English 102

ENGL 102

College Composition II Length: 4 – 6 pages + work cited list

Essay 3 –

Researched Argument

Description: This essay expands your analytical and writing skills. You will write an essay that expands on an idea suggested by the prompts for reading selection “THE ROAD NOT TAKEN”. Although this analysis is your analysis you will inform is by researching academic secondary sources for deeper connections to lead new insight into the author, setting (both historical and situational), and theme. As your understanding deepens, you will present a thesis that argues your idea and you will support it with details from your own analysis research, and connections.

Robert Frost- Author of the Road Not Taken

Robert Frost (1874–1963) was born in California. After his father’s death in 1885, Frost’s mother took the family to New England, where she taught in high schools in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Frost studied for part of one term at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, then did various jobs (including teaching), and from 1897 to 1899 was enrolled as a special student at Harvard. He later farmed in New Hampshire, published a few poems in local newspapers, left the farm and taught again, and in 1912 left for England, where he hoped to achieve more popular success as a writer. By 1915, he had won a considerable reputation, and he returned to the United States, settling on a farm in New Hampshire and cultivating the image of the country-wise farmer-poet. In fact, he was well read in the classics, in the Bible, and in English and American literature. Among Frost’s many comments about literature, here are three: “Writing is unboring to the extent that it is dramatic”; “Every poem is... a figure of the will braving alien entanglements”; and, finally, a poem “begins in delight and ends in wisdom.... It runs a course of lucky events, and ends in a clarification of life—not necessarily a great clarification, such as sects and cults are founded on, but in a momentary stay against confusion.”

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay in leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence:

Requirements:

· Four - six pages double-spaced, 12 pt font, excluding work cited list

· Topic is THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

· You will begin your essay with an introductory paragraph that includes the name of the selection and author, your topic, and a thesis statement.

· You should employ principles of argument which include alternative perspectives to the one you present in the thesis and solid reasoning supporting your thesis.

· Cite specific examples from the readings as well as from your secondary sources.

· You will write use at least four secondary academic sources MLA documentation format

· You will include a complete Work Cited page that references the primary reading/s and the sources that your researched to inform your argument. The Work Cited Page will follow MLA guidelines.

· The final paper will be free from mechanical, grammatical, and spelling errors in addition to employing active verbs and clear diction.

· Your final submission will follow MLA guidelines for manuscript submission (e.g. heading, title, spacing, font, etc.)

Grading:

Topic	Description	Points
Organization- introduction, body, and conclusion	The introduction, body and conclusion are completely developed with required information. Conclusion xpands on ideas presented in the thesis.	0 – 30 points
Content/Presentation of ideas	The essay includes all required elements of argument; ideas reflect clear logic and are supported with sufficient evidence which has been correctly cited in text and included in the work cited list.	0 - 40
Organization: Unity and Coherence	Paragraphs stay on topic and are organized in a logical format to keep the reader aware of the argument. Transitions are used within and among paragraphs.	0 - 20
MLA Documentation and source use	At least four outside sources are used in the essay and cited correctly and correspond to the documentation in the work cited list. All documentation corresponds with MLA format	0 - 15
Manuscript format	Manuscript follows MLA formatting and essay design.	0 - 15
Grammar, punctuation, and usage.	Fewer than 5 major errors in grammar, usage, and punctuation. There are some minor errors.	0 - 20