Length: 500 words (excluding quotations)

 

Topic

Discuss in detail one of the following passages

• Beowulf.

Payattention to the poem’s language, and to the themes, issues,and questions the poem raises. If you choose to discuss the passage from locate the passage in relation to the poem as a whole, but focus on the extract.

What do you find effective or compelling or memorableabout the text?  How does the language of the poem contribute to these effects?

Marking Criteria for the Short Essay

A Short Essay receiving the highest mark is one which:

• has a clear, focussed, and unified argument. (Can you say in one very simple sentence what it is that you are trying to argue in the essay?  If you can’t, you probably don’t yet know what you are trying to say.)
• hasa title that is a signpost. If you don’t have a meaningful title, you probably haven’t finished working out your argument.

• is written in elegant, concise, edited and proofreadprose.
• supports its claims with evidence from the text. An essay that doesn’t include quotations from the text in support of your argument will be penalised.
• contains NO plagiarism.
• contains no errors of expression, grammar, punctuation, spelling, or typographical errors.
• uses correct MLA style, including layout.
• complies with the word limit.

How well you follow these guidelines helps determine your mark out of 20. Essays that do not achieve a satisfactory standard will fail.

An assignment receiving a mark in the seven range (17-20/20, excellent)addresses the question and demonstrates:
a high level of independent thinking, imagination, or flair	theability to read closely and patiently
a well-organised, convincing argument	balancedcritique and analysis of the chosen text
clear and concise expression, the quality of the writing matching the quality of the ideas	critical use of evidence to support the argument
coherent structure	excellent editing/proofreading/layout
	accurate MLA documentation

An assignment receiving a mark in the six range (15-16.5/20, very good) addresses the question and demonstrates:
evidence of independent thinking	a coherent structure
a well-organised argument	theability to read closely and patiently
sensibleuse of evidence to support the argument	accurateMLA documentation
clear expression	very good editing/proofreading/layout

An assignment receiving a mark in the five range (13-14.5/20, good) addresses the question anddemonstrates:
some independent thinking	a coherent structure
a well-organised argument	some ability to read closely and patiently
use of evidence to support the argument	accurate MLA documentation
generally clear expression	good editing/proofreading/layout

An assignment receiving a mark in the four range (10-12.5/20, satisfactory)addresses the question and demonstrates:
anorganised argument though it may have some flaws	Some ability to read closely and patiently
someuse of evidence to support the argument	accurateMLA documentation
Expression generally clear	adequate editing/proofreading/layout
a reasonably coherent structure

An assignment that does not receive a passing grade (0-9.5/20, unsatisfactory) fails to answer the question or demonstrate:
A coherent argument	adequate evidence of close or patient reading
clear expression	adequate editing/proofreading/layout
evidence to support the argument	accurate MLA documentation

See the Course Profile for further information on assessment

Instructions:Read your chosen poem or extract several times. Read it aloud. Make notes in your margins and in a notebook. Use your highlighter. Use the Oxford English Dictionary (online through the Library).

1.  Think about, and discuss, the nature of the language. You might consider:

• the poem’s diction (its choice of words)
• its rhythm or metre (the sound patterns it makes, its music)
• the images the poem’s language generates in your mind’s eye
• the way the language helps to give you a sense of the speaker of the poem; voice
• the poem’s use of figurative language
• the poem’s theme, or its argument
• how the poem’s language helps to convey its atmosphere, mood, meaning, or point of view
• the narrative that is offered in the poem, the kind of narrative, the events, the characters
• how the language contributes to the themes and ideas of the poem.

2.Observe the word limit strictly. Learning to express your thoughts within a specified length is an important, necessary skill. Quoted material from the poem you discuss is NOT included in the word limit.Youcan rarely say everything you would like to in an essay, no matter how many pages you have. As you make notes for, draft, revise and polish your essay you will have to abandon some thoughts, and leave out some material you have gathered, in order to produce a coherent and unified piece of writing. (An academic essay is not a collection of unrelated insights.)

2.  Do not consult any literary criticism or other secondary sources about these texts. The short essay tests your ability to analyse a text closely, accurately, and sensitively, to construct an argument, and to express your thoughts clearly and persuasively.  Read and re-readyour chosen poem closely, and consider it in the light of the set question.

Although you should NOT consult works of criticism and scholarship for this essay, as explained above, we do refer you to the section entitled “Literary Terminology” in The Norton Anthology of English Literatureand the Glossary in Bennett and Royle’s Introduction to Theory, Criticism, and Literature. We also recommend the chapter on “Figures and Tropes” in Bennett and Royle.

Referencing:  List the poem in your List of Works Cited according to the MLA referencing system (see below). However, with poetry it is usual to refer to line numbers rather than page numbers, so when quoting from the poem in your essay put the numbers of the lines you quote in brackets directly after the quotation, rather than the page numbers: for a single line: (48), and for more than one line: (48-51).

 

And, finally  . . .
1.  Information on writing, including grammar andpunctuation, may be foundon the course Blackboard site under ‘Learning Resources’. Check out the Knowledge-Making site for help from advanced BA students.

2.  For information on MLA style, go to Purdue’s Online Writing Laboratory: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

3. For thelayoutof your paper, go to the same site and click on “Additional Resources.” You will lose marks if you don’t follow MLA layout meticulously.

4.  Plagiarism is a punishable offence.In fairness to the scholarly community of which you are a part, always acknowledge what you have taken from other authors and what is your own, whether or not you have quoted directly.
The University has adopted the following definition of plagiarism:

Plagiarism is the act of misrepresenting as one’s own original work the ideas, interpretations, words or creative works of another. These include published and unpublished documents, designs, music, sounds, images, photographs, computer codes and ideas gained through working in a group. These ideas, interpretations, words or works may be found in print and/or electronic media.

Students are encouraged to read the UQ Student Integrity and Misconduct policy (http://ppl.app.uq.edu.au/content/3.60.04-student-integrity-and-misconduct) which makes a comprehensive statement about the University’s approach to plagiarism, including the approved use of plagiarism detection software, the consequences of plagiarism and the principles associated with preventing plagiarism.

5.  Extensions are not granted except where there is a very good reason, such as illness supported by a doctor’s certificate. Please see under Assessment the formal procedure to be followed should you need to apply for an extension. Note: you may not apply for an extension the day before the assignment is due, unless the circumstances are exceptional. Other assessment or a computer failure are not adequate reasons.

 

Graduate attributes

The following Graduate Attributes are especially encouraged in this essay:

• critical judgement
• effective communication.

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