EWRT 1C Class 17

AGENDA

• Essay #2:

• The Prompt

• Reviewing and

revising your thesis

• Ways to Proceed

• The Introduction

• Review for Exam #2

Essay #2: Prompt

The Writing Assignment

In a thesis driven essay of 4-7 pages, analyze one or more aspects of one of the

stories we have read this quarter. Aim to convince readers that your

interpretation adds to the conversation among those who read stories and write

about them. Back up your analysis with reasons and support from the story. Use

the critical strategies or lenses that we have practiced this quarter.

“Araby” by James Joyce

“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin

“A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel García Márquez “ The Bet” by Anton Chekhov

I encourage you to read the complete assignment on our website under “Essay Prompts,” and “Essay 2.”

The Thesis

Get out the one you wrote for

homework

@#$%!!!

Check your tentative thesis: Do you have evidence for each point?

Make any necessary quick revisions to your thesis.

Reviewing your thesis

With a partner, or in groups of three, review each other’s thesis

statements

Writers: Take turns reading your tentative thesis statement

aloud. Then take notes as your partners tell you what your

thesis statement leads them to expect from your essay.

Listeners: As the writer speaks, write down what you think are

the key terms in the thesis statement. Remember that each of

these key terms stands f or an idea or a link in the chain of

reasons arguing for the overall thesis. Tell the writer what the

ideas are that you expect will be developed in the essay. Also

indicate if you think the writer will have difficulty supporting any

of these ideas, if you do not see how the ideas work together.

Point out ideas you think are obvious or uninteresting.

Ways To Proceed

Ways To Proceed

Ways To Proceed

The Directed Summary: An

Introduction MethodHow to write one!

Directed Summary

• A directed summary provides readers of

your paper with the information they

need to understand your argument and

explanation.

• State the title and author of the literary

work near the beginning of the first

paragraph, perhaps in the first sentence.

This is essential so that the reader knows

which work you are discussing.

• Hook the reader. In the first sentences, write

what is particularly interesting about the work.

This thought-provoking information must also

be relevant to the topic you will discuss in

your essay.

• Assume that the reader is familiar with the

work about which you are writing. Do not

include too much plot summary in the

introduction or in the rest of the essay. Do

include the part of the story that will

support your thesis.

• Use transitions throughout the introduction.

Because there are so many aspects of the work

that have to be included, the introduction can end

up fragmented and confusing. Make sure that it

makes sense on its own as a paragraph. Clearly

transition from your introduction into your

thesis.

• State the thesis near the end of the introduction

(your introduction might be more than one

paragraph). The thesis should clearly state what

the essay will analyze and should be very

specific.

Write a smooth transition

from the introduction to

the thesis statement

Try writing your

introduction1. Title and author

2. Hook the reader with a thought-provoking aspect of the story, one that connects to your essay or, better yet, your argument.

3. Assuming the reader is familiar with the text, include a brief summary that provides support for your paper.

4. Use transitions to keep the introduction clear and organized.

5. Transition to the thesis.

6. Include your thesis near the end of the introduction.

Exam #1

Exam #1 100 points: Class 19

Class Presentations: 1-16

SHORT STORIES

• “Araby” Joyce

• “The Story of an Hour”

Chopin

• “A Very Old Man with

Enormous Wings” García Márquez

• “The Bet Chekhov

POETRY

• “My Papa’s Waltz” Roethke

• “There’s a girl inside” Clifton

• “The Fish” Bishop

• “A Black Rook in Rainy

Weather” Plath

• “Memories of West Street and

Lepke” Lowell

• “To His Coy Mistress” Marvell

CRITICAL THEORIES

• New Criticism

• Feminist Criticism

• Psychoanalytic Criticism

Exam Review:

Presentations 4-20

1. Passage Identification: Work and Author

2. Identify the Writer

3. Character Identification

4. Terms: Fill in the blank

5. Theory Identification

6. Essay Question

Work and Author

1. Passage identification by work and

author:

The hand that held my wrist

Was battered on one knuckle;

Identify the writer

• This writer’s fiction did not attract significant

attention outside literary circles until the

publication of his masterpiece, Cien años de

soledad (1967; One Hundred Years of Solitude,

1970).

Identify the character

• "Some distant lamp or lighted window gleamed

below me. I was thankful that I could see so little.

All my senses seemed to desire to veil

themselves and, feeling that I was about to slip

from them, I pressed the palms of my hands

together until they trembled, murmuring: "O

love! O love!" many times."

Terms: Fill in the Blank

• _____________ refers to the

perspective from which the story

is told.

Identify the Theory

• This theory maintains that a literary work contains certain

intrinsic features, and the theory “defines and addresses

the specifically literary qualities in the text."

Short Essay

1. Explain New Criticism. You might consider the following:

What made New Criticism new? What is the critical focus

of New Criticism? What kinds of questions do New Critics

ask? How does it intersect with other critical theories?

2. Briefly explain one of the extrinsic theories. Use one poem

or short story to demonstrate your points.

3. Discuss the use of religious symbols in one of the works we

have read this quarter.

1. Discuss the role of setting in any one of the works we read

in this section

HOMEWORK

Read Bloom’s “Trauma

Theory Abbreviated”

Read Balaev’s “Trends in

Literary Trauma Theory”

Post # 16: QHQ Bloom or

Balaev