Written Assignment: The Rules
The Written Assignment is
composed of 4 distinct stages:
In the final Written
Assignment you must:
·
independently write an essay exploring
one specific element of a text that we have studied in class;
·
choose your own title and the
topic for comparison;
·
write an essay of 1500 words
- quotations are included in the word count but bibliographies and citations are
not;
·
reference quotations using MLA style
in-text quotations – for example (author’s name; page n.o.),
e.g. (Salih; p.217);
·
provide a bibliography at the end of the essay - including
the following information (Author (date published), Book title, Translator,
Publishing Company, City Published, Country);
·
use a header to include your name on
the top right hand corner of every page;
·
double space your writing;
·
produce a coversheet that
states your name, the essay title and the word count.
The Written Assignment essay
is meant to asses your:
Before deciding on a Written Assignment title, it is
important that you understand what it is you are being asked to do.
Aims:
·
Always
remember, that the aim of your assignment is to enlighten / improve the reader's understanding of the text in some
way.
·
You
must show an understanding of the
writer's craft - the ways in which they use imagery, plot,
characterisation, narrative point of view etc. to convey their message
character relationships etc.
·
You no
longer have to show an awareness of different cultures unless these references to cultural issues are directly relevant to
the ideas that your are exploring in your essay
because they enhance the point you are trying to make / illuminate the text in
some way.
In your essay you should:
In order to do this you will need to write
persuasively and show a detailed
knowledge of the texts. You need to pinpoint
specific evidence in the texts to support your points: the more precise
your evidence the better. Remember also that it is not good enough just supplying a list of quotations that are relevant
to your chosen topic. You have to analyse them and show an understanding of
the effect of each individual quotation and how they work together to create an
overall meaning.
A common tendency is to think of a topic, for example the
relationship between the motif of infection and the theme of post-colonialism,
and to then force every example of infection to be related to the theme of
post-colonialism in some way. Forcing two ideas to link in this way often does
violence to the text and often means that you will miss out on some of the more
subtle and complex points that you could make. Try to avoid being reductive in
this way and instead be open minded when exploring the role that a given motif
(or any feature) plays. Instead of forcing a link between two ideas, the best
essays will probably pick just one feature of the text, e.g. the motif of
infection, and then explore all of the different roles that this motif plays in
the text. One of these roles might be linked to post-colonialism, but this
motif might also be used as a tool for characterization, to create moments of
tension in the text … or a whole range of possible other effects.
·
Write
in a personal voice
This does not mean that
you have to include the word ‘I’ a lot. Ideally if you are writing about your
own idea and you are excited about it then this should come through in the way
that you write. Comments like, “I too lived through a military dictatorship …’ may
have some relevance but you should not develop them in depth and spend
ages discussing your personal experience. Importantly you should not just adopt
my view, the view of someone else in class or the view of a critic that you have
read. People always sound different when they are writing about something they
don’t quite believe in, or worse still, don’t quite get.
·
Ensure that you
have a proper essay structure
·
As with any essay your Written Assignment should
include some brief introductory and concluding remarks
·
The introduction should outline what your essay is
going to be about and introduce the main points that you will make. Keep it
short, concise and try to make it as engaging as possible
·
The main body should reveal your insight into the text
studied. Following the introduction, it is best to use the first paragraph (or
set of paragraphs) to explore the main point that you outlined first in the
introduction and finish this completely before moving on to explore the second
main point. This clear transition from one main point to another should be
evident throughout the essay.
·
The conclusion does not need to sum up everything
you have said so far, in fact it can make for a more powerful essay if you end
on a most effective / more powerful point or a quotation that encapsulates the
main ideas that you have discussed in your essay
Possible topics that could be
explored in your Written Assignment are:
·
The
techniques that the author has used to create a sense of character or of the relationships
between characters
·
The
way in which a character / characterization is used to convey a certain idea or
series of ideas
·
The
role of the setting in the text
·
Symbols
/ motifs / imagery and the role these play in conveying a certain idea
·
The
mood / tone / feeling evoked by a text and how this is achieved
·
The
treatment of a theme / message / comment on the human condition
·
The
use of narrative technique or other literary features