I have a rubric
500-550 words
MLA style
MLA page and inside headers
Assignment Types: Brief Essays
Brief essays allow me, the instructor, to give you precise feedback on your writing. The topics for brief essays will be much like the topics for discussion posts; therefore, you will be sharing your ideas about what we are reading to improve your literary analytical skills as well as refining your essay form organization, development, and all the requirements for full MLA style documentation, INCLUDING MLA parenthetical in-text citation, manuscript format, and works cited entries.
Please follow these requirements and expectations to earn the best grades for your brief essay assignments:
There will be a total of 4 brief essay assignments for the course making up 20% of your final course grade. Your ONE lowest score will be dropped, AND the last brief essay will be a rewrite/revised version of one of the three brief essays you already wrote earlier in the semester. You will choose which one of the three earlier essays you would like to improve on through revision.
There will be NO make-ups for brief essay assignments; there will RARELY be extensions to allow for late submission of brief essay assignments: Please keep up with our coursework; if you believe a circumstance will keep you from submitting work on time, please contact me via Canvas Inbox email BEFORE the due date of the assignment. If you are unable to participate in the course due to illness, family emergency, or the like, please communicate with me as soon as possible in order for us to consider if a plan to complete a missed assignment may be made so that your learning can still progress in the course. If any extensions are allowed by me, they will be strictly on a limited, time-sensitive basis. Informing me of your needs AFTER the original due date WILL NOT allow for any extension to be applied. To be clear, due dates are our friends; they help us learn progressively and keep us moving forward.
An MLA style works cited page IS required for all brief essays.
MLA page and inside headers–your name, instructor, course, etc.–ARE required for all brief essays.
To master MLA style, including MLA style manuscript format, please use our MLA Documentation module or the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 8th or 9th edition.
When paraphrasing summary action within literature, you should still indicate where in the text the action occurs to avoid paraphrased plagiarism. If you are paraphrasing action or plot but not quoting, still parenthetically cite where in the text the action happens. Download cite where in the text the action happens.
All brief essays MUST be between 500-550 words–DO NOT ever exceed 550 words in your brief essays.
REMEMBER that the works cited page DOES NOT count toward your brief essay’s word count total. Your essay should be at least 500 words followed by the works cited page.
DO NOT include a cover page for your brief essay; instead, begin with the first page of your essay including the required MLA style headers.
Keep in practice and follow the expectations for essay form in your brief essays although paragraphs should be NO SHORTER than 4 sentences–around 7 sentences is a more reasonable minimum in formal essays like our paper assignments. To master essay form, please use our Essay Form and Sentence Skills module.
Be sure to punctuate published titles of our literary and secondary resource texts correctly: Review PUNCTUATING TITLES: Download PUNCTUATING TITLES:books/novels/plays/websites/databases/pamphlets/newspapers/magazines/journals italicized; short stories/poems/essays/articles “quoted.”
Contextual or summary observations matter less than textual revelations. Always stay close to the primary literary texts to reveal what they can do and what they show us. Provide more specific examples from the works of the writers we are studying to add stronger substance to your overall writing–ENGAGE with the primary texts!
ALWAYS AVOID summary writing–do not needlessly repeat the text; instead, choose the choicest evidence from the text to push your own ideas forward in developing your brief essays.
Be sure to review the grading rubric (Links to an external site.) included with each brief essay assignment, and consult our Repeated Terms and Concepts page to understand how your writing is evaluated.
After your brief essay is graded, be sure to review any feedback (Links to an external site.) or attachments I’ve provided.
Please review the video link below to create a template file for your writing assignments for the course:
Please carefully review this Formal Writing Assignments Instructions (1).pptx Download Formal Writing Assignments Instructions (1).pptx. This will tell you everything you need to know to complete this assignment.
For this assignment you will choose any one poem that we have read up until the end of Week 5. Alternatively, you may chose any poem from the “Gay Chaps at the Bar” series that begins on page 64 of Blacks.
This formal essay should be organized as any formal essay would be: with an introduction that contains a thesis statement followed by body paragraphs that begin with topic sentences. It should also end with a conclusion that summarizes your thesis. Your essay should be grammatically correct. You should not consult outside sources (except for the dictionary) but should articulate YOUR response to the poem and your thoughts about what it means. I want to know how YOU read, think, and write. Your essay will be assessed by its thesis, organization, line of reasoning and clarity, use of textual evidence, and grammar and mechanics.
This essay should be three-five pages and should follow the Format template.docx Download Format template.docx
Citations and Works Cited: You must include MLA in-text citations for all quotes, paraphrases, and summaries. You must include a Works Cited as per MLA style. See the Purdue OWL site for MLA citations. (Links to an external site.)
These are Brooks poems
hold for more info
Also, please make sure to use the four “Poetic Forms” documents:
The topic is wrong a brief essay about Franklin and how he constructs himself as an “AAmerican” character in his autobiography. Also, how or why might this be significant, especially in the context of Franklin’s emphasis on appearances? How does Franklin seem to define the ideal of “being American?”