Second Paper
- Due May 20, 2024 by 11:59pm
- Points 100
- Submitting a file upload
- Available until May 31, 2024 at 11:59pm
SECOND PAPER
1800-2100 WORDS (ABOUT 6-7 PAGES)
DUE MONDAY, MAY 20, BY 11:59 PM
SUBMIT YOUR PAPER AS A WORD DOC OR PDF THROUGH CANVAS
Reminder: If you need to request an extension on a paper, you must email me before the paper is due and tell me when you will turn it in (it should be within two days at most unless there are extenuating circumstances).
Wondering how your work will be assessed? The TA for this course will be grading your work under my direct supervision. We will read papers together to ensure that we are using the same grading criteria and standards. We will assess papers based on the following criteria:
- the strength and clarity of your thesis (note that topic #3 does not require a traditional thesis statement, but you will be making an argument about why you have decided to place each of the Canterbury pilgrims in a particular circle of the inferno)
- the strength, organization, and complexity of your argument
- your use of evidence and analysis of that evidence
- your factual accuracy
- how well you provide historical context
- the quality of your writing
- your use of citations/footnotes
- word count (you must meet the minimum word count or you will automatically get a C - 70-79% at best)
The rubric we will use for grading the papers is included below and contains a more detailed breakdown of how we will assess each criterion.
NEED HELP WITH YOUR PAPER?
We are happy to help you get started or review thesis statements. Come to see us during office hours to discuss your ideas and we can make sure you’re on the right track.
If you need additional help, the following writing centers are available to help you at any stage of the writing process, from getting started to polishing drafts.
Odegaard Writing and Research Center
Paper Topics (choose one of the following):
- Design your own topic using one or more of the sources we have read in class. If you choose this option, you must define a topic and submit it to me (urbanski@uw.edu) for approval no later than 5 pm on Wednesday, May 15. Papers on unapproved topics will not be accepted.
- Compare the anticlericalism found in Dante’s Inferno (especially in his representations of popes, simoniacs, hypocrites, and the avaricious) with that found in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (especially Chaucer’s representations of the Pardoner, Summoner, Friar, and Monk). How are their criticisms of the clergy similar and how do they differ? Which author’s work do you think is most critical of the late medieval church?
- Pretend you are Minos. The Summoner, the Pardoner, the Miller, the Wife of Bath, and the Friar from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales have just been ferried across the Acheron and stand before you ready to confess their sins. Banish each of them to the circle of Dante’s Inferno most appropriate to their sins.
- You will need to describe how Dante’s inferno operates, describe and weigh the sins of the condemned pilgrims, explain why each of them will be consigned to a particular circle of hell, and recount the punishment they will experience there, as well as how this punishment fits their sin. Make sure to use Dante for this part; do not make up your own version of hell.
- Use the descriptions of the Miller, Friar, Pardoner, Summoner, and Wife of Bath in the Prologue to determine their sins, as well as the Pardoner’s sermon, the Wife of Bath’s Prologue, and the characters in their tales (e.g. the Miller in the Reeve’s Tale, the Summoner in the Friar’s Tale, and the Friar in the Summoner’s Tale).
- This topic does not require a traditional thesis statement, but you will be making an argument about why you have decided to place each of the Canterbury pilgrims in a particular circle of the inferno.
- You are encouraged to be creative with this topic! You can use any format (play, novel, reality show, memos, etc.) that you like. You can narrate in the first person as Minos, or be an omniscient narrator, whatever you want. The important things are to demonstrate your knowledge of both texts, properly cite the sources, and explain why you are condemning each pilgrim to the specific level of the inferno you have chosen for them.
- Using Machiavelli’s advice for princes as a guide, determine whether the tactics employed by Edward III or Henry V were more suitable for establishing permanent English rule in France.
- You’ll want to enumerate the principles that Machiavelli sets out for rulers attempting to establish a new principality in a foreign country with a different language and customs in Chapter III, before describing the military (chevauchees, sieges, mercenaries, etc.) and diplomatic (treaties, marriages, etc.) tactics employed by Edward and Henry and assessing whether they match up with the advice given by Machiavelli.
- Use your lecture notes, Briggs, and David Green for information on Edward III and Henry V.
Instructions for Papers:
- All papers should be 1800-2100 words (6-7 pages), use a standard 12 point font, and be double-spaced with standard 1” margins.
- Address all parts of the paper prompt.
- Make sure you have a clear thesis statement and a defined argument.
