ENG2150 - Assignment 2

ENG2150 - Assignment 2
1
Assignment 2: Research-Based Argument Essay (Part 2)
• Word count: 2,800-3,100 words / ~ 8-9 double-spaced pages
• Font 11-12, Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri, or similar
• At least one primary source and four secondary sources
• Contains formal references, a bibliography and your Writer’s
Letter
• Submitted by direct message to me on Slack, by Word
Document
• Time needed to complete: about 5-6 hours, highly
recommended to spread
over a few days
• Peer-review of first drafts in pairs occurs in Week 13 (May
3rd to 10th)
• Due in Week 15, by May 20th at the latest
(this is a strict deadline, due to the deadline I’m given for
submitting final
course grades)

Description
So, here we are: your final project! This is the completed
research-based argument
essay that you have already worked on substantially by
completing Assignment 1, your
rhetorical analysis. This exercise is fundamental: you’ll be
asked to write argumentative essays
very frequently in college. It’s also an amazing skill to have for
your future life: you’ll know
how to efficiently analyze any material, critically question
things that are presented as truths to
you, and you’ll know how to make a powerful, professionally
back-up argument. It doesn’t have
to be tedious: by following the step-by-step method you started
for Assignment 1, you have
already spread out the work.
Hopefully you’ve chosen a topic and a medium that you’re
deeply interested in, so that
you find enjoyment in your project. Topping up the research
you’ve done for Assignment 1 with
the two additional Reflective Annotated Bibliography sheets
from Week 12, you may note

that your thesis changes slightly, or your topic framing or
approach shifts. That’s complete fine
and normal: it shows you’ve deepened your reflection since first
working on your topic,
receiving feedback from me and your peers, and it also allows
you to update the research angle
you’re interested in exploring with this final project. An
academic will frequently take weeks or
even months to complete a peer-reviewed article like the ones
you used for your RefAnnBibs,
adding ideas, rearranging the structure of their argument, and
refining their thesis as they go.
Directions
As a reminder, to write a complete, well-presented essay, you
need four things: a specific
topic, selected sources, selected evidence from your sources,
and most of all, your own ideas
(and a willingness to proofread!). Following is the detailed
step-by-step method you’ve already
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used for assignment 1. Now, you’re stepping back briefly into
step 2 to add your two new
RefAnnBibs, and you’re then completing step 3, not forgetting 4
(the Writer’s Letter).
In 5 steps, this is how you’ll eventually complete your full
paper:
1. Define your topic (about 1 hour):
- After discussion of your topic with me and your peers, choose
one primary source (text of
any genre, film, audio, or otherwise). The source can be one we
have studied or one of
your own finding. Find what it is that draws you to that primary
source and choose your
topic accordingly. Be specific (e.g. your topic is not just ‘a text
on migration’ but can be
‘the use of first-person narrative in Equiano’s autobiography’ or
‘the use of on-screen
violence in Desierto’). Ideally, you’ll choose a topic you’re so
interested in that you’ll be
willing to dig deeper into it for your final project, and therefore
you’ll save yourself some
time because you’ll have already worked on some material for
this assignment.

- Define your approach: are you most interested in rhetorical
devices and how they convey
meaning? Are you more interested in purpose and audience? In
ethics and social
implications? In medium, circulation, access, delivery? In
genre? If choosing literary
material, are you more interested in theme, narratology,
characterization, tone, metaphor,
plot, setting, or point of view? For film and audiovisual
material, is it filming techniques,
plot, light, sound, camera movements, audience, acting, or
direction that sparks your
interest? It’s important to be conscious of what approach you
naturally lean towards and
make it clear which it is that you choose for your essay.
- Find some secondary sources (at least 2). These need to be
peer-reviewed, scholarly
sources. You can find them on JSTOR, ProjectMuse, Google
Scholar, and the Newman
Library, all using your Baruch credentials.
- After a first reading of your sources, formulate your topic as
specifically as possible in a
few lines.
2. Search for evidence (2-3 hours): Go over this step again, but

