Instructions for the Analytical Essay, Oral Video, and
\nPower Point
\nAnalytical Essay:
\nTopic: Choose and analyze ONE portrait from \u201cThe General Prologue\u201d of The
\nCanterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.
\nContent: Think about the following questions in writing your paper:
\n1. What is the effect of the choice of details?
\n2. What is the pilgrim\u2019s \u201cdegree\u201d\u2014i.e., rank\u2014and can you compare him with
\nother pilgrims?
\n3. What do we learn about the lifestyle of the Middle Ages or about Chaucer\u2019s
\nviewpoint?
\n4. Can you develop three aspects of the portrait of the character you are
\nanalyzing? List those three aspects in your thesis statement.
\nLength, Format, Sources, Documentation:
\n1. This should be a 500-word paper (minimum) with five paragraphs
\n(introduction with three-part thesis, three body paragraphs, and conclusion).
\n2. Quote from \u201cThe General Prologue\u201d and use MLA documentation, 8th edition
\n(in-text, parenthetical citations after quotes AND a works cited page).
\n3. Do NOT use outside sources (from the library or the Internet) for your paper;
\nuse the literary work in your textbook as your ONLY source.
\n4. See the OWL at Purdue for MLA style:
\nhttps:\/\/owl.purdue.edu\/owl\/research_and_citation\/mla_style\/mla_formatting_a
\nnd_style_guide\/mla_formatting_and_style_guide.html
\nHonesty Policy: You should be aware of the Academic Honesty Policy stated
\non the Syllabus; it is expected that this paper is TOTALLY your own work of
\nanalysis and writing. Your essay will be submitted to Turnitin. If there is ANY
\nmatching to Internet sources or to other student writings, you will receive a zero for
\nthe assignment. Do NOT consult information on the Internet in any fashion, and
\ndo NOT talk with friends\/classmates.
\nProofread: Proofread your paper carefully and correct errors in spelling,
\npunctuation, capitalization, grammar, and sentences. Remember that in addition to
\nthis being a literary analysis, it is also an English paper, and points will be taken off
\nfor errors in mechanics. I recommend that you may make use of the Upswing online
\ntutoring at HCC, for which you need a 48-hour turnaround.
\nReview of the 500-word theme:
\nI. Paragraph I\u2014Introduction\u2014100-125 words (or 5-12 sentences)
\n\u2022 Lead-in (mention the title of the work, the author\u2019s name, and the date
\nof composition)
\n\u2022 Provide a brief synopsis (2-3 sentences, with the gist of the work)
\n\u2022 Thesis statement\u2014list the three major points to be developed in the
\nbody of the paper
\nII. Paragraph 2\u2014First Body Paragraph\u2014100-125 words (or 5-12 sentences)
\n\u2022 Follow the topic sentence with support\u2014and in a literary analysis,
\nthat means quotations, quotations, quotations!
\nIII. Paragraph 3\u2014Second Body Paragraph\u2014100-125 words (or 5-12
\nsentences)
\n\u2022 Follow the topic sentence with support\u2014and in a literary analysis,
\nthat means quotations, quotations, quotations!
\nIV. Paragraph 4\u2014Third Body Paragraph\u2014100-125 words (or 5-12 sentences)
\n\u2022 Follow the topic sentence with support\u2014and in a literary analysis,
\nthat means quotations, quotations, quotations!
\nV. Paragraph 5\u2014The Conclusion\u2014100-125 words (or 5-12 sentences)
\n\u2022 Mirror the introduction\u2014restate the thesis, restate the major points
\nwithout being repetitive
\n\u2022 End with an important thought, a provocative idea, a quote
\nThesis Statements: You are responsible for finding your own thesis statement,
\nwhich is the main focus of the paper. Develop a thesis statement that provides a
\nblueprint for your paper, listing three major points you hope to illustrate\u2014each major
\npoint to be developed in a body paragraph. Each body paragraph should have a
\ntopic sentence and several example sentences\u2014and in a literary analysis,
\nquotations from the work of literature are the examples.
\nFurther guidelines on writing the paper: Do NOT summarize the literary work.
