English 112L Introduction to Literature Dr. Herman Asarnow University of Portland Fall 2009

SHORT PAPER ASSIGNMENT #1

TO PREPARE: Right away, quickly read Chapter 37, “Writing about Literature,” pages 1389-1411 (especially 1396-1401, “Developing a Literary Argument” and “Writing a First Draft” which are excellent) in X.J. Kennedy's Literature. Next, read Ch. 38, “Writing About a Story” 1412-1429 (especially the section on “Analysis”). You are responsible for handling your paper’s quotations from the text you write about in the manner shown in these pages and in the sample paper.

THE ASSIGNMENT: Write a paper of 2-3 typed pages (approximately 500-750 words) with a thesis that makes an arguable claim about a story (from Kennedy & Gioia's Literature), something that intelligent people might possibly disagree about. For example, you might argue that a story is arguing X about its main character’s behavior or values, though you know some might argue that it’s Y, instead. Or you might argue something about how a story’s style, setting, main character, point-of-view, tone, plot, or use of symbols leads us to some valuable understanding or knowledge. Your purpose will be to explain how examining the story by arguing this claim helps us see something in the story that you find worth seeing. (That is—always write about something you care about, that has moved you, that puzzles you, etc. For that is what your reader will find interesting, too. Don’t just settle for a dull exercise, accomplished quickly, without value to you or your reader!) Write about one of these stories in our book: “Miss Brill,” “No One’s a Mystery,” “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall,” “A Pair of Tickets,” “Dead Men’s Path,” “Sweat,” “Harrison Bergeron,” “Saboteur,” “The Rich Brother,” “The Five-Forty-Eight,” “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,””Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” “Sweat,” “Girl,” “Young Goodman Brown,” “The Rocking Horse Winner,” and “Araby.” Some of these are in the collection of stories at the end of the fiction section of our text. Again, be sure your paper makes a clear and specific assertion about this story and that it carefully supports and illustrates your paper’s thesis with well chosen examples from the text, the relevance of which you explain.

FORMAT: Send me by e-mail a copy of your finished paper as a Word attachment. Your email’s “Subject line” should exactly read: “Paper#1ENG112L” . Also, please name your paper’s file exactly this way: “YourLastNamePaper#1ENG112L” (for example: CohenPaper#1ENG112L) . Also submit your paper to Turnitin.com, as per the instructions on our syllabus. Make your final draft, nice-looking, clearly written, and grammatically correct. Your title page should feature your name, the title of the paper, the page number of the story in Kennedy, and the course name and section #. Paginate your paper, please.

Remember: you will learn what you think and what you want to say by writing. Don't just sit and think. Write! Use your first drafts of the paper as a means of finding out what you think, not as the repository of your first (and last) thoughts. Improve, polish, and perfect your papers after you've written a lot.

*************************************************************************************************WHAT'S EXPECTED: Near the beginning, be sure to explain in a clear, assertive statement your paper's main claim (thesis). Then offer evidence (significant details, feelings you see being portrayed, etc.) to support, to elaborate on, and to illustrate your contention about the text. Turn the reading upside down and backwards to uncover evidence that supports your reaction to it.

YOUR AUDIENCE: Write for an audience that will be somewhat familiar with the story, but not someone who's read it as closely as you have. Think of your reader as the best of your fellow classmates, experienced readers who will be looking for a clear statement of your main idea and then convincing reasons and evidence that show why it may be true.

SCHEDULE OF DUE DATES

· A STATEMENT OF YOUR PAPER’S SUBJECT (which story) and a preliminary THESIS STATEMENT must be submitted to me by e-mail (asarnow@up.edu) no later than Thursday evening, September 17th, 8:30 p.m.—that is, the story that you will be writing about and the angle you think you will be taking in your analysis of one of its elements. This is usually an irrevocable decision. No late statements, please! I will respond to you quickly, by e-mail, after you send me your subject and thesis statements.

· FINAL DRAFT DUE: Friday, September 25th, 2009, by 10 p.m., by e-mail, as instructed above.

The Writing Resource Center & Writing Assistants (WAs) at the Learning Resource Center, Franz Lobby

I urge you to bring a draft of your papers to the Writing Assistants in the Learning Resource Center, lobby of Franz Hall. Sign up for appointments online. Go to: http://www.up.edu/lrc/writing/ and then click on the “Appointments” link at the bottom of the informational section in the middle of the page.

By the way, Writing Assistants don’t correct your writing or tell you what to write. The whole point is for each student to learn to write well himself or herself. Rather, WAs are trained to help you enrich your paper and make its analysis clearer and more convincing.

For this paper, a visit to the W.A.s is not required, but strongly suggested.

Also, please feel free to visit me during my office hours to discuss your ideas and for answers to your questions about the paper! You may also e-mail me, or telephone me at my office. I am pretty good about responding in a timely fashion.

Reminder About Intellectual/Academic Integrity: Plagiarism is the presentation of someone else’s words or work as your own. In academia and the arts, plagiarism is a serious offense liable to prosecution according the Academic Regulations of the University of Portland. All borrowed ideas and words must be cited in your papers, using the MLA—Modern Language Association—format available to you in the Pocket Wadsworth Handbook.