more briefly, to
incorporate your two new sources. See if they give you new
ideas you want to include in
your already-formed subtopic clumps. You might need to
rearrange your subtopic
clumps, and you’ll see your thesis may evolve. It’s all a normal
part of the research
process. Make sure you also use the feedback you’ve received
from me on your
assignment 1, and that which you received from your peers for
your RefAnnBibs.
- Do a solid, directed, second reading of all your sources, taking
notes of relevant
rhetorical devices that may help you prove your points. Select
citations from your
primary and secondary sources. Only select what is directly
relevant to your topic,
specifically. Don’t try to cover everything. And don’t waste
time here: less is more!
- Take a break.
- Jot down your ideas in the order they come to you. Keep them
in short note form.
- Pair your ideas with evidence from your primary source (a
quote, or a video/audio
reference) and from your secondary sources (quotes or

paraphrases, both needing formal
acknowledgement). This is where your two Reflective
Annotated Bibliography sheets
from Week 5 come in handy: they’ll save you time to extract
from those sources what
2
.
2
.
3
you need for your own purposes. For your primary source, use
highlighting, page
markers, or Hypothesis publish-to-self highlights and
annotations).
- Reorganize your ideas in 2 or 3 clumps as they relate to each
other. Note that you may
have to discard ideas that don’t fit, or, on the contrary, add a
couple of points. Organize
your clumps in the way that will most logically lead to your
overall thesis. Usually,

starting from the simplest to the most complex points will make
for an easy-to-read,
compelling essay.
- Divide the wordcount roughly for each clump (they don’t have
to be equal in length).
Don’t forget to keep some word count for your introduction and
conclusion.
- At this point, adjust your topic formulation if needed. The
more specific, the better.
- Write a temporary introduction (that you’ll adjust when you
complete this project for
assignment 2).
- In note form, using headings and subheadings, list your points
and subpoints.
Include some notes for transitions between your points. This
helps ensure that every
single point you make is part of a continuous thread that relates
at all times to your
argument (aka. your thesis.) Include as many details as you can,
as well as your
references (quotes, examples, paraphrases – all duly
acknowledged according to your
chosen citation style from Purdue OWL.
- Write a temporary conclusion.

- Proofread everything to check that your development of points
makes sense, that
they all address the issues you propose to address in your
introduction, and that the
conclusion closes your paper nicely (this is proofreading for
content).
- Proofread your notes several times and use the spelling and
grammar check
(proofreading for form).
- Don’t forget to check your references and (temporary)
bibliography.
- Hand in your very detailed roadmap for your final project.
3. Write out your essay (2-3 hours):
- You now have a detailed roadmap for your essay, and you now
need to add the form,
writing out your points in full sentences, and taking great care
of the form. Remember to
take frequent breaks during this step.
- Download the Word doc template provided on our course
website (under Assignments >
Rhetorical Analysis. Insert your name on the top and in the
header, then save it using the
file name as requested above. I recommend using AutoSave as
you write (it continuously

saves your doc to your Outlook 365 cloud with your Baruch
email address).
- Write an introduction (that you will later adjust, so don’t
worry too much just now).
Express your topic, briefly explain your sources, and formulate
your thesis as clearly as
possible in the introduction.
- Choose a citation style. I recommend Purdue Owl for a list of
academic citation styles
and guides (the list of styles is under Research and Citation on
the left hand side). It
would be useful to choose the style that’s preferred in the
discipline you intend to take as
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/purdue_owl.html
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/purdue_owl.html
4
your major. Some styles use footnotes and others use in-text
citations. You’ll save loads
of time by using Zotero, as we saw in Week 6.
- Write out your points, justifying the use of your evidence
before and after you insert your
quotes/paraphrases/examples. If you are using someone else’s
ideas in your own words,

