This is the final paper in British Literature, 1660-1740. I have a lot of questions, so please weigh in. It’s kind of a short description. Maybe too short. Ideally, by the end of the semester, students will have had a good bit of practice (through two papers and lots of class discussion) at

• analyzing literary texts carefully and thoughtfully,
• understanding how these literary texts affect and are affected by the culture in which they are written and read,
• reading and evaluating literary scholars’ arguments,
• generating good research/analysis questions,
• and answering good research/analysis questions.

In other words, while at the beginning I might hold their hands a little through some of the basics of studying literature, by the end of the semester, they ought to be more capable and independent. Is that an unreasonable expecation?

I don’t give them suggested topics. Should I? I require them to address 2 or 3 different texts in the hopes that this will make plagiarism more difficult. Is that a mistake? I require them to use 5 scholarly sources in their paper. Is that a reasonable expectation?

Should the description be longer? Should it be more directive?

---

Literary analysis concerning 2 or 3 works we’ve read this semester
Due Date: Monday, April 30
Length: 1,500-2,000 words
Value: 20% of final grade
Description: This assignment requires you to write a persuasive argument supporting a clearly stated thesis concerning at least two but no more than three of the works we have read this semester. Any topic you choose should be cleared by me before {insert date here}. Your paper must cite at least five scholarly sources. Your paper must use textual evidence to support your argument and to engage in thoughtful analysis.

---

Finally, (and I’m just kind of writing and thinking this through at the same time) I’m make the paper due on last day of class–as you can see from the course calendar–and I’m also giving a final exam. In the past I have required students to turn in a 1- or 2-page prospectus two weeks before the paper is due with the aim of getting them thinking about and working on their final papers early enough to devote a decent amount of time to the project…I’m not sure why I didn’t include that here. Part of my hesitation is that their work on the final project starts to compete with what we’re reading in the last weeks of class. For example, if a prospectus is due two weeks before the final paper is due, then they’re not going to be writing about The Beggar’s Opera unless they read ahead. On the other hand, the final exam can cover that material pretty thoroughly.

This is the first paper in British Literature, 1660-1740, and it’s really not that hard. It’s due on the third day the class meets, and I recognize that’s pretty early. The point is to get students into their work mode as soon as possible, instead of letting them do what I did as a student: ease my way into the semester. So, this is designed to ensure that they get that introduction read and that they do some thinking about the period in question. Also, it functions as a diagnostic essay, allowing me to get a sense of them as writers, to bug them about the formal parts of papers that students seem to be continually forgetting, and to set a tone for the level of intellectual rigor I expect. They will learn up front what my standards are. And I hope to keep those standards high.

---

Summary & analysis of introduction to anthology
Due Date: Friday, January 19
Length: 500-750 words
Value: 5% of your final grade
Description: The purpose of this essay is to allow me to get a sense of you as a writer. In part, I’d like to evaluate some basic writing skills. Do you know how to quote, paraphrase, and summarize effectively? Do you know how to format your writing according to MLA style? Are you able to avoid major errors of grammar, syntax, and punctuation? And in part, I’d like to be able to evaluate your critical thinking skills.

This assignment requires you to write a summary and analysis of Stuart Sherman and Steven N. Zwicker’s essay “The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century” (Longman, 2121-2144). You must quote from the text at least once to demonstrate that you know how to do so in accordance with proper MLA style. Remember that even when you paraphrase or summarize, you still must provide parenthetical citations.

What do you think is the most important information contained in this introduction? Can you think of any topics about the historical period in question that are missing? (Note that this question does not require you to have prior knowledge about the eighteenth century, just an expectation about what you’d like to know about the period.) What kind of literature do you expect to find in this anthology after reading this introduction?

---

I’m not crazy about that second paragraph. I think I need to rephrase the questions more specifically so they address the content of Sherman and Zwicker’s introduction.

As always, I welcome your feedback.

I should probably post this over at the Long Eighteenth, too. Here’s my schedule of readings for British Literature, 1660-1740. I welcome any feedback. I’ve uploaded the document in three different formats:

• MS Word
• Webpage
• PDF

In this assignment for British Literature, 1660-1740, students flex their close-reading muscles with some help from the Oxford English Dictionary.

As with the précis & analysis of scholarly article assignment, students will be responsible for a class presentation using what they’ve learned from the OED. Each student will

1. research the word and its variants,
2. read over the text in question with their research in mind,
3. meet with me to discuss their insights,
4. present their insights to the class,
5. and turn in a paper one week after their presentation.

After reading all of what I’ve included below, what are your thoughts?

---

Literary analysis using Oxford English Dictionary
Due Date: Variable
Length: 750-1000 words
Value: 20% of final grade
Description: Choose one word from one or more of the texts that we have read. Make sure it is a word that is both interesting in its varied shades of meaning and important to what we are reading. Look up the word in the Oxford English Dictionary online, available through the university library website. In your paper, analyze part of the text or texts you’re addressing and answer these questions: What different meanings did the word have in the eighteenth century? How are those meanings different than what the word meant before or after the eighteenth century? Why is the word important to the text or texts you’re analyzing? How does our interpretation of the text or texts change when we apply the different meanings of the word as described in the OED?

---

Lest this appear to be an easy assignment, let me provide an example of how a student might approach Alexander Pope’s Dunciad, in which the goddess Dulness presides over the collapse of high literary culture brought on by incompetent poets, hackneyed literary criticism, and commercial pandering.

Here’s one simple question: What exactly do we do with the use of the words “dulness” and “dull,” anyway?

Follow this link to an excerpt from the poem and do a page search on ” dul” (don’t forget the space before “d”) to see how many times the word appears. Does Pope use it in the same sense each time?

Keep reading to learn what the OED tells us about this word.

Continue reading →