critical paper

Gothic Literature !! For this paper you will be writing a literary/critical paper on one of our major readings (The Metamorphosis, Frankenstein, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, or The Picture of Dorian Gray), two of the shorter works (see Reading List), or any work in relation to a film version such as may be found on YouTube (and elsewhere). I am willing to entertain additional approaches to the assignment (for example, you might want to compare and contrast one of the longer works to a shorter reading such as a short story or poem, so long as the focus remains on the work(s) itself. However, you must first clear such approaches with me.

Special Notes: ! • Your paper must have a clear thesis. What point are you trying to make? • Formatting for this assignment must follow my handout entitled Formatting Your Essays in

every particular. • Write 3 ½ - 4 pages (approximately 300 words per page). • Cite at least two outside sources* from JSTOR or another reliable library database. • Remember to treat material from sources in quotation (both in-text and block), paraphrase,

and summary form; remember to observe the conventions of writing about literature (see handout).

• Non-database sources* must be correctly documented in MLA style (with an URL or DOI). • An MLA-style Works Cited (including whatever work[s]** you reference and your choice of

at least two outside sources) must be included but is not part of the 4-5 page count. • Include at least one block quotation (in-text citations should appear throughout the text) • Make generous use of relevant vocabulary from the handouts on literary terms. • One approach to the paper might be to take a critical perspective (Freudian, biographical,

historical, deconstructive, etc.). • Otherwise, you are welcome to focus on one or more of the relevant literary elements (plot,

theme, etc.) we discussed with reference to short fiction, poetry, and/or drama. ! *THE FOLLOWING DO NOT COUNT AS SOURCES FOR PAPER III—DO NOT USE!

• Student essay pay (or free) services (such as www.123essay.com) • Blogs (or any website such as Shmoop or SparkNotes, that doesn’t have an author’s name

associated with it) • Social networking sites (Twitter, Facebook). !

**I will provide a formula for citing the Gutenberg texts in class.