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Major English Writers 1

LIT 2001-01 Home Page | Illinois Valley Community College

Exam 3 Essay Questions

Due Date

Friday, December 11 (1:00 p.m.)

The essays are due during the class period in which the in-class portion of the exam is given, on Friday, December 11. If you submit a draft of an essay response no later than one week before the due date, no later than Friday, December 4, I will give you some written feedback on your draft.

The Essay Questions

For the essay portion of Exam 3, you need to write essay responses to two of the questions below. The questions you address in your essays are up to you.

1. John Milton’s Paradise Lost is about disobedience to God, both Satan’s disobedience and Adam and Eve’s disobedience, and the motives and consequences of both. Explain some of the parallels and important differences between Satan’s fall and Humanity’s fall and the characters’ relationship with and attitude toward God.



2. In what ways does Milton achieve his stated purpose in Paradise Lost to “justify the ways of God to men” (1.26)? You might focus on supporting and developing a few important ideas that Milton conveys that help him prove that God is good and just.



3. Explain how, in Paradise Lost, Milton portrays Satan as a character seemingly of heroic stature but also undercuts this image of Satan.



4. In what ways can Part 1 of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels be read as a satire? What seem to be the main criticisms that Swift presents, and how does Swift present these criticisms?



5. Through the mock-heroic (or mock-epic) form, Alexander Pope satirizes aspects of his society in The Rape of the Lock. Identify three aspects of the society portrayed in the poem that Pope criticizes and explain how Pope uses the mock-heroic form to suggest this criticism.



6. The selection from Alexander Pope's An Essay on Man in the textbook exhibits several common characteristics of Neo-Classical literature that were discussed in class. Explain how some of these characteristics are presented and developed in the poem.

Guidelines and Requirements for Essay Responses

• Each response should be in the form of an essay of at least 800 words, with an introduction, a conclusion, and at least three body paragraphs. Note that 800 words is the minimum required length for each essay. The grades will be significantly lowered for essays under the required minimum length.



• Essay responses should be word-processed, double spaced, and in 12-point Times New Roman fonts.



Do not use any secondary sources as you work on your essays. A response that includes plagiarism from sources will receive an “F.” Please note the "Academic Integrity" policies explained on the course outline.


• Each body paragraph should focus on only one main idea, and the main idea should be expressed clearly in the first sentence of the paragraph, with the rest of the paragraph used to support and develop that idea. In general, a body paragraph should be at least half of a page long (double spaced).



• Use specific evidence from the texts to support all aspects of your interpretation, including plenty of quotations and paraphrases, but do not lose your own “voice” by bringing in too many quotations. Avoid long quotations. Present enough evidence to prove that your interpretation is well supported by the text(s), and make sure to explain how the evidence you present logically supports your interpretation. Explain the meaning, significance, and relevance of every quotation that you use in your essay.



• Cite quoted material by placing the line number(s) for poetry and the page number(s) for prose in parentheses after each quotation in your paper, like this (23-24).
  
  
• To support and develop your ideas, logically and grammatically integrate short quotations into your own sentences: no quotation should be standing alone in an essay.
  
  
• Grades for the essay responses will be based on the thesis, organization, support and development of ideas, insight into the subject, clarity, style, and “mechanics” (punctuation, grammar, spelling, etc.). The essay responses satisfy the formal writing requirement for the course, so responses need to be written as formal essays that are free or almost free from errors. Proofread carefully.



• Please ask if you have any questions about your essay responses, and realize that you can receive additional help with your essays from me and from the staff of the college’s Writing Center. See the Writing Center's Home Page for more information.

Grading Criteria

• A—Well-developed and insightful responses with ample support, including both ideas and support discussed in class and original ideas and support. Ideas are well explained and well stated, with no misreadings or unsupported interpretations of the texts. Responses do not contain unnecessary summary. The essay is free or almost free from errors and stylistic weaknesses.



• B—Developed and insightful responses with ample support, including both ideas and support discussed in class and original ideas and support. Responses are not as well supported or developed as in an “A” response. Ideas are clearly explained, with no misreadings or unsupported interpretations of the texts. Responses do not contain unnecessary summary. The essay is free or almost free from errors and stylistic weaknesses.



• C—Responses developed with some original support, but largely with material discussed in class. Ideas are adequately and clearly explained, with no or almost no misreadings or unsupported interpretations of the text, though support may be lacking for some ideas. Responses may contain some unnecessary summary. The essay is free or almost free from errors and stylistic weaknesses.



D—Responses supported completely, or almost completely, with material discussed in class. Most ideas are explained, but not in much depth and without much support, and there may be some lapses in clarity and organization. Responses may reveal some misreadings of the texts or misunderstandings of material discussed in class. Answers may contain some unnecessary summary. The essay may include frequent errors and stylistic weaknesses.


• F—Responses are brief, with little, if any, support and development. Responses may reveal misreadings of the texts or a misunderstanding of material discussed in class. Responses may include serious lapses in clarity and organization and unnecessary summary. The essay may include excessive errors and stylistic weaknesses. A response that does not address one of the essay questions will receive an “F.”

Of course, ask questions about this assignment if you have any!