\nYour goal is to analyze one character. Do not retell the life of Chaucer. And this
\nconcept for your paper comes out of your reading of the work, your interaction with
\nthe work, your marginal annotations\u2014your thought process!!
\nGrading: The Analytical Essay is, in essence, a project that includes the Oral Video
\nand Power Point that will receive ONE grade (0-100) for all three parts. The Oral
\nVideo and\/or Power Point will receive a grade of Complete or Incomplete; if the Oral
\nVideo and\/or Power Point are either missing OR have serious problems (too brief,
\ntoo sketchy, off topic), then points will be deducted from the Analytical Essay project
\ngrade. Thus, the Analytical Essay will be graded last.
\nOral Video:
\nSubmit a 5-minute oral report video in which you explain the major points contained
\nin your Chaucer essay. Discuss what you think of the character in \u201cThe General
\nPrologue,\u201d and read the passage in which Chaucer portrays that character.
\nPronounce the words in Middle English as best you can. [In your preparation, make
\nsure you refer to the pages in your textbook that explain Middle English
\npronunciation.]
\nRemember that cell phones and tablets have cameras that can make videos\u2014so do
\niMac and other laptop computers. You could also use a camcorder or camera (with
\nmovie function), then upload the video to your computer. Submit your video file in
\nthe Video Assignment link provided within your online course.
\nGuidelines for the Oral Report Video:
\n1. Dress professionally for your video\u2014as though you were addressing a group
\nof students in an HCC classroom.
\n2. Speak clearly and grammatically\u2014with proper English; use no slang nor
\nprofanity.
\n3. Make sure you are UNDER the five-minute time period allotted.
\n4. Practice several times before you record yourself.
\n5. Play back your recording to make sure the picture and sound are clear.
\n6. Don\u2019t videotape in front of an open blind in the daytime\u2014you will appear as a
\ndark blur.
\n7. Talk to the camera as though it is a person.
\n8. Make sure that there are no sounds from the environment\u2014chirping from fire
\ndetectors, televisions in the background, or phones ringing. If such sounds
\noccur, start over with your recording.
\nYour presentation should be one continuous recording. If you make a mistake, start
\nover from the beginning.
\nThe Oral Report will be graded as Complete\/Incomplete. If you receive an
\nIncomplete (meaning no file was submitted and\/or the file was FAR too short, off
\ntopic, or unacceptable), points will be taken off from the Analytical Essay project
\ngrade.
\nPower Point:
\nTo accompany your oral video, develop a Power Point presentation that summarizes
\nwhat you say in the oral video. Include pictures to illustrate Chaucer\u2019s time period.
\nYou may find pictures from the Internet, but you should give credit to each picture
\nwith a caption that indicates the source, and your last slide should be a Works Cited
\nlist in which you give credit. SUBMIT the Power Point Presentation file in the
\nAssignment link provided within your online course. Your presentation will be
\nanalyzed by Turnitin for originality (see the section on Honesty above).
\nThe Power Point will be graded as Complete\/Incomplete. If you receive an
\nIncomplete (meaning no file was submitted and\/or the file showed unacceptable
\nmatching in the Turnitin check, or had other serious problems), points will be taken
\noff from the Analytical Essay project grade.
\nSome Points about Writing Papers
\n1. Make certain that works cited formats adhere to MLA guidelines. Put the works cited list in
\nalphabetical order, and format with a hanging indent.
\nA book by one author:
\nHenley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House. MacMurray, 1999.
\nAn article in a journal found in a subscription database:
\nLanghamer, Claire. \u201cLove and Courtship in Mid-Twentieth-Century England.\u201d Historical
\nJournal, vol. 50, no. 1, 2007, pp. 173-96. ProQuest,
\ndoi:10.1017\/S0018246X06005966. Accessed 27 May 2009.
\nDolby, Nadine. \u201cResearch in Youth Culture and Policy: Current Conditions and
\nFuture Directions.\u201d Social Work and Society: The International Online-
\nOnly Journal, vol. 6, no. 2, 2008,
\nwww.socwork.net\/sws\/article\/view\/60\/362. Accessed 20 May 2009
\nAlonso, Alvaro, and Julio A. Camargo. “Toxicity of Nitrite to Three Species of
\nFreshwater Invertebrates.” Environmental Toxicology, vol. 21, no. 1, 3
\nFeb. 2006, pp. 90-94. Wiley Online Library, doi: 10.1002\/tox.20155.
