Writing
Nick Pincumbe
EN 1101 Evaluation Paper Packet
Your assignment, if you choose to accept it (and you’d better, it’s worth 10% of your grade!) is to choose one literary short story reading from this course (the full list of options will be discussed in class) and write a fully fleshed out Evaluation paper (4G) on one of the following topics:
- What is the dominant theme of this piece? How do you know this theme exists? What does the literary piece say about that theme and how is it expressed in the piece?
- What was one major symbol used in your chosen piece? What was the significance of this symbol in understanding the overall meaning of the piece? How was this expressed in the piece?
- What was the major conflict in your chosen piece? Was it external (character vs. the world) or internal (character vs. themselves)? How did encountering this conflict change the protagonist over the length of the piece?
Construct a clear argument answering these questions for one of the topics and use specific textual evidence from the story to support and develop your stance. Your essay should contain a thesis statement that gives me an idea of how you will back this point up and how your support will be organized throughout. It should also fulfill the other requirements of your rubric.
This paper should include significant textual evidence (properly documented quotes or paraphrases from your chosen reading) to support your thesis. In addition, since we are part of a larger conversation about literary analysis, the use of credible, properly documented, academic literary criticism is welcomed and encouraged.
1200 words (two pages double spaced 12 point font). Please include your name, a title, the date, and your class hour at the top, as well as page numbers throughout.
Nick Pincumbe
EN 1101 Evaluation Paper
Assignment 4A: Pre-Writing
Your first assignment in the creation of your Evaluation Paper (4G) is to do a Pre-Writing exercise (4A). For this exercise you can choose one type of Pre-Writing, such as:
Asking questions
Listing
Brainstorming
Freewriting
Clustering
Bubbling
Informal Outlining
At the top of the first page of your assignment, list the type of Pre-Writing you chose to use from this list.
Choose an appropriate topic for the Evaluation paper (sample topics listed on the first page of this prompt) and write out one of the above Pre-Writing activities on that topic.
Your Pre-Writing activity should be at least one full page in length.
At the bottom of the last page of your assignment, write down a one sentence description of your narrowed topic for this paper.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!
Nick Pincumbe
EN 1101 Evaluation Paper
Assignment 4B: Annotated Bibliography
Your second assignment in the creation of your Evaluation Paper (4G) is to create your Annotated Bibliography (4B).
An annotated bibliography formalizes your research process. It forces us to spend a bit more time thinking about the sources we’re using, whether we can trust them, and how we are using them in our writing.
For this assignment, we are considering outside literary criticism as a means to complement our own analysis of texts. As such, you should take your questions and assumptions from the pre-writing exercise and challenge them by locating one or more sources of academic quality that provide insightful literary criticism on your chosen literary piece (noSparknotes, Cliffnotes, etc. will be accepted).
You will need to use credible library and/or Internet resources. Your annotated bibliography should include four distinct parts:
- A full citation of each source in MLA Style as it would appear on your Works Cited page (alphabetical order, hanging indentations, etc.).
- A short one paragraph summary below each source of the important information it contains.
- A thoughtful one paragraph explanation below each source of why you found this source to be credible.
- A short one paragraph explanation below each source of how you could use this source to develop your topic and support your thesis.
Other than the citation, each part of your Annotated Bibliography should consist of complete sentences. Make sure to visually distinguish each part of the assignment.
Your initial copy can be typed and printed or hand written and should be completed in class during our library day. In fact, it should be shared with me for my review before you will be dismissed on the day in question. A final version should be submitted electronically along with your other assignments when your final draft is due.
Sources can be electronic or print, but should be of academic quality (no .com, no wiki, no dictionaries or encyclopedias).
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!
Nick Pincumbe
EN 1101 Evaluation Paper
Assignment 4C: Thesis Statement
Your third assignment in the creation of your Evaluation Paper (4G) is to create your thesis statement (4C). For this exercise you should use this sheet as your guide and create a printed one page assignment that identifies your TOPIC, your STANCE on that topic, and three SUPPORT POINTS that you will use to back up that stance in your paper. Please include your name, date, etc., as you would on any other assignment and bring one hard copy to your Conference (see Course Schedule announcement for dates).
Thesis Statement Breakdown
- Topic:
- Stance:
- First support:
- Second support:
- Third support:
Sample Layout
Due to/Because of
1) (First Support Point)____________________________________________________,
2) (Second Support Point)__________________________________________________,
and
3) (Third Support Point)___________________________________________________,
4) (Topic and Stance)______________________________________________________.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!
Nick Pincumbe
EN 1101 Evaluation Paper
Assignment 4D: Outline
Your fourth assignment in the creation of your Evaluation Paper (4G) is to take your thesis statement (4C) and expand it into an outline (4D). For this exercise you should use this handout as your guide and create a printed one-to-two page assignment that outlines a five paragraph structure for your essay based on an introduction, three support paragraphs, and a conclusion. Per our discussion in class, the three support points from your thesis should be the basis for your three support paragraphs.
