Section 3 (Exam 1): Essay Section (55% of exam grade)- Requires Respondus LockDown Browser

  • Due Oct 21, 2020 at 11am
  • Points 55
  • Questions 1
  • Available Oct 21, 2020 at 9:30am - Oct 21, 2020 at 11am 1 hour and 30 minutes
  • Time Limit None
  • Requires Respondus LockDown Browser

Instructions

Section 3: Essay Question

  • This section is worth 55% of Exam 1

  • Print your OUTLINE and place it nearby BEFORE beginning, as your browser will lock down.

  • Maximum time recommended for section: 45 minutes

section 3

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Instructions:

In your essay, you must answer the question below by analyzing any THREE of the following four stories, excluding any one of story of your choice:

        1. Kate Chopin's "Story of an Hour"

        2. Ralph Ellison's "Battle Royal"

        3. Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper"

        4. John Cheever's "The Swimmer"

 

Many, if not all, of the main characters in the stories experience some form of alienation; that is, a sense of their own identity as something estranged from, or  alien to, what they want it to be, what they believe it ought to be, or what the surrounding culture expects it to be.

    • What is the main cause for this experience of alienation? (For example, is it due primarily to the characters’ own individual personality traits or to the failings of the societies in which they live?)

    • To what degree can, or should, these characters conform to societal expectations; that is, should they attempt to be less ‘alien’ to the people surrounding them?

    • Would the effects of their conformity be less harmful than the effects of their non-conformity, whether for the characters themselves, for the other characters surrounding them, or for the larger social world?

Other Instructions from the Guidelines:

Requirements

Your essay does not have to be of any specific length word- or page-wise, but it does have to have a substantive analysis of each of the three stories as they pertain to the essay question. The best way to do that is by having the following FIVE paragraphs:

    1. An Introduction with a debatable thesis at the bottom
    2. A Body Paragraph focusing on on one of the stories with a debatable topic sentence at the top
    3. Another Body Paragraph for another story
    4. A third Body Paragraph for a third story
    5. Finally a Conclusion generalizing what you discuss above to the world outside the story.

Main Goal

The primary goal of your essay is to demonstrate a close, attentive reading of, and critical thinking about, the three stories by offering a unique interpretation of those stories that you have come up with on your own. You do not need to write a completely polished essay, but rather communicate as much insight about the essay questions as you can within the time that you have, using specific details from the texts to support your argument and presenting ideas in the order that will be most persuasive.

Because the essay is meant to demonstrate your own interpretation of the stories within a limited timeframe, it can have absolutely NO PLOT SUMMARY. Assume that your readers are already familiar with the various characters and events, albeit not well versed in whatever specific details that you are using to support your argument about alienation.

Five Criteria (each 20%)

    • Selecting an interesting and important essay topic and clarifying its significance to your reader;
      Reflecting on your topic with concerted, critical, and creative attention;
    • Substantiating your argument about the topic (that is, your thesis) with an array of concrete and convincing details, details that other, less conscientious, readers may have overlooked;
    • Discussing the literary works accurately and expertly, showing how these texts relate to your topic and support your argument;
    • Keeping your argument consistent, your focus coherent, and your writing organized throughout the essay.

 

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