ENGL 2308 Final Paper
In this final essay, each student will bring together the close reading and textual analysis skills we have developed this semester with the insights and evidence of scholarly research. Using one or two texts we have read this semester, develop and defend a critical argument about the text(s). While social issues and movements we have discussed this semester will likely inform the social and historical context of your topic, the primary focus is still on the strategies and implications of the authors and their writing.
Much like the response paper, this assignment is not an informative essay. There must be a clearly stated, debatable thesis guiding the organization of the paper. While I am not expecting you to provide and support a claim in 1800-2400 words that no literary scholar has proposed before, your thesis should be something with which a reasonable person who has read these readings could conceivably disagree. Your final draft should explicitly, albeit briefly, address one or more counterarguments – explaining both the counterargument and why you still believe your thesis is correct. This should be one of the places where you incorporate at least one of your three required secondary scholarly sources (cited in 8th edition MLA). The counterargument does not necessarily have to come from an article that disagrees with your thesis. The author may be in agreement with you but include and refute a counterargument that is relevant to your claim.
In addition to using scholarly sources to address and refute the counterargument(s), you can also bring in sources that provide analysis of the text or the particular genre to which the text belongs (as a genre, nonfiction would be too broad, but activist autobiography or political documentary, for example, would be appropriate). Lastly, you may cite scholarly sources to discuss social, historical, political, and/or economic contexts that are relevant to the text(s) and your argument.
As in the response paper, it is important to use the text(s) to support your analysis, but please be judicious about the length and quantity of quotations and paraphrases that you incorporate to ensure that your argument takes center stage and comprises the majority of the writing.
Lastly, I would recommend meeting with me or a UWC tutor at least two weeks before the due date to discuss your planned topic. This gives you time to get feedback on your argument before investing hours of your time into writing a paper that may or may not be based on an appropriate thesis. Likewise, preparing a draft with time enough to review, revise, and proof-read your work (and potentially soliciting feedback on the draft) will lead to a much more polished paper than starting a few days before the deadline.
Criteria
• Thesis (20 points) – clearly identifiable in the paper, lists the texts, debatable claim
• Argument (35 points) – analysis and critique are not overshadowed by summary and quotations, relevant counterarguments are addressed, rationale is delivered in a logical, linear order, writer demonstrates awareness of historical and social contexts
• Sources (15 points) – three or more sources (not including primary texts) that meet the standards of scholarly sources, smoothly incorporated, importance to the paper is evident
• Organization and Style (30 points) – paper meets required word count and contains clear introduction and conclusion, informative topic sentences, professional tone, minimal grammatical errors, and MLA in-text citations and a Works Cited page
Final Paper Rubric
Thesis (20): Clearly identifiable (5)
Lists texts analyzed (5)
Debatable claim (10)
Argument (35): Argument/Summary balance (20)
Counterarguments (5)
Logical organization (5)
Awareness of contexts (5)
Sources (15): 3+ Scholarly Sources (5)
Well-incorporated/introduced (5)
Importance/relevance is clear (5)
Organization/Style (30): Intro/Conclusion (10)
Topic sentences (10)
MLA in-text and Works Cited (5)
Professional tone and grammar (5)
