Literature Essay

ENG2800 – JMWB MW 12:25-2:05 (Vert 11-155) / CMP2800 – KMWA 2:55-4:35 (Vert 6-175)

ENG-CMP Essay Requirements

With regards to ESSAY I (DUE W 3/13) and ESSAY II (DUE W 5/8), only submissions which follow instructions will be graded; avoid receiving a zero for this assignment. Heed the following BEFORE submitting:

1. MLA Style Format

· 3-5 double spaced pages, 12 Times New Roman

· Heading

· Title that reflects your thesis statement

· page numbers referencing specific passages between parenthesis (###)

· Bibliography

· each text you cite, although they all come from Norton Anthology, should have its own entry at the end of the essay

· DO NOT use ANY SOURCE beyond Norton Anthology

· AVOID the Internet. EVERYTHING it says about what we learned is wrong and decontextualized.

· Use the Hunter College Library MLA Style Tutorial https://library.hunter.cuny.edu/tutorials/mla/mla_tutorial.html

2. Grammar, punctuation, vocabulary

· Avoid repetition of the same word/structure in neighboring sentences. Use synonyms to increase your vocabulary.

· Use the present tense for analysis. Unlike history, literature is alive again every time you read it, even if the story is narrated in the past.

· Avoid passive grammatical constructions. Ex: “can be observed” “we observe.”

· Avoid verbal contractions to sound far more authoritative. Ex: “didn’t” “did not.”

· Consistently Italicize the titles of readings to differentiate them from the rest of the essay.

· Stick to the 3rd person (he, she, it, they); avoid 1st (I/we) and 2nd (you).

3. Content

· DON’T QUOTE. AVOID copying ANYTHING from the text between “quotes.” PARAPHRASE, meaning put everything into your own words.

· ENG2800 – Instead of QUOTING “He who saw the wellspring” from the Epic of Gilgamesh PARAPHEASE into “The poets at the beginning of the epic reflect on the importance of water and the leadership required to find it in the desert…”

· DON’T SUMMARIZE. AVOID giving a summary of each text, its introduction in the book, or focusing on history. This is a literary criticism essay. Instead, SELECT 2-3 passages from each reading we shared in class to analyze.

· ENG2800 – Instead of compressing the whole Odyssey into a few paragraphs, find a passage that reflects a theme in your thesis statement. For example, if you’ve chosen to analyze “motherhood,” select a passage featuring Clytemnestra and one for Penelope. Compare to similar interactions with Ahwere in Setne and Naneferkaptah and “Zongzi, Please” in Classic of Poetry. How do these cultures conceptualize motherhood in similar and different ways?

4. Essay Prompt

· CMP/ENG2800 – Pick 3 texts we have shared in class. Explain the parallel development of writing and story-telling in the ancient world. How do entertainment, orality, material culture and inter-cultural exchange affect our collective memory? AVOID falling back on the topics of religion, relationships between humans and gods, or the textbook introductions. Instead, select passages from the pages we read in class to find other themes. Focus 80% of your analysis on the stories/characters/styles/genres themselves and their relationship to these topics, and 20% on historical context.

· EXACTLY 3 texts. Describe/paraphrase specific passages to back up claims with evidence. Compare between cultures.

· You may build a thesis statement around the following macro-topics: writing, story-telling, orality, material culture, cultural exchange, collective memory.

· How you analyze the texts is up to you. For example, you may choose cultural memory as the thesis topic but focus on “friendship.” See how Confucius, Gilgamesh and Setne manifest friendship within the context of collective memory. How do the ancients view interpersonal relationships as building blocks of communal identity?

5. Structure

· Introduction: “Motherhood and Storytelling in the Ancient Traditions” – 5-10 sentences.

· Hook – 1-2 sentences. Provide detail that captures the reader’s attention: universal theme, concept, thought, question.

· Setting the Scene – 2-3 sentences. Inform the reader of the 3 texts you will analyze. Include author (if known), title in italics, and date of composition (between parenthesis).

· Thesis Statement – 2-3 sentences. Select a major theme (i.e.: Motherhood) based on the essay prompt and state how it applies to the three texts in your essay (i.e.: storytelling). Add a last sentence sating the subthemes of the essay (i.e.: divine fertility, animalization, education).

· Body: “Motherhood and Storytelling in the Ancient Traditions”

· Subtheme 1 – Divine Fertility

· Example from Text 1 – Ninsun, goddess of agriculture, is mother to Gilgamesh legitimizing his divine rulership over food production.

· Example from Text 2 – Penelope is as clever with her weaving as Odysseus, Athena and Telemachus, all descendants from Zeus.

· Example from Text 3 – In the Qur’an, Mary finds emotional support conversing with unborn Jesus.

· Subtheme 2 – Animalization

· Example from Text 1 – Ninsun is the Holy Cow, beyond humanity.

· Example from Text 2 – Telemachus orders Penelope to return upstairs away from the suitors’ feasting.

· Example from Text 3 – Mary is an active character, who rescues herself and her child from the Massacre of the Innocents by heeding Allah’s instructions.

· Subtheme 1 – Education

· Example from Text 1 – Ninsun interprets dreams for Gilgamesh.

· Example from Text 2 – Penelope can no longer educate Telemachus alone in the world of men (weapons, travel, oratory), so Athena replaces Odysseus as father.

· Example from Text 3 – Jesus is a prophet; Mary’s influence is in meeting his basic needs as he is intellectually illuminated from birth.

· Conclusion

· 3-6 sentences. Reiterate each of your subthemes (i.e.: divine fertility, animalization, education) and how they relate to your thesis statement (i.e.: motherhood and storytelling).

· 2-3 sentences. How does your thesis statement connect 3 texts from different cultural traditions to the universal human experience?

· Works Cited

· Cite each text separately, even if they come from the same Norton Anthology volume.

· Use the Hunter College Library MLA Style Tutorial https://library.hunter.cuny.edu/tutorials/mla/mla_tutorial.html

Introduction
Hook
Setting the scene
Thesis
Argument/Supporting evidence
Topic 1	Sub-thesis:
	Example 1:
	Example 2:
	Example 3:
Topic 2	Sub-thesis:
	Example 1:
	Example 2:
	Example 3:
Topic 3	Sub-thesis:
	Example 1:
	Example 2:
	Example 3:
Conclusion
Analysis /Moral
Works Cited
MLA Style

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