Essay

Battle Royal by Ralph Ellison ------ The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

“Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy  ------ “We Real Cool” by  Gwendolyn Brooks

For this assignment, using at least four of the works listed above, you will write a paper that compares what the writers say, and then (briefly) comment on what the writers say in your conclusion.   In other words, by your paper will (1) identify and summarize essential points made by the writers and (2) compare/contrast those points, based on what the writers argue.  Such analysis of sources is a common practice both in college writing and in the writing of scholars. Your 

“commenting” will occur in the conclusion, where you can evaluate the strengths and/or weaknesses of the authors’ arguments.  You will give no evaluation in the paper prior to this point.  

The completed paper will be 3-4 pages in length (double spaced and not including the works cited page)  

SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE TASK.  

Probably the most difficult part of your task for this paper will be the connections you make among the articles you choose.  These primary connections (“themes,” “points,” “ideas”) will, of course, represent what is in the articles, but making such connections is a matter of your input:  your accurate, insightful reading, interpretation, and analysis.  Although you will need to reproduce accurately what is in the articles, your paper’s real success lies in how insightful your connections are among the four articles. Try to find areas in which the works share a common ground, as well as looking for ways in which they are different from each other.  All the works have something to say about rebellion, conformity, or both.  No two works say the exact same thing, nor do they say similar things in the exact same way.  Strong responses will go beyond merely labeling works as “pro-rebellion” or “pro-conformity”, and will differentiate finite and subtle differences.  

You’ll also be creating a Works Cited page. We’ll review in class how to organize the page and the MLA format that’s used to put it all together. A Works Cited page is a requirement for all research-based papers in this class and in other courses you’ll take at TCC.  

AUDIENCE. As for all writings this semester, Writing #1.0 is to be written in the rhetorical context of the first-year writing community at TCC: other 1302 students and teachers.  Assume that these readers have not necessarily read the articles you are writing about (assume that while these readers are unfamiliar with the sources you’ll be using, they will be interested in following your discussion of your ideas).  This means that the paper will have to background and clarify each article’s contents as it goes along.  

COMPOSING PROCESS. As you work on this paper, apply the process principles you learned in English 1301 and then add new ones we have been working on in class:  mark the margins of the articles as it relates to the assignment; turn your marginal comments and markings to notes; invent tentative points; prepare a rough draft; concentrate on constructive revision; edit and proofread your final draft before turning it in.  

WHAT TO TURN IN:  Turn in these items in your folder:  Complete Rough Draft, and Rough Draft Reading Sheet.  The final draft will be submitted via Blackboard/MyTCC.  

EVALUATION CRITERIA. As I evaluate your paper, I will be asking the following questions:  

1. Does the paper’s thesis clearly indicate what major points will be discussed within the paper? 2. How well-developed, complete, and clear are the connections that the writer makes among the different pieces? 3. How well are sources referenced:  Are quotations used to support your view of what each writer is saying about conformity and/or rebellion?  Are they integrated with surrounding text?  Do they function with paraphrases, summaries, and clarification materials?  Are paraphrases really paraphrases and not plagiarism? 4. How well is the paper organized:  overall? At paragraph levels?  From sentence to sentence? 5. How clear and fluid is the writer’s style?  Is it easy to read?  Are there awkward or cluttered parts?  Is the style appropriate for an academic audience? 6. How well does the writer control print-mechanics:  grammar? usage?  punctuation?  spelling?  

7. Is there an appropriate heading or title page for the paper? Is there a works cited page written in MLA format?  

Content 70 points (Intro 20- Discussion and Support 50) 

Excellent Intro: 20( All components present, Clear Thesis, Well integrated reference, Effective 

Lead-In) 

Strong Intro 15 (All components present, Clear Thesis, Reference is present but weak, Lead-In 

is present but weak) 

Average Intro: 10 (All components present, Thesis is present but is somewhat vague, Reference 

is present but poorly integrated or explained, Lead-In may not be present or does not connect to 

the Thesis) 

Weak Intro: 0-5 (Components missing, Thesis is not present or unclear, Reference is not present 

or is poorly integrated or unexplained, Lead-In is not present or does not connect to Thesis) 

Excellent Disc and Support: 50 (Strong and clear points, All points clearly linked back to 

thesis, Strong development and explanation of ideas, Conclusion is on point.) 

Strong Disc and Support: 40-45 (Points are strong or clear but likely not both, Not all points 

may be linked back to thesis, Development is weak or lacking in some areas, Conclusion is 

mostly on point but may contain too much summary or wander off point. 

Average Disc and Support: 30-35 (Points are fairly clear but may be vague or difficult to 

discern at first, Points may not be directly linked back to thesis, Development is more average or 

weak in areas than in strong paper, One or more sections may not work well or feel off topic, 

Conclusion is primarily summary or is mostly off topic. 

Weak Disc and Support: 0-25 (Points are fairly unclear or not present, No clear link back to 

thesis, Development is very weak or non-existent, Paper may be shorter than minimum 

requirement, Paper may be based around unsupported material or generalizations, Paper may not 

be following the assignment sheet instructions. 

Organization 15 points (poor: No clear organizational scheme 0, weak: Some kind of 

organization is present, but it is weak 5, average 10: Clear organization but some topic sentences 

are weak or non-existent, strong 15: Clear organization and strong topic sentences) 

Grammar and Mechanics 10 (excessive mistakes 0, moderate amount 5, low amount 10) 

Technical 5 (major technical issues 0, minor or no technical issues 5)