Essay Assignment (Teen Novel)

How much is it worth? 35% of your final mark.

When is it due? Monday, November 30, 2009. 5% off for each day late.

Do I have to hand in a printed copy of my essay? No—you may submit a printed copy (even on the back of
slightly used paper), but I encourage you to email it to kwarlund@crc-lennox.qc.ca

What are my goals? See the Ministerial Objectives on the course outline.

What is my task? Write a 1000-word research or a non-research essay analyzing anything written by Stephen
Crane. Make sure that your thesis is specific—you might find yourself covering only a portion of
your ideas about the novel. The body of your essay will break this thesis into parts, explaining
the parts and giving details (quotes, paraphrases) to help prove the topic sentences. Use MLA or
APA correctly and consistently for internal citations, page formatting, and the Work(s) Cited or
Reference(s) page. If you use outside sources, you must make sure that you cite the sources in
your text; don’t just list the sources in your References or Works Cited page. In other words,
acknowledge other people’s ideas every time, and make sure that it is obvious when an idea is
yours or a source’s.

Can I plagiarize or cheat? Sorry, no. Always acknowledge other people’s ideas with internal citations.

Can I get help? I can help you early in the writing process, but not at the end. I need to see your own skills, so
do not get someone to proofread your final draft.

What websites might help me? http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc http://owl.english.purdue.edu

What if I can’t think of a topic?

See the instructor or go online to figure out what work(s) you want to analyze and what you
want as your focus. You might find the Stephen Crane Society’s website helpful:
http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/crane/index.html

How will my essay be marked?

See the evaluation sheet below.

NOTE: If you plagiarize, your mark will be 0. If you list secondary sources on your References or
Works Cited page, but do not acknowledge when you used your sources’ ideas in your essay,
your mark will be 0.
 Evaluati on Sheet
THOUGHT AND DETAIL 10 marks

o Do you have a thesis (an argument) and is it convincing?

o Is your thesis complex enough for an essay of this length?
o Is your position clear?
o Are your ideas deep, sophisticated, and detailed?
o Are you always logical?
o Are your supporting arguments and explanations clear and logical?
o Have you selected relevant evidence to prove your ideas?
o What is the quality of your research? Is the essay well researched? (Secondary sources are optional.)
o Is your essay free of useless details?
o Is your discussion precise, with a distinction between ideas?

ORGANIZATION 10 marks

o Do you follow the structure of an essay?

o Do you state your thesis at the end of your introduction?
o Does each paragraph explain one part of the thesis (or do the paragraphs seem repetitive, unconnected…)?
o Do you begin paragraphs with a meaningful transition and a topic sentence?
o Do you explain the topic sentence and use examples as proof?
o Are references to sources smoothly incorporated into your own writing, with quotation, summary, and/or
paraphrasing?

LANGUAGE 10 marks

o Is your grammar correct?

o Is your punctuation correct?
o Are your mechanics correct (e.g., capitalization, spacing, etc.)?
o Is your spelling correct?
o Are your sentence structures complete?

STYLE 5 marks

o Is your language impersonal, clear, formal and academic? (You avoid contractions, slang, second-person pronouns…)
o Do you use specialized and general vocabulary appropriately? (You do not use ‘empty’ words like ‘thing’)
o Does it seem like you thought about the ‘sound’ of your sentences by playing around with sentence structure? Do
you use different types of sentence structure? Do you avoid beginning almost every sentence the same way?

APA OR MLA STYLE: 0 marks

o Have you only double spaced your text, used a 12-point font, used an appropriate font? Are your margins 2.5cm?
Have you in all ways conformed to APA or MLA page formatting rules?
o Is the Reference(s) or Work(s) Cited page correct? If you write about more than one text, are items listed
alphabetically? Do you indent after the first line of each citation? Are your citations correct for each type of source?
o Are your internal citations correct, whether for direct quotes, summaries, or paraphrases?