ENGL 2326 - American Literature - Loges

English 2326

Writing Assignment

Students are directed to write a 1,500-1,700 word research paper based on the life and literary works of one of the authors from the list below. Students should address the following three subjects in their written presentations. A majority of the paper should focus on the last two categories.  

Life of the author (general facts along with life experiences that inform or influence their literary production)

Literary Reputation (types of literature author is known for, major works, recognition of merit, etc)

Characteristics of literature (settings, style, themes, repetition in character type, etc.)

Papers should be meticulously documented and formatted according to the MLA style and should include a bibliography of at least three secondary resources. These sources are not to come from the Internet, or from literature anthologies. They are to come from books (1 solely about individual writer required), journal articles, and reference books that treat the author with a substantial amount of content. These books or articles may in some instances appear online when obtained or accessed through the university’s library. In addition to research into secondary sources, you should, depending upon whether the author is a poet or prose writer, read 5-10 poems and/or 2-3 short stories. This activity will allow you to speak more intelligently about the author and to judge the appropriateness of comments made by sources.

Papers will be graded based upon the following criteria:

• Clear thesis and introduction
• Support and paragraphing
• Sentence style, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and mechanics
• Critical analysis of chosen author
• Adherence to MLA style in format and documentation