Assignment for Paper One:  Summary and Critical Response

  Select one of the critical essays from the supplementary material in either Pride and Prejudice (Norton Critical Edition) or The House of Mirth (Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism). Read (or, in some cases, re-read) your selected essay carefully, noting in particular points the critic makes with which you disagree.  Write an essay of four to five pages in which you

·        summarize the critical essay

·        state your disagreement with the critic’s reading

·        provide an alternative reading.

Keep the summary brief, show through specific textual details why you believe the critic’s reading to be flawed, and present your own reading with clarity, coherence, and substantial textual support.

To see an example of the kind of essay you are asked to write, look at Marilyn Butler’s essay “Jane Austen and the War of Ideas: Pride and Prejudice” (Pride and Prejudice 319-326).*  Butler begins the body of her essay by summarizing an essay by Samuel Klinger (paragraph 7); she then devotes two paragraphs to explaining in detail her disagreement with Klinger.  The next seven paragraphs support her claim that Klinger has misread. In the eighth paragraph, Butler presents her own claim about the meaning of Pride and Prejudice, and the rest of her essay supports her claim.  Your essay will be shorter and probably less sophisticated than Butler’s, but she sets the pattern you should follow.  I do not expect you to write like a professional literary critic.  I do expect you to consider the primary text intelligently and to compose a clear, coherent, well-supported essay that responds fully and appropriately to the specifics of the assignment.

  Use MLA documentation style. If you are uncertain about format, use the links on WebCT for information and examples.

You will give and receive feedback on these essays when we devote one class period to peer review. Remember that I am available for conferences about your essay, and the English Center offers extensive hours with highly competent tutors to help you produce the best paper possible.

Draft of essay due Wednesday, September 24.

Revised essay due Friday, October 17.

* Nancy Butler’s essay cannot be used as the essay you summarize and respond to for
 this assignment.

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