Mrs. Loux's English Class



Name: ____________________________Date: ____________________ Period: _______Death of a Salesman Literary Criticism EssayIn class we have studied and looked at Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman through a variety of critical literary lenses. For your final writing assessment on Death of a Salesman, you will be writing a Critical Essay using one of the lenses we have explored in class. Directions: Select a lens that you are most interested in and reread the information and the sample criticism from the packet distributed in class.Look at the guiding questions for your selected lens and answer as many of them as possible on a separate piece of paper.Take a look at your writing. What commonalities do you see in your responses? Start thinking about what you would like to specifically focus on from Death of a Salesman in your essay.Generate an original question that reflects “looking through” your selected critical lens and Death of a Salesman.Post-structuralist examples: How does Willy’s perception of hard work and the American Dream contradict his brother Ben’s perception? Which ideology is favored in the text? How so?How does Miller reveal Willy’s infidelity towards Linda? How does his values contradict society’s belief that it is wrong to cheat? Why does Arthur Miller purposely leave out a lot of information about Willy’s family life and childhood? How might the inclusion of this alter or undermine his goal?Answer your original question(s) and synthesize your ideas in the form of a thesis statement; then get it approved. Prepare an outline by finding examples from the text, writing topic sentences, and planning your organization.Drafting will be done in the computer lab, but will also be required to be worked on at home. Use your appropriate classes Google Doc Your final essay must NOT exceed two pages; therefore, your thesis should be detailed, focused and clear from the get go. Do not conform to the traditional three-subtopic thesis and five-paragraph essay. Additional Resources:For MLA formatting and citation rules use the Online Writing Lab (O.W.L.) at Purdue University. The use of outside sources is permitted, but not required. If you plan to use external sources you MUST they must be peer-reviewed scholarly sources from EBSCO. () User ID: phigh Password: studentWorks Cited Page must be included for ALL essays.Literary Criticism: _____________________________________________Due date: _____________________________________________________RUBRICThesis Statement ________/10Thesis is detailed, original, and reflects the selected literary lensThesis relates to and extends beyond the topicEasily identifiable, plausible, creative and insightfulContent and Use of Text ________/30Literary lens is applied correctly and clearly to the playArguments are logical and insightfulDemonstrates understanding of the play and author’s intentIncorporates pertinent examples and quotes from the text Cites text appropriately (in MLA format) to further enhance the argumentCoherently analyzes the text/quotations to support thesis and argumentOrganization of Ideas ________/30Clearly presents thesisClear topic sentencesCoherent organization of arguments within the body and essay as a wholeText flows naturally from one idea to anotherTransitions evident in the beginning/end of each supporting paragraphConclusion that offers insight and greater understandingWriting Style________/20Demonstrates a strong command of the English languageConsistent tense used throughoutAvoids slang and conversational toneUses appropriate vocabularyVaried sentence structureAcademic Format________/10Proper MLA format for academic writing Proper MLA heading for academic writingDoes not exceed two pagesWorks cited pageTOTAL ________/100**Please note: 1 point will be deducted from your final grade if you:Use first person pronounsUse second person pronounsMisspell a word, the title of the play, or the authorDo not put the title in italics (Death of a Salesman)Do not use the correct punctuation or capitalization ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download