• Value: 25%
• Length: 3000 words (10-12 pages) incl. “works cited”
• Due Date: Friday, November 27, 2015

This is the capstone project for the course. It integrates the skills and writing techniques developed during the course and in the other assignments. It should develop the topic and use the research you have already begun preparing your annotated bibliography.

Here are some things to consider as you transform your research into a polished paper:

• The paper should develop a focused argument about one or more of the texts on the course, situate this argument within the context of existing scholarship, and suggest ways that the critical conversation might move beyond current assumptions.
• Do NOT copy or repeat any sentences or paragraphs from your annotated bibliography or literature review. Your paper might feature a short review of the current critical conversation on your topic. It may (indeed it should) summarize and respond to some of this critical work. But the point of this assignment is not to rehearse or repeat a paper you have already written.
• Portions of your paper should be devoted to the kind of close reading that you have been doing in class and in your poetry reading journals. In fact, your reading journal may be a useful source to consult as you think about a topic to develop for this and previous assignments.
• Think carefully about how your argument develops. You want to make an original contribution to the critical conversation that you are engaging. Move from what we “know” (i.e. from your research) to what we “don’t know” – your original perceptions and perspectives.
• The list of works cited should feature all of the essays you read for the annotated bibliography, but it does not have to be limited to them. If you consulted other articles or sources in the course of your research, find a way to integrate them in passing into your paper so that you can cite them. Do NOTE cite any material that you consulted but do not cite. That said, try to CITE everything that you consult (see above note on plagiarism)
• The essay MUST be in MLA format (see sample format below).

Consultation: I am more than happy to consult with you about your papers before the due date to discuss your progress, to suggest some avenues for developing the argument, and maybe even to recommend a source or two. I will even read theses statements or introductions but only in person. I will not review drafts or introductions over email.

 Resubmission policy: I will grade and return the final papers before the end of term (likely on the last day of classes). If you are unhappy with you grade, or if you feel that you can make your argument stronger based on my feedback, you may edit and resubmit your paper. You must do so before the final exam (so that I can get it back to your in short order). My policy on resubmission is that if you make the effort to substantially improve your paper, you will receive a better grade. If for some strange reason, your paper turns out to be worse than the first version, I will not lower your grade – you will simply keep the original grade you received for the first submitted version.