English 105A: Responding to Critical Writing
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English 105A: Shakespeare: Poems and Early Plays
TA: Stephen Deng
Summer 2003
Contents |
[edit] Responding to Critical Articles Assignment (Due July 15)
As the title suggests, this is an exercise designed to help students respond to secondary material.
[edit] Assignment Overview
Choose within one of the critical articles on the plays we have read so far (C.L. Barber, Stephen Mead, or Naomi Liebler), one phrase, sentence or brief passage, and write 1 page (12-point font, no Courier, 1-inch margins) critiquing the statement using evidence from the play.
[edit] Objective
The purpose of this assignment is to help you develop the skill of responding to critical articles. Literary criticism is a social project, building on and responding to work already done by others. Just as the historical context assignment opened up close reading to the historical site of the play's production, this assignment opens up close reading to the body of discourse already produced by critics discussing the play. Imagine yourself in a room with a group of critics discussing the play. One of the critics has just made a statement that you wish to disagree with or to somehow build upon. The statement will be from one of the critical articles we have read. Respond to this statement by pointing to specific evidence from the play that refutes the statement or somehow builds upon it (maybe leading it in another direction). It is not as fruitful to just agree with the critic and provide additional evidence. The goal is to somehow contribute to the discourse about the play by taking it in another direction.
[edit] More Details
The assignment is to choose one phrase, sentence or brief passage from the critical articles we have read and to write 1 page critiquing the statement using supporting evidence from the play. This need not be related to the first two assignments, but again if you find something that relates, it may help you with your final paper. This assignment should have something approximating a thesis statement, since you are making your own statement about the play in response to the critical article. But it is also crucial that you provide substantial evidence from the play supporting your argument.
[edit] Formal Requirements:
- 12-point font
- Double-spaced
- Do not use Courier font!!
- 1-inch margins
