English assignment
A new man in time for Christmas by Dustin Adams(content note: suicide)
Do not simply discuss or summarize the plot and do not simply argue that the story reflects some particular concern. Similarly, don’t simply say that the science in the story is implausible in some way. Instead, make an argument about how the story develops a theme related to modern science. Explore its literary richness as it relates to real scientific concerns. Do not try to make the analysis easy. Aim to explore the difficulties.
Try to organize your essays based on your arguments. Do not simply go through the story paragraph by paragraph.
You must do some secondary research on the modern science issues. Don’t just provide information to fill up space in the paper. Use the science as context and evidence for the interpretation of the story. The idea is to say that modern science involves us in a particular and interesting debate: here is how this short story participates in that debate. Here is what it wants us to consider and conclude.
Further, do not seek out others’ interpretations of the story; the interpretation should be yours.
Essays should be double spaced with at least 1-inch margins. Use a sans-serif font such as Calibri, not a serif font like Times New Roman. New paragraphs should be indicated with an indent, not a space. Essays should list your name, the course code and section, and the date at the top left of the first page. Essays should have a title centred over the main text, but not a separate title page. Remember to use footnotes, not endnotes.
Submit the paper as a Word (.doc or .docx) file.
Required length: 1200 words, not including footnotes or front matter.
Criteria for Recognition
[Feedback for this paper will include an indication as to which criteria have been met.]
Is within 10% of the assigned length, not including footnotes and front matter, and without excessive quotation.
Is formatted according to course guidelines (font, inclusion of course info, margins etc).
Has an original title (eg not “English essay” or “Assignment Two” or just the name of the story, or the like).
Has an introduction that sets out a relevant thesis—your position or intended argument (in this case what you will argue about the essay you’ve chosen), not simply a description of what is going to be considered.
Has a series of body paragraphs that present relevant arguments and includes properly cited, detailed evidence (including quotations from the story you’re analysing and secondary sources as needed) in each body paragraph. Notice that citations of secondary sources must be clear: it must be evident what you’ve taken from each source you cite.
Has a conclusion that does NOT say “In conclusion” or “In summary” or the like.
Has a reasonably limited number of typos and errors of grammar and style.
Avoids grammatical first person (“I have considered…”) and second person (“you can see how…”)
Avoids expressions of personal belief or opinion.
Avoids sub-headings
Uses a moderate, objective tone.
Uses footnotes for citations without a bibliography and uses them correctly according to Chicago Style and course guidelines.
Distinction
Distinction can be earned with particularly brilliant discussion and analysis.
