Essays will examine both a primary work (or works) by your chosen author, as well as critical, historical, and/or biographical secondary materials. In order for your essay to receive a “C” or better, you must incorporate both primary and secondary resources.
Essays will cover your chosen writer’s poetry, but should also emphasize and examine the specific themes, subject matter, and/or stylistic characteristics of your chosen poet’s work. Essays will include at least one exegesis of a poem that displays these themes, subjects, and/or stylistic concerns specific to your chosen poet’s lifework.
Essays will employ MLA documentation style and proper conventions of attribution for borrowed information.
Essays will be 5-6 pages in length
Essays will be typed, with one-inch margins, and free of typographical errors and ink corrections.
Grading criteria include the following five categories, listed (generally speaking) in order of importance:
A. Thesis statement
One declarative sentence, underlined
Takes a debatable position
Represents the contents of your entire essay
B. Argument
Employs specific examples from primary and secondary resources, including paraphrase and quotation.
C. Organization
D. Style and Tone
E. Grammar and mechanics
F. Proper MLA Documentation Style