remember to properly cite them according to your chosen
citation style. Keep your
paragraphs to one single idea each, so that they’re concise.
Don’t worry about typos and
layout just yet – it’ll distract you from your argumentation.
- Make sure that the language is formal, and that you use
contractions very sparingly (e.g.
‘don’t’ instead of ‘do not’). Try to emulate the language and
tone of the peer-reviewed
sources you’ll have read.
- Before you write your conclusion, come back to your intro to
adjust anything that turned
out differently while you wrote out your points. You might have
discarded or ideas,
changed your thesis, etc. Make sure the last sentences of your
introduction announce the
order of the main points your essay addresses.
- Write your conclusion, briefly restating your main points, and
making final
considerations on your thesis, which you’ll express again as
clearly as you can here. It’s
good to open up your topic towards the end of your conclusion,
alluding to points of
further study that you might address in your final project, or
that someone else in the

scholarly community might address.
- Go over your whole essay from the end to the beginning
(that’s called a reverse outline)
to make sure that your points unfold logically, from the most
specific (end of essay) to
the broadest (beginning). Insert any transitioning sentences to
smooth out the structure.
- Give a good, critical title to your essay.
- Check your citations, including every single reference, and
make sure you include every
source used in your bibliography. Don’t include anything from
informal websites like
Wikipedia, Hisory.com. Quartz, etc. You can use them to check
fact – with caution – but
these don’t have a place in academic writing. Format your
references and bibliography
according to your chosen citation style. Bibliographies should
always have Hanging
alignment (in Home >Paragraph Settings) and author names
should always be in
alphabetical order.
- Author names are Capitalized, and you write their full name
the first time you mention
them, and only their last name thereafter. Book and film titles
are italicized, and article,

short-story, song, and poem titles, are in ‘quotation marks.’
- Arrange the layout. The way you present your work is the first
impression you give your
reader/assessor. Make sure your paragraphs are short (again,
keep them to one idea each).
Use the Tab key on the first line for each paragraph. Use 1.5 or
double line spacing. Use
justified alignment. In Word, Go to Home > Paragraph Settings,
and tick the ‘Don’t add
space between paragraphs of the same style’ box. Don’t use
bold except for the title, and
only use italics when featured in a citation (in which case you
insert ‘emphasis in the
original’ in brackets following your citation), or when you
really want to lay emphasis on
a word. Note that longer quotes (4 lines or more) have a
specific layout:
they are indented to the right, single-spaced, in the same font as
the rest of your
essay, in justified alignment, without quotation marks, and with
their footnote or
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in-text reference immediately following (you’ll have seen how
when you did your
secondary reading). (Reference, page)
- Proofread for sense (see end of step 2).
- Proofread for form, again, and again. Use the spelling and
grammar check tool in
Word, but we aware that it frequently misses things. In any
case, make sure the last
proofreading is done by your human self – you’re smarter than
any robots!
4. Complete your writer’s letter (5-10 minutes)
You’ll find it below the bibliography, at the bottom of the
template I asked you to
download. Doing self-reflexive thinking on your work helps
you improve your
research skills, gives me an opportunity to get some feedback
from you, and it also
helps me understand what the process of completing the
assignment was like for you.
Advice
An analysis asks you to go beyond summary and think about
various elements that make
up a text: the argument or message, how the writer or speaker
crafts that message (evidence,

stories, metaphors, stylistic devices), the audience, the purpose,
the political and historical context
for the text, and the conclusions you can draw from these.
As you approach your sources, consider the following: What
arguments do the writers/speakers
make? How do they support these arguments, who are their
audiences, and what was their purpose
in writing the text or giving the speech? These elements will
help you develop your own argument
about the significance of the material on which you’ll focus.
One thing to bear in mind, though, is that the question of
meaning tends to be reductive:
who are we to say what a text means? It’s much more
interesting to say how it means, by which
rhetorical devices, and how that makes us interpret it
individually. The audience makes the
meaning, but there are as many forms of meaning as there are
people. That’s why I’m only
interested in your original contribution (in academic language,
‘original’ means the contrary of
plagiarism, not necessarily an innovative or eccentric
interpretation).
When you are looking for evidence (step 2 above) and are doing

