African American List
Critical Closed Reading on The literature of slavery and freedom.
English 240
Prof Theus
Critical Close Reading:
The Literature of Slavery and Freedom
Page Length:
2.5 – 3 pages (Works Cited page is not considered part of the actual
composition.)
Assignment Due:
Sunday, October 11, by 11:59 pm
Objective:
David Walker asserted that whites had divorced blacks from the human family. Develop a composition that shows how this idea is explicated in the writings of Jacobs, Douglass, and Northup. Be sure to reference each writer and use information (quotations) from all the texts to support each assertion.
Students must compose an analytical essay that thoroughly answers the established writing objective. The Critical Close Reading must contain a thesis, at least two main points, and adequate support for each main point. Furthermore, the composition must have a minimum of one (1) scholarly source and a maximum of three. The scholarly article requirement does not include documentation from the primary sources (texts you are analyzing).
The composition must include both in-text citations and a Works Cited page. Plagiarism is unacceptable, and any submission that is not original will receive a zero (0). There will be no partial credit and no replacement assignment.
I encourage students to do their own work, and if you are unfamiliar with MLA documentation, review the handouts in Canvas.
· If a student submits less than three complete pages, the work will be regarded as incomplete and will not receive a passing grade.
· If a student does not include a scholarly source and/or fails to properly document the primary sources, the work will not meet the objective of the assignment; therefore, the work will not receive a passing grade.
· The Works Cited page is not included in the page length requirement. If a student composes 3.5 pages, the Works Cited page should be page five.
Documents must be submitted in Word format (doc, docx) or Google doc. Do not submit work as Rtf or pages. If a student submits work in an incompatible format, the assignment will be awarded a zero (0).
Literature Rubric
English Literature Essay Grading Standards & Explanation of Point Values Version 4
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Learning outcomes |
0-14 (F) |
15-17 (D) |
18-19 (C) |
20-22 (B) |
23-25 (A) |
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Analysis and critical discussion of major themes, values, technique, and style (Did you use analysis and critical thinking to explore the text thoroughly?) |
No analysis or critical discussion. No awareness of major themes, values, technique, and style |
Little evidence of analysis – barely moves beyond summarizing the text Little awareness of major themes, values, technique, and style |
Some analysis and critical discussion of the text Some awareness of major themes, values, technique, and style |
Demonstrates ability to interpret and critically evaluate the text Considerable awareness of the interplay of major themes, values, technique, and style |
Demonstrates a sophisticated ability to interpret and critically discuss the text, making reference to the interplay of major themes, values, technique, and style |
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Familiarity with the text and ability to use the text as supporting evidence for assertions (Did you use examples effectively to support your position?) |
Little familiarity with the text- no use of the text to support assertions |
Some familiarity with the text evidenced by occasional paraphrase or reference to the text. May omit quotation altogether or quote excessively with little or no commentary |
Familiarity with the text evidenced by some details and use of quotation, but choice of quotation may not be necessarily appropriate or lack explanation of its relevance |
Considerable familiarity with the text evidenced by concrete, relevant details and good use of quotation accompanied by adequate commentary |
Thorough familiarity with the text evidenced by concrete, relevant details and precise, insightful use of quotation |
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Organization and Content—the response to the essay assignment (Did you write an essay with a clear organizational plan/focus?) (Did you follow the requirements for the essay?) |
No organizational plan/lacks focus. No significant response to the essay assignment |
Attempts to follow an organizational plan but missing most components that would develop the focus Minimal response to part of the essay assignment |
Has a clear but elementary structure/focus General response to the essay assignment but omits major aspects |
Well organized; clear plan/ focus is supported but lacks distinction and/or development Has a lucid response to the essay assignment, which refers to all significant aspects of the topic. |
Well organized; clear plan/focus is supported with well developed, coherent, balanced paragraphs Has lucid, significant, perceptive response to the essay assignment, which is fully developed. |
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Standard, Edited, American English (SEAE ) — Mechanics (Are your spelling, punctuation & grammar usages correct?) MLA Page and Documentation Formats: Follow guidelines for Page Setup and for Internal Citations and Works Cited Entries (Did you us proper MLA format for In-text Citations and Works Cited Entries?) |
SEAE errors are so pervasive as to disrupt seriously and consistently the essay’s readability Page Formatting is minimal or non existent. In-text Citations/Works Cited Entries are incorrect /inaccurate or non existent. |
SEAE errors are so pervasive as to disrupt consistently the essay’s readability Page Formatting contains multiple errors. In-text Citations are barely present. Works Cited Entries are incorrectly formatted. |
SEAE errors occasionally disrupt the essay’s readability Page Formatting contains a few errors. In-text Citations are attempted but have several formatting flaws. Works Cited entries are present but have several formatting flaws. |
SEAE errors are minimal or limited as not to disrupt the essay’s readability in any way. Page Formatting contains a few errors which do not detract from the overall quality of the paper. In-text Citations are present but are not formatted precisely. Works Cited Entries are present but are not formatted precisely. |
SEAE errors are absent or limited as not to disrupt the essay’s readability in any way. Page Formatting contains few to no errors. In-text Citations are complete and contain few/no errors in formatting. Works Cited Entries are complete and contain few/no errors in formatting. |