Project Space

Project Space Spring 2015 English 113B Prof. Batty

Project Space Essay

Ghosts haunt old homes, hospitals, school, etc. One may encounter a werewolf or Bigfoot in a forest. Movies like Jaws, Lake Placid or Creature from the Black Lagoon make bodies of water more than a little scary. There are scary stories located on farms, in elevators, and even on the moon. For this essay you will be critically analyzing a frightening place. Scary movies and stories are often set in stereotypical locations, such as cemeteries, hospitals, old houses, and forests. Your task is to explain what makes a specific space frightening or anxiety-provoking. Choose a setting that is commonly featured in scary stories, or choose a particular story, and explain why this space/setting evokes fear. What are some of the things we associate with this place? What expectations do we have of this space? Does the history of this location tell us anything about the space and why we find it scary? Your thesis should pose an argument that explains why a certain place or setting is scary, frightening, anxiety- provoking, or unpleasant.

Proposal: Your proposal is an opportunity for you to clearly and concisely state what you will argue in your essay. You should use the future verb tense “I WILL argue,” to show that these are ideas you plan on exploring further in your essay. What setting will you discuss.? Explain why you think this space is scary. List any expectations, historical or contemporary facts, statistics, or associations with this setting that would explain why this place is scary. State your thesis, which explains why a specific place is scary, frightening, anxiety-provoking, or unpleasant. Typed, MLA format, 250 words.

Annotated Bibliography: For this assignment you will need to do research on your chosen location and create an annotated bibliography. Try to find out any information you can that explains why this setting is so frequently feared. For each source, you will need to include: bibliographic information for the source, summary of

Project Space Spring 2015 English 113B Prof. Batty

source (50 words/entry), evaluation of source (50 words/entry), and a description of how you will use source (50 words/entry). You should include four or more sources, 150 words for each source. Typed MLA format.

Outline:

The purpose of this assignment is for you to begin brainstorming and organizing your ideas. Please use roman numerals (I, II, III, etc.) to indicate paragraphs, and letters (A, B, C, etc.) to indicate supporting ideas, quotes, etc. Your introduction should contain your thesis statement. Your sentences do not need to be very long, nor do they need to be worded very eloquently, but they do need to be complete sentences so that I can understand what points you are trying to make. This should be a fully completed outline with developed ideas and paragraphs. It is a good idea to include quotes in this outline, so that you will know which quotes to include and where in your final essay. This will save you time later because you will already have the skeleton of your essay in place. The outline will also help you to organize your ideas.

Final Draft Criteria: 1. Topic Selection: Focuses on one specific interpretation of the novel that can be discussed in

detail in 4-6 pages.

2. Title: The title should be both creative and informative.

3. Thesis: Makes a clear, specific, and debatable argument about a specific, frightening setting, explaining what makes this location unpleasant.

4. Development/Support: Ideas are fully developed. Four credible sources from books, library databases, or websites have been used as support/counterargument. DO NOT USE WIKIPEDIA, but you can use other, more reliable encyclopedias.

5. Content: The essay contains enough support and evidence from sources to be potentially convincing. The ideas are clear and well thought out. A counterargument has been thoroughly considered.

6. Organization:The ideas appear in a logical order; the paper uses transitions to move from one idea to the next.

7. Spelling/Grammar/Mechanics:The paper is virtually free of spelling, grammar, or

mechanical errors.

8. Page Length: The paper is at least 4 complete pages long. Papers less than 4 COMPLETE pages will not earn a passing grade.

9. MLA Citation: The paper uses MLA style citation for quotes, paraphrases, summaries, and a Works Cited page.

10.MLA Formatting: The paper uses MLA formatting, including 12 point Times New Roman font, double spacing, one inch margins, etc. (See your handout for a sample paper.)