You are required to submit two 2000-word essays, each worth 25 per cent of the final grade.
You are encouraged to devise your own essay topics, but please consult with your tutor before proceeding, in case the topic is unsuitable. Be sure that your thesis clarifies your approach to the topic. You should compare two or three plays, choosing different plays from the course for each essay. The first essay should focus on plays from Scenes I to III of the Study Guide. The second essay should focus on plays from Scenes IV to VI.
- Portraits of “home”—sanctuary or trap
- The use of monologue to express a sense of self and community
- Ways of reviewing, revising, or recreating history
- The function and significance of music
- The construction and deconstruction of “border zones”
- The deconstruction of stereotypes
- The function and significance of dreams
- The function and significance of memory
- The price of survival
- The use of a trial as metaphor and structure
Writing Essays
Thesis
Select a topic that allows you to explore in depth the plays that particularly interest you. Think about the topic you have chosen in relation to the plays for a few days before formulating an approach. Reread the plays carefully with reference to the topic, making notes as you read. Establish your thesis or main idea in relation to the topic you have chosen. Remember that you should not (and cannot) examine all the possibilities of any single topic, so choose one which you can support with ample evidence from the play. Avoid summarizing the plot or giving extensive character analysis. You can assume that your tutor has read the play.
Structure
Make a point plan before writing the first draft. Your essay should have an introduction, in which you first raise your thesis (preferably at the end of the first paragraph), a body, in which you logically and clearly develop your argument, and a conclusion, in which you give the final evidence and bring your argument to a convincing end. (Do not simply summarize.)
Style
Clear, accurate English is essential for a critical essay. Remember that you are writing for someone else, and that your argument must be intelligible. Use the tone of intelligent conversation—not too stiff or formal, but not too colloquial. Avoid using jargon. Use the active voice and present tense of verbs when referring to what happens in the plays. Avoid plot summary and unsupported generalizations. Be prepared to rewrite the introduction and conclusion several times. These are the hardest parts of the essay to write, and the most important. Edit the first draft, reorganizing and revising to strengthen and clarify your thesis. Correct grammatical and spelling errors. Proofread a hard copy.
Citations
You must acknowledge all borrowings from other writers, whether direct or indirect. Failure to do so constitutes plagiarism, and the essay will receive a failing grade. Use the Modern Languages Association of America (MLA) format for citations. If you include a direct or indirect quotation, place the name(s) of the author(s) and the page number(s) of the source you are using in parentheses after the quotation; e.g., (Ryga 33).
On a “Works Cited” page at the end of the essay, provide the complete bibliographical information, listing the authors’ names alphabetically; e.g.,
French, David. “Leaving Home,” Modern Canadian Plays, Vol. I. Ed. Jerry Wasserman. Vancouver: Talonbooks, 2000.
Give the author, play title, anthology title (if applicable), editor (if any), place of publication, publisher and date of publication. Italicise or underline the titles of separate publications and plays.
Short quotations should be enclosed in quotation marks and incorporated into your text. Quotations of more than four lines length should be “set off,” that is, indented, single-spaced, and properly introduced. Avoid extensive use of long quotations.
Format
You must follow the format criteria given below.
- Use white paper of standard size (8½ x 11 inches).
- Type the essay.
- Double-space the text; single-space long quotations.
- Leave 1½ inch margins on all sides of every page.
- Number the pages and place them in the correct sequence.
- Put your name, student identification number, title of the essay, name and number of the course, and the name of your tutor on the title page.
- When indicating titles, remember that the titles of books are underlined, and the titles of works within books are in quotation marks.
- Proof-read your essay carefully before submitting it.
- Before mailing your essay to the tutor, make a copy for yourself.
- You may send your essay to your tutor by mail or as an e-mail attachment in Microsoft Word. Please include a completed “Tutor-marked Exercise” form (from your course package). You may access an online form at: www.athabascau.ca/forms/tutmark.doc
Handbooks on Writing
If you require more information on writing essays, you may find the following manuals helpful. They are available from the AU library.
Stewart, Kay L. and Marian E. Kowler. Forms of Writing: A Brief Guide and Handbook. Scarborough, ON: Prentice-Hall, 1991.
A comprehensive exploration of the writing process, with instruction on gathering material, discovering a thesis, essay structure, and documentation.
Hodges, John C., and Mary E. Whitten. Harbrace College Handbook. Canadian ed. Don Mills, ON: Longman, 1977. AU Library call no.: PE 1112 .H61
This handy reference text gives a detailed discussion of grammar, using copious examples and exercises.