your rhetorical analysis,
choose any of the methods we’ve tried so far in weekly
modules, or any method of your choice.
Every mind is different and needs a different method.
What everyone needs though (and that includes even those who
are confident about their
writing skills) is to take very, very good care of the form of
their assignment. Even the best
argument, backed up by the best sources, will convince no one
if it is badly presented, in language
full of typos and mistakes, and in a badly laid out document.
Take a break before you start
proofreading for sense and take another break before you start
proofreading for form. Doing both,
with a fresh mind each time, is crucial. Don’t just rely on the
spelling check tool: it frequently
leaves out typos and doesn’t detect grammatical mistakes very
well. Handing in a paper ridden
with typos is not only distracting from what you actually wrote,
it is disrespectful both to
your instructor and to yourself.
Don’t forget you can ask your peers for help on Slack, ask one
another for a second set

of eyes, and consult me if you have any questions or need any
further advice. Come back to these
instructions, should you be in any doubt, and ask your peers on
Slack before you ask me about
easily answered things like paper specs (wordcount, format,
etc.). There is a channel dedicated to
each assignment on Slack, and I really want you to use it as a
common space to rely on a
6
community of classmates, just like you would have used the
campus café to chat and share
progress.
Rubric
The gradeless rubric below will work as a checklist for you to
make sure you have
addressed all criteria of a research-based argument essay. There
are a lot of criteria (that’s why
these essays can be so hard) so make sure you take your time
and check your work criterion by
criterion (or better still, include this rubric in your essay prep,

before you write it). When you are
fairly sure you have, submit your work to your paired classmate
for review. They will then use
this rubric to know what to look for, and you will do the same
for them. You will then revise
your work according to their feedback, and finally, submit it to
me by the deadline given above.
While you only used this rubric to check that Assignment 1 was
on track to fulfill all the
criteria, you are now submitting a fully finished work to the
best of your knowledge.
Therefore, applying the feedback you received from your peers
and myself, you are now
using this rubric as your final checklist that everything is
addressed as best you can.
Originality (meaning yours, in
terms of avoiding plagiarism)
and relevance
- An engaging, original work with relevant
rhetorical analysis
- Relevant rhetorical devices from the chosen
primary source demonstrates close reading,

bringing examples that reinforce the student’s
points without trying to cover all aspects the
whole primary source
- There are some elements demonstrating
creativity or, at least, the student’s unique
approach
Structure and logical
development
- Main points and intended structure are
announced clearly in the introduction
- Expresses a logical series of points that evolve
logically, from the least to the most complex
- Contains transitioning sentences from one point
to another which accompany the reader
throughout, bringing each point home
- All points or questions raised in the
introductions have been addressed
Clarity of thesis (main argument) - The thesis or main argument
is given in the
introduction
- Every point in the development relates to the
thesis

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- The conclusion brings a sense that the thesis was
satisfyingly addressed in the essay
Use of secondary sources - Relevant historical and academic
context is
provided
- Secondary sources are peer-
reviewed/scholarly/academic sources
- Authors and page numbers are clearly and
correctly acknowledged after each quote or
paraphrase, whether in brackets or in footnotes,
depending on the chosen citations style
- A complete and well-formatted bibliography is
included at the end of the essay
- Every point is backed up by evidence coming
from the primary and/or secondary source where
relevant
- Quotes are formatted in text between quotation
marks, but long quotes (=/> 4 lines) are indented
to the line, single-spaced, in justified alignment,

and without quotation marks (see instructions
above)
- The student engages with scholarly debate by
challenging arguments already made in the field,
sometimes agreeing, sometimes disagreeing with
them
- Plagiarism is avoided because all uses of
secondary sources are duly acknowledged (note
that historical facts, dates, and general truths do
not need to be acknowledged, but repeating a
secondary source’s content in your own words
needs to be acknowledged just like a direct
quote)
- Quotes or any kind of reference to an external
source are always introduced and justified as per
their relation to the student’s argument
- There are no ‘decorative’ quotes
Clarity of language and layout - The language is formal and
corresponds to
academic style