- Use specific evidence from our sources to substantiate your argument.
- Analyze all of the evidence you present (i.e., explain what the evidence shows and how it supports your argument).
- Use material from lecture and the textbook to provide historical context for your papers.
- While you need to focus on the critical analysis of our sources and display your own original thought, you also need to synthesize information from lecture, our textbook, and the prefaces of the primary sources in order to provide historical context for your analysis. For instance, if you are writing about Dante’s Inferno, you should draw material from my lectures on Italy and from the textbook to provide context for your paper.
- In general, your introductory paragraph should be followed by a paragraph laying out the basic historical context of your paper topic. You should then weave additional historical context into your paper as needed.
- Citations. You must provide footnotes for any information quoted or paraphrased from any source other than yourself. If the information came from any source other than yourself (whether it is a preface, book, journal, website, lecture, or the textbook), you must give the original author credit by including a footnote. Failing to credit the original author of an idea is plagiarism.
-
- Microsoft Word and Google Docs will insert footnotes for you and automatically number them. Depending on the version you are using, go to the “insert” menu and choose “footnote,” or go to the “references” menu and choose “insert footnote.”
- Footnotes are placed at the end of the sentence, after all quotation marks and punctuation. E.g. “This is where you place a footnote.”1
- Avoid using block quotes (quotes that take up more than three lines of printed text in your paper). Block quotes are a sign that you have been too lazy to paraphrase. Overuse of block quotes, especially without analysis, will result in a low grade.
- All papers containing plagiarized material (including AI generated content) will receive a 0, and be referred to the Office of Student Conduct. Anyone with a second instance of plagiarism will fail the course.
- You do not need to provide a list of works cited.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the use of anyone else’s words or ideas as if they are your own, without attributing them to their originator. This includes:
- Copying paragraphs, sentences, phrases or words from a book, article, website, or anywhere else without enclosing them in quotation marks and noting the source of the quotation. The copying does not have to be verbatim to be plagiarism. Changing the sentence structure, changing some of the words, or paraphrasing is still plagiarism if you do not credit the source of the ideas.
- Submitting a paper that was in whole or in part downloaded, purchased, or copied from the Internet or any other source.
- Submitting work as your own that was written by anyone other than yourself.
- Submitting work as your own that was produced by any form of AI, such as ChatGPT.
- Submitting work for one class that was originally prepared for another class, or submitting work for one assignment that has previously been submitted for another assignment, can also be considered a type of plagiarism.
Plagiarism is academic dishonesty; it is an offense in the same category as copying answers from another student on a test. The easiest way to avoid plagiarism is by crediting all quotes and paraphrases to their originators by footnoting them, and, of course, by never submitting anyone else’s work as your own.
Plagiarism will result in a 0 on the assignment and will be reported to the Office of Academic Conduct for disciplinary action.
Style:
- Make sure your subjects and verbs agree.
- Use the active voice, not the passive voice, whenever possible.
- Use proper grammar, punctuation, spelling, and syntax.
- Do not use contractions in a paper (e.g. use “it is” rather than “it’s” and “would have” rather than “would’ve”).
- Do not use overly casual language, slang, or jargon, and try to avoid clichés.
- If you have trouble with grammar, usage, word choice, or punctuation, check out a style guide, such as Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style (look for one of the more recent editions). It offers a good, basic guide to writing and a clear explanation of the rules governing word choice, usage, grammar, and punctuation.
Citations:
You MUST provide footnotes for any information quoted or paraphrased from any source you use for the paper. For this course we will be using Chicago Style citations. If you are unfamiliar with Chicago Style citations, please consult the Chicago Manual of Style at http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html.
Provide a full citation the first time you cite a particular source; use an abbreviated citation each subsequent time you cite that source.
Sample full citations: Author, title of work, translator if applicable (place of publication: publisher, year of publication), page number
Dante Alighieri, Inferno, trans. Mark Musa (New York: Penguin Classics, 1984), p. 87.
David Green, The Hundred Years War: A People's History (Yale University Press, 2014), p. 42.
Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, ed. Nevill Cogghill (Penguin Classics, 2003), p. 20.
Charles Briggs, The Body Broken (London and New York: Routledge, 2020), p. 21.
Urbanski, lecture, 1/10/18
Sample abbreviated citations:
Dante, p. 87.
Green, p. 42.
Chaucer, p. 20.
Briggs, p. 21.