\nA work in an anthology:
\nKincaid, Jamaica. \u201cGirl.\u201d The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short
\nStories, edited by Tobias Wolff, Vintage, 1994, pp. 306-07.
\nFor more on MLA guidelines, look also at the OWL at Purdue website:
\nhttps:\/\/owl.english.purdue.edu\/owl\/section\/2\/11\/
\n2. Cite all summaries, paraphrases, and quotations in-text.
\nWhen citing a book or article, the normal format includes the author\u2019s last name and the page:
\n(Commager 320). When the author\u2019s name is used in the sentence itself, the in-text citation needs to
\ninclude ONLY the page: (320).
\nExamples:
\nImperialism is \u201cthe practice, the theory, and the attitudes of a dominating
\nmetropolitan center ruling a distant territory.\u201d (Said 9).
\nAccording to Edward W. Said, imperialism is defined by \u201cthe practice, the theory,
\nand the attitudes of a dominating metropolitan center ruling a distant territory.\u201d
\n(9).
\nWhen citing an article from a database such as JSTOR, open .PDF files, so that you will have page
\nnumbers to cite.
\n3. When citing literary works, note that the in-text citations differ.
\nWhen citing lines of a poem (one not divided into parts), omit the page number and supply the line
\nnumber(s); precede the numbers with line or lines in the first citation ONLY (line 54), and after that,
\nuse just the number (55).
\nWhen citing a poem divided into parts (such as Paradise Lost, which is divided into twelve books),
\ncite the division number plus the line number: (8. 324-25).
\nWhen citing a verse play, such as Hamlet (which is divided into acts, scenes, and lines), use upper and
\nlower case Roman numerals: (V. iv. 147-50).
\nWhen citing a prose play which may have different divisions (such as The Glass Menagerie, which is
\ndivided into scenes and has no line numbers), cite based on the information which you have; so a
\ncitation for The Glass Menagerie would cite the page and scene: (488; scene 4).
\nWhen citing a novel, begin with the page number, followed by a semicolon and then information on
\nthe part or chapter of the work: (535; pt. 2, ch. 3).
\n4. When quoting 2-3 lines of poetry, use the slash to separate lines; also note the use of present tense in
\nthe following:
\nShakespeare comments on youth in \u201cSonnet 73\u201d: \u201cthou seest the glowing of such fire \/ That on the
\nashes of his youth doth lie\u201d (9-10).
\n5. Note that periods go AFTER citations, AND a quote within a quote goes in single quote marks:
\nJane M. Healy, a noted educational psychologist, takes issue with \u201cinteractive\u201d software for children,
\narguing that \u201csome of the most popular \u2018educational\u2019 software . . . may be damaging to independent
\nthinking, attention, and motivation\u201d (20).
\nSpelling argues that during the 1970s American automobile manufacturers met consumer needs \u201cas
\nwell as could be expected\u201d (26), but not everyone agrees with him.
\n6. Note the format for a source referred to by another source, with Boyd (the source) quoting from
\nDavino:
\nGeorge Davino maintains that \u201ceven small children have vivid ideas about nuclear energy\u201d (quoted
\nin Boyd 22).
\n7. Make certain quotations are verbatim, punctuated properly, and introduced with an independent
\nclause. An introduction to a quote such as \u201cArthur Miller writes\u201d is inadequate (compare the
\nintroduction below). Immediately after the quotation, a comment is needed before proceeding to the
\nnext point. Long quotations should be blocked one inch from the left margin of your paper , quote
\nmarks are omitted (and note for the following example, the page and act are cited):
\nIn Arthur Miller\u2019s Death of a Salesman, the most poignant defense of Willie Loman comes
\nfrom his wife, Linda:
\nHe\u2019s not the finest character that ever lived. But he\u2019s a human being, and a
\nterrible thing happened to him. So attention must be paid. He\u2019s not to be
\nallowed to fall into his grave like an old dog. Attention, attention must
\nfinally be paid to such a person. (56; act 1)
\nIndeed, as Miller\u2019s intent is to illustrate that \u201cterrible thing\u201d (56; act 1), Willie Loman
\nbecomes a universal symbol.
