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, everyone who encounters Hyde finds it difficult to describe his looks. Why do you think author Robert Louis Stevenson avoids having the characters provide a precise visual description of Hyde? Find and analyze one or more passages within the story to support your response. Also, support your analysis with quotes from at least one of the secondary critical sources in the Norton Critical Edition. Cite specifically to the source, using standard MLA-style documentation.

Criteria for Grading

In your essay, you must include support for your response from whichever primary text you have chosen, as well as from at least one of the critical works from the Norton edition. Cite specifically to the source, using standard MLA-style documentation, including a Works Cited Page. The expectation is that you will write grammatically correct and coherent sentences, following standard composition form. 

Again, your short essays are evaluated using the following criteria: you have answered the question asked—meaning, you have written a clear thesis statement with supporting points and you have answered the question completely); you have cited adequately from the source reading as well as secondary sources (critical essays) using MLA style; and, you have demonstrated strength in your writing that is appropriate to a 200-level literature course (well-structured sentences and paragraphs, proper spelling, grammar, no run-on sentences or sentence fragments, proper punctuation, use of transitions, logical conclusion).

If you receive “NG”—meaning “Not Gradable”—due to numerous composition errors (ex: poor grammar, misspellings, lack of thesis, poor sentence structure, not MLA-compliant, etc.), you are strongly advised to take your paper to The Learning Center (2nd Floor) to work with a tutor for assistance in revising the essay for resubmission.
 
Plagiarism results in an "F" on the paper with NO POSSIBILITY of revision or “extra credit” make-up work. If you plagiarize, you have automatically lost the ability to earn any grade higher than a “B” grade for the course. If you plagiarize a second time, you automatically fail the course.

YOU MAY NOT USE the following as sources, as they are NOT considered scholarly works: SparkNotes, CliffsNotes, ClassicNotes, Enotes, GradeSaver, Wikipedia, or any other student guides. VALE contains a number of excellent databases through which you can find good literature resources (ProQuest, Literature Resource Center, etc.).

You must write well if you are to receive a good grade in my course. I do not “curve” grades—also, I do not pass students whose writing does not show that they have properly met the standards of what I consider acceptable. The Learning Center is open every day and evening and is available to you. It is YOUR responsibility to ensure that your papers are proof-read before you hand them in. Below is how I break down the points: 

• Clear thesis statement, well-organized supporting points and conclusion: 5 points

• Cited adequately and correctly from the texts (primary and secondary): 5 points

• Demonstrated writing strength (sentence structure, spelling, grammar): 5 points