Text only

Major English Writers 2

LIT 2011-01 Home Page | Illinois Valley Community College

Exam 2 Essay Questions

Tentative Due Date

Wednesday, March 29 (9:00 a.m.)

The essays are due at the beginning of the class period in which the in-class portion of the exam is given, on Wednesday, March 29. If you submit a draft of an essay response no later than one week before the due date, no later than Wednesday, March 22, I will give you some written feedback on your draft.

The Essay Questions

For the essay portion of Exam 2, you need to write essay responses to two of the questions below. The questions you address in your essays are up to you. 

1. In an essay, explain the passage in the textbook from Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Aurora Leigh (1092-1106) as a narrative of personal development. How does Aurora try to grow and develop, and what challenges does she face?
    
2. Lord Tennyson’s “The Lady of Shalott” (1114-18) can be interpreted as exploring (1) the role of the artist and (2) the role of women in the Victorian Age. In an essay, support and develop one of these interpretations of the poem.
    
3. In an essay, contrast the perspectives toward life, and the reasons for them, in Lord Tennyson’s “The Lotus Eaters” (1119-23) and “Ulysses” (1123-25).
    
4. In an essay, explain Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market” (1466-78) as a poem exploring temptation, sin, suffering, and redemption. 
    
5. Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess" (1255-56) and "Porphyria's Lover" (1252-53) are dramatic monologues. In a dramatic monologue, readers can draw conclusions about the situation and the speaker's character--his or her values, psychology, motivation--through the speaker's words alone, which sometimes reveal more than the speaker him or herself seems to realize. In an essay, write an interpretation of the character of the speaker in either "My Last Duchess" or "Porphyria's Lover."
    
6. In an essay, explain how Robert Browning’s “Andrea del Sarto” (1280-86) develops “a paradoxical theory of success and failure.”
    
7. In an essay, explain how Matthew Arnold’s “Dover Beach” (1368-69) explores the problem of faith in the modern world.
    
8. Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest (1698-1740) is a Comedy of Manners, a genre that humorously examines the customs and foibles of the privileged classes. In an essay, explain how Wilde satirizes at least three aspects of Victorian society in the play.

Guidelines and Requirements for Essay Responses

• Each response should be in the form of an essay of at least 700 words, with an introduction, a conclusion, and at least three body paragraphs. Note that 700 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.


• You should assume that your audience had read the work or works of literature that are the subject of your essay but has not studied them as you have. You should explain the relevance and meaning of any material that you quote, paraphrase, or summarize.
   
• 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.



• 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.
   
• For verse, put the line number(s) in parentheses after each quotation in your paper, like this (23-24).
If your subject is a play, put the page number in parentheses after each quotation.
 
• Use a formal writing voice in your essay. Among other things, this means that you should leave out first-person references ("I," "me," "my," etc.), contractions, and informal diction.
   
  
• 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!