Rubric
Criteria | Ratings | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|
Thesis Statement
N/A - Thesis statements are not required for the creative assignments
A - Excellent (strong, original thesis) B - Good (strong, clear thesis) C - Needs Help □ unclear thesis □ hidden thesis (you have one but you never state it) □ thesis in conclusion; move it to introduction D - Poor (little attempt to form a thesis) F - Absent (no thesis)
threshold:
pts
|
pts
--
|
||
Organization
A - Excellent (keeps a sharp focus on the topic)
B - Good (focuses on the topic most of the time, but strays a little) C - Needs Help (strays from the topic to discuss irrelevant subjects) D - Poor (fails to address a substantial portion of the topic; grade drops to a D) F - Absent (fails to address any part of the assigned topic; grade drops to an F)
threshold:
pts
|
pts
--
|
||
Argument
A - Excellent (explains and defends the thesis in an orderly, logical way; the reasoning and the relation among the writer’s ideas is clear)
B - Good (explains and defends the thesis in an orderly, logical way, but leaves some reasoning or ideas needing further development or clarification) C - Needs Help (imposes some order on the presentation but does not make the relation among ideas and facts clear enough to be coherent) D - Poor (wanders from idea to idea without explaining the relation among ideas; grade drops to a D) F - Absent (supplies no pertinent argument; grade drops to an F)
threshold:
pts
|
pts
--
|
||
Use of Evidence
A - Excellent (provides evidence from readings to support all assertions and conclusions)
B - Good (provides evidence to support most conclusions and assertions, but some conclusions or assertions need more support) C - Needs Help □ presents some evidence to support conclusions, but leaves significant gaps □ Too many direct quotes, paraphrase whenever possible □ Some evidence does not support assertions D - Poor (fails in several significant instances to support assertions with evidence; grade drops to a D) F - Absent (supplies no evidence to support assertions; grade drops to an F)
threshold:
pts
|
pts
--
|
||
Analysis
N/A - Analysis is not required for the creative assignments
A - Excellent (all evidence is analyzed) B - Good (some evidence needs more analysis) C - Needs Help □ Too many quotes, not enough analysis D - Poor (fails to provide analysis of most evidence; grade drops to a D) F - Absent (supplies no analysis of evidence; grade drops to an F)
threshold:
pts
|
pts
--
|
||
Complexity of Argument
A - Excellent (shows critical thinking and an appreciation for the complexity of the subject)
B - Good (contains an occasional oversimplification) C - Needs Help (does not show adequate awareness of the complexity of the subject) D - Poor (contains numerous, serious oversimplifications) F - Absent (no awareness of the complexity of the subject; grade drops to a D)
threshold:
pts
|
pts
--
|
||
Historical Context
N/A - Historical context is not required for the creative assignments
A - Excellent (synthesizes material from lecture, the textbook, and prefaces to provide historical context for all aspects of the essay) B - Good (provides historical context for most aspects of the essay) C - Needs Help (provides some historical context, but some aspects of the essay need more context) D - Poor (little attempt to provide historical context) F - Absent (no historical context provided; grade drops to a D)
threshold:
pts
|
pts
--
|
||
Factual Accuracy
A - Excellent (no errors)
B - Good (generally accurate, with a few, minor errors) C - Needs Help (contains several factual errors) D - Poor (contains numerous factual errors) F - Absent (contains numerous, serious factual errors; grade drops to a D)
threshold:
pts
|
pts
--
|
||
Footnoting
A - Excellent (provides footnotes for all evidence presented, from all sources, whether paraphrased or directly quoted)
B - Good (provides footnotes for almost all evidence) C - Needs Help □ several missing footnotes □ problems with footnote formatting D - Poor (substantial number of missing footnotes; grade drops to a D) F - Absent (contains no footnotes or plagiarizes by taking a substantial amount of material directly from another writer without attribution; grade drops to an F)
threshold:
pts
|
pts
--
|
||
Syntax, Grammar, Spelling, and Punctuation
A - Excellent (few to no errors)
B - Good (shows only minor problems) C - Needs Help (contains distracting errors) D - Poor (contains errors that make it very difficult to understand the writer’s meaning) F - Absent (contains errors that make it virtually impossible to determine the writer’s meaning; grade drops to a D)
threshold:
pts
|
pts
--
|
||
Meets Minimum Length Requirement
Yes (no deduction)
No (grade drops to a C)
threshold:
pts
|
pts
--
|
||
Total Points:
0
out of 0
|