Roberts, Edgar V. Writing Themes About Literature. 3rd ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1973. AU Library call no.: PE 1408 .R593
This work is a guide to writing specific kinds of essays: the essay on theme, on imagery, on style, etc.
Strunk, William Jr., and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. 3rd ed. New York: Macmillan, 1979. AU Library call no.: PE 1408 .S927
Strunk and White contains clear and brief “rules” for writing, and an essay on style.
Online Resources
You may also access online resources for writing via the “Centre for Language and Literature” home page on the Athabasca University Web site: www.athabascau.ca/cll/
Plagiarism and Academic Misconduct
Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use or copying of someone else’s words, ideas, or both, and presenting them as your own. To avoid the academic offence of plagiarism you must place the words you have taken from your source material in quotation marks, and identify the source. If you modify the wording, you must still acknowledge the source of the idea. By identifying precisely the author, work and page, you are not plagiarizing but making fair use of the writings of others to supplement your own knowledge or insight. The following guidelines for the proper annotation of quotations or paraphrases may help you:
Quotations must always be brief—a few words, sentences or lines, rather than paragraphs, or whole speeches. They must always be set off from your own words, either by quotation marks, or by indentation from the left margin and single spacing if the quotation is more than four lines long, or more than two lines of the play. At the end of each quotation, put the author’s name and the page number in parentheses.
The amount of borrowed material, whether quoted or summarized, must not appear to dominate your paper. Use quotations sparingly to support your observations. A large number of quotations from primary or secondary sources may indicate that you are letting others do your thinking for you. Your essay should not read like a string of quotations held together by a few sentences of your own.
If there is plagiarism in the essay, it will receive a failing grade, or in flagrant cases with a grade of zero. Repeated offences will result in failing the course, and possibly suspension from the university.
Athabasca University’s brochure Intellectual Honesty explains what academic misconduct is (for example, plagiarism in assignments) and outlines its consequences for students. To order this brochure, phone 1-800-788-9041 extension 6286 or e-mail services@athabascau.ca.
Athabasca University’s policy on intellectual honesty is published on the Web site: www.athabascau.ca (Click on “Current Students, About AU.”)
Guidelines for Grading Essays
| GRADE | CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ESSAY | ||||
| Content “The Facts” Analysis Synthesis |
Structure Organization Logic Coherence Clarity |
Style Expression Vocabulary Clarity Coherence |
Mechanics Grammar Spelling Neatness Format |
Imagination Originality Creativity Innovation Interest |
|
| -50 F Poor Unsatisfactory |
Inadequate | Loose, rambling, incoherent, confused, vague | Bad, limited, uninteresting, awkward | Sloppy | Lacking or misapplied; irrelevant |
| 50-60 D Satisfactory |
The basics only in facts; weak in analysis and synthesis (“the why”); tending to description (“the what”) | Adequate but with weakness (some vagueness and confusion perhaps) | The basics—intelligible but with limits—plain, probably with some difficulties, perhaps some vagueness and confusion | The basics—intelligible but with limits—plain, probably with some difficulties, perhaps some vagueness and confusion | Lacking or misapplied |
| 61-69 C Highly Satisfactory |
The basics with a bit extra: the beginnings of analysis and synthesis (interpretation) | Improved over the first two, but still plain; few difficulties | Improved over the first two, but still plain; few difficulties | Clean, clear | The beginnings showing |
| 70-74 B- Good |
Competent; good analysis and synthesis; interesting; perceptive; solid and promising | Well-developed argument; strong links, etc. | Well done and competent. Signs of own distinctive style developing | Clean, clear | The beginnings showing |
| 75-79 B Very Good |
All the facts; only a few holes, if any; highly competent. Interesting, perceptive, very promising | Well-developed arguments; strong links, etc. | Well done and competent. Signs of own distinctive style developing | Clean, clear | Strong signs of creativity relevant, original ideas present, but not always as well developed or documented as they could be |
| 80-89 A Excellent |
Nothing missing (or if it is, it doesn’t matter). A learning experience for the reader; perceptive; original ideas, well developed, relevant, and supported thoroughly | Strong; very well done | Writer in control | Clean, clear, nearly perfect (typing errors or minor slips only) | Stimulating, perceptive, insightful, mature |
| 90+ A+ Excellent Plus |
Everything needed or expected, plus the unexpected; an exciting learning experience for the reader; original ideas, well developed, relevant and supported thoroughly | The best—no criticism worth making | The best—no criticism worth making | The best—no criticism worth making | Exciting, perceptive, mature, professional, A Work of Art |