Since you’ll be including source material for this paper, you can record key quotes or paraphrases (and their in-text citations) as examples where appropriate. Make sure to include your explanation or analysis of the source material you choose to use.
Please include your name, date, etc., as you would on any other assignment and bring one hard copy to your Conference (see Course Schedule announcement for dates).
See the next two pages for a helpful breakdown of how to assemble a complete outline. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!
Outline Breakdown
Introduction
Hook___________________________________________________________________
Background______________________________________________________________
Point 1) _________________________________________________________________
Point 2) _________________________________________________________________
Point 3) _________________________________________________________________
Thesis __________________________________________________________________
Support One
Topic Sentence ___________________________________________________________
Example or Citation 1a)____________________________________________________
Analysis/Explanation 1b)__________________________________________________
Example or Citation 2a)____________________________________________________
Analysis/Explanation 2b)__________________________________________________
Example or Citation 3a)____________________________________________________
Analysis/Explanation 3b)__________________________________________________
Explanation (relates back to thesis)____________________________________________
Transition _______________________________________________________________
Support Two
Topic Sentence ___________________________________________________________
Example or Citation 1a)____________________________________________________
Analysis/Explanation 1b)__________________________________________________
Example or Citation 2a)____________________________________________________
Analysis/Explanation 2b)__________________________________________________
Example or Citation 3a)____________________________________________________
Analysis/Explanation 3b)__________________________________________________
Explanation (relates back to thesis) ___________________________________________
Transition _______________________________________________________________
Support Three
Topic Sentence ___________________________________________________________
Example or Citation 1a)____________________________________________________
Analysis/Explanation 1b)__________________________________________________
Example or Citation 2a)____________________________________________________
Analysis/Explanation 2b)__________________________________________________
Example or Citation 3a)____________________________________________________
Analysis/Explanation 3b)__________________________________________________
Explanation (relates back to thesis) __________________________________________
Conclusion
Restated Thesis __________________________________________________________
Recap Point 1) ___________________________________________________________
Recap Point 2) ___________________________________________________________
Recap Point 3) ___________________________________________________________
Take Home _____________________________________________________________
Nick Pincumbe
EN 1101 Evaluation Paper
Assignment 4E: First Draft
Your fifth assignment in the creation of your Evaluation Paper (4G) is to take your outline (4D) and expand it into a full draft of your paper (4E). For this exercise you should use this handout as your guide and create a printed one-to-two page assignment that follows the five paragraph structure of your outline, but is fleshed out into complete sentences, and includes a clear introduction, support paragraphs, concrete examples, and a complete conclusion. Per our discussion in class, the three support points from your thesis should be the basis for your three support paragraphs. Please include your name, date, etc., as you would on any other assignment and bring three hard copies to workshop (see Course Schedule announcement for dates).
Remember, this paper should include significant textual evidence (properly documented quotes or paraphrases from your chosen reading) to support your thesis, as well as sufficient analysis and concrete examples. In addition, since we are part of a larger conversation about literary analysis, the use of (properly documented) outside literary criticism is welcomed and encouraged.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!
EN 1101 Evaluation Paper
Assignment 4F: Revision Exercise Assignment 4G: Final Draft
Your sixth and seventh assignments in the creation of your Evaluation Paper (4G) are to take your first draft (4E), to do a revision exercise on it (4F), and then to fully revise and edit your first draft to create a final draft (4G) for submission in class.
4F: Revision and Editing Exercise
For this exercise you should review (look again) at your first draft and type full sentence answers to the following prompts:
- What part of your paper, if any, can use expansion and what specific information can you add there to make it stronger?
- What part of your paper, if any, gets off topic, and what can you remove to help?
- Is your organization strong? If so, what makes it strong? If not, or if it could use improvement still, what can you move or substitute to help? Consider creating a reverse outline to help.
- How credible are the sources you used? How do you know?
- Examine your paper’s tone. Is it too informal or conversational? If so, what can change?
- Do you have any word choice errors that spellcheck wouldn’t find?
- Do you have any coma-splice errors, run ons, or sentence fragments?
- Do you have any fluffy word choices?
- Are all of your sources properly documented in MLA style?
- What is one specific step you can take to improve your paper before submitting it?
Only one copy of Assignment 4F is needed. It should be submitted along with 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, and 4E when you turn in 4G.
4G: Final Draft
Complete your final draft of your Evaluation Paper by revising and editing your first draft (4D). Your final draft should present a compelling argument clearly stated in a complete thesis statement, include a complete introduction, at least three support paragraphs, and a complete conclusion, should be well-organized and supported, should include plenty of thoughtful analysis and concrete support details and should follow all of the expectations of the course rubric.
The final draft should be a two page assignment (Times New Roman 12 point font) and should include your name, date, etc., as you would on any other assignment.
Assignments 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, and 4F should be submitted by the listed due date (see Course Schedule announcement). Make sure everything is clearly labelled and organized to put yourself in the best position for success!
