南京大学英国文学网络课程.docxVIP

2005-12-9 (通知 1) The Final Paper Topic: Write an essay on the literary works that have been discussed this semester; or write a critical analysis of a complete novel/story/play/poem, excerpts of which appear in Selected Readings in British Literature. Length: 1200 words + Due: Thursday, January 5, 2006 (Please put in He Nings mailbox at the School of Foreign Studies, Gulou campus) In writing an essay it is important to ask two questions. The first question is the ordinary one: What is my argument? Having decided what I plan to argue and assert, the second question would be: How can I present my argument in a compelling way? A well designed topic avoids two things. First, a situation in which everything seems to be relevant and equally useful. In that case the so-called topic is just a way of paraphrasing the entire book: Jane Eyres Life or Experience in Jane Eyre would be examples of thinly disguised paraphrase topics for the book as a whole. The second thing to avoid is the design of any topic is a subject that seems to invite you to write a paper that structures itself by means of the novel itself, beginning with the beginning and finding itself, in its final pages, coming round to a discussion of the end. The novel is narrative. A paper is an analytic piece of writing. To be a good topic it must be carefully limited. It must have ban element of freshness, even of unexpectedness about it. Every topic leads you to specific locations in the text of crucial moments (paragraphs, turns, objects, and images) which shed light on the central theme of the text. Not all evidence is equal. Each detail introduced should not have the same length of analysis. Some evidence is mentioned, some occurs in a list, some is used to prepare for a carefully analyzed central instance, and some carefully chosen detail is used to situate the topic in the opening, and last but not least, some equally carefully chosen detail is withheld so as to permit a final turn, a surprise, a sudden exp