five pages

Number of Pages: 5 (Double Spaced)

Writing Style: MLA

Number of sources: 2

Paper Two is a persuasive argument about Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein. We are reading two published scholarly articles about the novel: David S. Hogsette’s “Metaphysical Intersections in Frankenstein: Mary Shelley’s ?eistic Investigation of Scienti"c Materialism and Transgressive Autonomy (2011) and ?omas Vargish’s “Technology and Impotence in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein” (2009). Your job is to read both articles, understand their respective arguments, and write a position paper in which you establish your own views about Shelley’s novel in relation to these two papers. Your job in this paper is not to "nd more articles about Frankenstein. Your job in this paper is not to Google things about Frankenstein and to report back to me what you’ve found. Your job in this paper is not to sound bite snippets of things you haven’t read fully but that you happen to agree with. Your job in this paper is not to examine how the Frankenstein story has been taken up in movies, graphic novels or popular culture. What is your job? Your job in this paper is to be able to understand two scholars’ arguments about Frankenstein and to use those two essays in order to articulate your own views about the meaning of the novel. In this diagram, you’re inside the triangle. Your job is to de"ne your position by using the three corners as points of reference.?is paper is an argumentative essay, and by that I mean what the authors of ?ey Say / I Say have said: “Broadly speaking, academic writing is argumentative writing. . . . You need to enter a conversation, using what others say (or might say) as a launching pad or sounding board for your own views” (3). An argument, in other words, is merely a conversation in which you attempt to persuade others to join your viewpoint. Writing isn’t really divided into opinion and fact. Rather, opinions and facts are merely tools that we can use in order to cra? persuasive arguments. We can’t really position ourselves with respect to other arguments, however, until we understand them thoroughly and that’s why we’re reading two scholarly arguments in class. You’ll be more familiar with these two arguments than any others about Frankenstein and it’s only natural, then, to de"ne your own position using those two points of reference. Here are some other things you should know: • How many citations must you have? ?ree. Frankenstein, Hogsette, and Vargish. • Should you cite quotations from all three sources? Yes. • Should quotations and sources be documented according to MLA format? Yes. • Can you assume that I, your reader, have read all three texts? Yes. • Should you summarize at length your three sources? No. Why not? Because I’ve read them too. • Should I cite enough from each source to remind my reader of things like important plot events, crucial aspects of others’ arguments or passages that multiple people are responding to? Yes. Why? Because you’re like a lawyer and you’re bringing evidence tocourt. It’s what writers call “presence.” • Is the tone of this essay more formal than the last essay? Yes. Why? Because we’re practicing academic writing. • What does that mean? It means you should cra? your essay so that you appear professional, respectful of others (even when you disagree with them), and have well-planned claims with sufficient evidence to support those claims. • Can you use “I” in this paper? Yes. • Are there any grammatical requirements? Yes. As in the last paper, you must use one each of the following: — an appositive with commas — an appositive with parentheses — an appositive with dashes — a list of appositives marked by a colon — two independent clauses separated by a semi-colon • How do you spell Mary Shelley’s last name? S-H-E-L-L-E-Y. Notice the “-ey” ending