You will write an essay response to the topic posed below using only readings on the syllabus from the first four weeks of this course. Only readings listed on the syllabus by these authors are eligible for the exam: Behn, Swift, Voltaire, BashÅ, Equiano, Wordsworth, Keats, Ramabai and Tolstoy.
Your essay response must be a minimum of 750 words (there is no maximum, but try to avoid writing a book), and it must be in conventional essay format (contain an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion). While you may use some of an author’s biography to make your point, keep in mind that your discussion should include a discussion of the texts we have read in class and not rely solely on biographical information. Any paraphrases or direct quotations of material from the texts you are using must be properly punctuated (clear use of quotation marks for direct quotations, for example) and must contain a parenthetical citation (in MLA or APA format) noting the page number of the material. There is no need for a works cited page if you’re using the assigned textbook, but if you’re using any other version of the assigned texts, you must provide a works cited page, noting full bibliographical information for your source material, with the submitted exam. This should be entirely your own argument, and you are not allowed to use any secondary material in this exam (your textbook or the text itself is your only source).
As much as these are your own arguments, you should minimize your use of “I” unless absolutely necessary.
I would also argue against cutting and pasting information from your discussion posts and using that as the core content for your essays. If you choose to do so and heavily revise that content, it can work, but some students have used it as a shortcut method for completing the exam in the past, and it tends not to work well without carefully tailoring that information to the specific question posed below.
Your completed exam will be uploaded via a Turnitin.com link in the course shell in Canvas (found under “Modules”). The Turnitin link will allow for cut and paste uploads, but I prefer you use the upload feature to avoid the potential for lost points due to formatting errors (files formatted for Microsoft Word® [.doc/.docx], OpenOffice Text [.odt], WordPerfect® [.wpd], PostScript [.ps/.eps], HTML, Hangul Word Processor file [.hwp], Rich text format [.rtf], Plain text [.txt], Google Docs via Google Drive¢, and Adobe® PDF are accepted). **If you are using an Apple product to type your paper, Pages files (from Apple’s word processing app) tend not to load right in Turnitin, so make sure you save the file as a Rich Text Format file or some other option when you go to “save” in Pages or there may be issues with my ability to access the file.**
I will grade your exams via the same Turnitin link, so you will be able to see detailed feedback there once the exam is graded. General comments and the numerical score will be available via the Canvas gradebook.
Your submission will be graded based on the proper use of essay format (clear paragraphs, a clear introduction, a thesis statement, etc.), the clarity of your writing (including proper use of spelling, punctuation, and grammar), proper punctuation/citation of any source material, the strength of your argument, and your ability to use examples from the assigned texts to strongly support your argument.
Topic:
The authors so far this term have presented a variety of characters (or points of view) who have some kind of privileged status or who lack privileged status. Essentially, privilege is a superior set of rights or status as compared to other individuals. Privilege can involve race, social class, gender, or any number of other categories and mainly concerns one group of people who has a higher status or more access to rights and opportunities than others.
Referring to at least three examples from three different authors so far this term, where do we see either examples of privilege or a lack of privilege in the readings so far this term? (Make sure you’re focusing on a particular example of privilege and not just summarizing an entire text.) What is the privilege that the character or author has or that the character or author lacks? How does that possession of privilege or lack of privilege affect their life or their opportunities? What can their experience perhaps tell us about how privilege or the lack of privilege affects individuals today?