\n8. Your thesis statement should be very specific\u2014it should contain key words\/phrases which anticipate
\neach and every body paragraph\/section. Each body paragraph should begin by alluding to a portion
\nof the thesis; make use of a topical organization.
\nAvoid wordy thesis statements, such as: In this paper, I am going to write about the three aspects of . . .
\nAvoid nonspecific thesis statements, such as: Hawthorne\u2019s story includes three important symbols,
\nwhich I am going to discuss in this paper.
\nThis is a good example of a thesis:
\nIn \u201cYoung Goodman Brown,\u201d as Hawthorne focuses on the theme of man\u2019s isolation from
\nsociety, the dramatic effect is heightened through the symbols of the forest, the blazing rock,
\nand the pink ribbons.
\n9. Do not re-tell the plot of the literary work in the body of the paper; assume that your reader has read
\nthe literary work.
\n10. Mention names of the critics liberally. It is weak to write many critics feel or a critic says. Use the
\nname and provide a quotation. Never refer to an author or critic by first name alone; use the full
\nname (Paula Backscheider) or just the last name (Backscheider). Make sure names of critics are
\nspelled correctly.
\n11. Refer to PMLA, American Literature, College English as journals. A work within the journal PMLA,
\nsuch as \u201cThe Art of Impersonation: A General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales,\u201d is an article.
\n12. Refer to titles correctly, using quotation marks or italics as required: Dante\u2019s Inferno, Shakespeare\u2019s
\nHamlet, Shakespeare\u2019s \u201cSonnet 130,\u201d Donne\u2019s \u201cThe Flea,\u201d \u201cMissing Fathers: Twelfth Night and the
\nReformation of Mourning.\u201d Note that commas and periods go inside end quote marks.
\n13. You is unacceptable in a formal college paper. Consider the following: In colonial times, you had to
\nmake your own candles. The 21st century reader of the paper did not live in colonial times; thus, it
\nwould be better to write: In colonial times, housewives had to make their own candles. One may also
\nwrite, Hawthorne addresses the reader . . . .
\n14. Do not use contractions such as should\u2019ve, as they are informal; writing should have is better.
\n15. Use different from instead of different than in a formal college paper.
\n16. Do not use abbreviations such as e.g. Instead, write for example.
\n17. Do not write the reason is because, which is redundant.
\n18. Do not begin a sentence with Well.
\n19. Avoid utility words such as nice, funny, things, and great.
\n20. Avoid clich\u00e9s such as what goes around comes around.
\nIt is your responsibility to talk to your professor about your papers when you have questions\u2014about sources,
\norganization, writing, etc.\u2014prior to the due date. Expect to be graded on quality of sources, documentation,
\ncontent, organization, sentences, grammar, word use, punctuation, spelling, and format
\nWriting about a Poem
\nDo NOT refer to a poem as a \u201cstory\u201d\u2014EVER.
\nTalk about images, metaphors, similes, themes. There is a glossary of literary
\nterms in the back of your book.
\nDo NOT assume that a poet is writing about himself or herself. Refer to the
\nspeaker of the poem.
\nDo NOT talk about personal experience or provide anecdotes when doing a
\nliterary analysis. Focus on the poem ONLY. Provide a three-part thesis, and in the
\nbody paragraphs, provide quote from the poem.
\nThesis Statements
\nYour thesis statement should be very specific\u2014it should contain key
\nwords\/phrases which anticipate each and every body paragraph\/section.
\nAvoid this kind of thesis (avoid \u201cI\u201d and \u201cIn this paper, I am going to write
\nabout . . .\u201d): In this paper, I am going to write about the three aspects of . . .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Instructions for the Analytical Essay, Oral Video, and Power Point Analytical Essay: Topic: Choose and analyze ONE portrait from \u201cThe General Prologue\u201d of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. Content: Think about the following questions in writing your paper: 1. Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-426422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=426422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426422\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=426422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=426422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=426422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}