Mizzou Online
English 4950: Special Topics in Literature: Irish Literature and Film

Writing Guidelines for Essays

Sample Essay

Click on the link below to read an essay written for an Irish literature class that I taught recently. The students were reading Dubliners, James Joyce's classic collection of short stories. This student has chosen to write on the theme of paralysis in Dubliners: it plays an important role in the stories. There is much to praise in this essay. It is clear that the student has read the book carefully; he has put some thought into the organization of the paper and into choosing the stories that best illustrate the idea of paralysis. Also, he illustrates his ideas in an effective way by including relevant quotations from the stories, and he provides a works cited page. On the other hand, the paper does have some weaknesses: paralysis is never actually defined at the beginning of the essay, the organization of the paper is a little predictable, and the proofreading could be more effective. The paper reads as if it had been written too quickly. It received a B grade.

Sample Essay: "Paralysis in Dubliners"
(Student essay used with permission of Jonathan Lampe)

Here are a few other tips for you to keep in mind as you write your essays:

• In such a short space, you can dispense with long introductory remarks.
• Treat the texts and films as if there is an interaction between them; try to transition between them by pointing out similarities or differences.
• We use the present tense when writing about literature and film, e.g., "MacLaverty writes…" or "In his film, Sheridan uses…."
• Specific examples are best.
• Proofread your paper out loud to catch errors in sentence structure and grammar!

Evaluation Criteria for Essays

• An "A" grade (11–12 points) will be given for writing that demonstrates you firmly grasp the concepts explored in the corresponding lesson. The writing must be free of grammatical and spelling errors, be elegant, and be compelling. Work in the "A" range incorporates the skills learned and pulls everything together into a coherent piece of writing that shows development, innovation, and/or originality.
• A "B" grade (9–10 points) will be given for writing that shows you have a good understanding of the concepts explored in the corresponding lesson but doesn't necessarily demonstrate the innovative qualities of "A" work. In "B"-quality work, control of the language is adequate, and grammatical and spelling errors should be absent or minor.
• A "C" grade (7–8 points) will be given for writing that shows you have minimal understanding of the concepts explored in the corresponding lesson. "C" work is generally not well developed, often contains clichéd or vague word choices and unvaried sentence structure, and may contain distracting grammatical and spelling errors.
• A "D" or an "F" grade (0–6 points) is given for writing that does not address the assignment, shows that you do not understand the concepts underlying the corresponding lesson, or is incomprehensible due to serious spelling, grammatical, and/or syntax errors.

Tips for Taking Exams

The exams will test your knowledge and understanding of the works (books and films) you read or view in this course. In preparing for the exams, you should review these works carefully to develop a good understanding of the themes, social and political issues, characters, moral issues, and conflicts explored in them. For the test, the background material is not as important as the material in the books and films themselves.

Concentrate on the books and films. You should be able to understand each of them individually and, in addition, to compare and contrast them with one another. You will be expected to compare and contrast works across lessons (a book from Lesson 2 and a film from Lesson 4, for example).

In preparation for the exams, you should identify key parts, scenes, passages, events, conflicts, and characters from the works you have read and viewed, and be able to refer to these in your answers as needed. Because the works are complex and allow for various interpretations, not all students will agree on what these key parts are; what is important is how you justify and support your arguments. You should develop coherent arguments and support them with reference to the texts and/or films. Organize your paper clearly. Although your answers are not expected to be completely free of errors (written exams are rarely perfect), you should proofread carefully to correct as many errors as possible.