- Sentences are a reasonable length, mostly
concise
- Language is not overly flowery and overall easy
to understand
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- There are virtually no mistakes in grammar and
punctuation
- The document layout is clean and reader-friendly
- Author names are capitalized, using full names
the first time they are referred to and only last
names subsequently
- Book and film titles are italicized; poem, short-
story and article titles are in inverted commas
Respect of instructions - All instructions of word count,
number of
sources, presentation, use of the provided
template, writer’s letter, and references were
respected to the best of the student’s knowledge
Proofreading - The work shows clear evidence of through
proofreading, proving to be free of typos or other

accidental missing parts
- Student seems to have used the spelling and
grammar check tool in Word
Pair Work - Student was responsive in the peer-reviewing
activity and offered significant feedback to their
paired classmate, as well as receiving
- Any issues were brought to the instructor’s
attention in due time
Mini-Lesson: Plot Structure
STR 3.A – IDENTIFY AND DESCRIBE HOW PLOT ORDERS
EVENTS IN A NARRATIVE.
©AP Lit & More: Literature
& Writing Resources, 2020
Frankenstein Wrap-Up:
‹#›
Reorder the plot events listed in your handout.

Afterwards, identify the narrator of that section of the frame
narrative.
Frankenstein: Plot Structure Notes
‹#›
Directions: Drag and drop the quotes into the right order.
Afterwards, label the section narrator at the time of each quote.
(Walton, Victor, or the Creature)
Frankenstein: Plot Structure Activity
©AP Lit & More: Literature & Writing Resources, 2019
“Such were the professor’s words—rather let me say such the
words of fate—enounced to destroy me.”

“I was like the Arabian who had been buried with the dead and
found a passage to
life, aided only by one glimmering and seemingly ineffectual
light.”
“The tortures of the accused did not equal mine; she was
sustained by innocence, but
the fangs of remorse tore at my bosom, and would not forego
their hold.”

“What may not be expected in a country of eternal light?”
“We called each other familiarly by the name of cousin. No
word, no expression
could body forth the kind of relation in which she stood to me—
my more than sister,
since till death she was to be mine only.”

“I had admired the perfect forms of my cottagers—their grace,
beauty, and delicate
complexions; but how was I terrified when I viewed myself in a
transparent pool! At first I started back…I was filled with the
bitterest sensations of despondence and mortification. Alas! I
did not yet entirely know the fatal effects of this miserable
deformity.”

‹#›
Directions: Drag and drop the quotes into the right order.
Afterwards, label the section narrator at the time of each quote.
(Walton, Victor, or the Creature)
Frankenstein: Plot Structure Activity (Part 2)
©AP Lit & More: Literature & Writing Resources, 2019
"I had resolved in my own mind that that to create another like
the fiend I had first
made would be an act of the basest and most atrocious
selfishness.”

“God, in pity, made man beautiful and alluring, after his own
image; but my form is a filthy type of yours, more horrid even
from the very resemblance. Satan had his companions, fell ow
devils, to admire and encourage him, but I am solitary
and abhorred.
“But I am a blasted tree; the bold has entered my soul; and I felt
that I should survive to
exhibit what I shall soon cease to be—a miserable spectacle of
wrecked humanity, pitiable to others and intolerable to myself.”

“But, as if possessed of magic powers, the monster had blinded
me to his real intentions;
and when I thought I had prepared only my death, I hastened
that of a far dearer victim.”
“Seek happiness in tranquility and avoid ambition, even if it be
only the apparently
innocent one of distinguishing yourself in science and
discoveries.”

“This was then the reward of my benevolence! I had saved a
human being from destruction, and as a recompense I now
writhed under the miserable pain of a wound which shattered
the flesh and bone. The feelings of kindness and gentleness
which I had entertained but a few moments before gave place to
hellish rage and gnashing of teeth. Inflamed by pain, I vowed
eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind.”

‹#›
FRAME NARRATIVE
Most gothic novels use an indirect narrator or narrative framing.
© AP Lit & More: Literature & Writing Resources, 2019
What is the effect of the narrative framing structure of
Frankenstein? How does it do more than just make it gothic?
Answer here.
Frankenstein Notes and Quotes
Chapter 24
Complete the following three slides while reading chapter 24.
Chapter 24

Quotes to Know - Consider the importance of each quote as you
read.
Jot some ideas in the boxes to the left.
“Seek happiness in tranquility and avoid ambition, even if it be
only the apparently innocent one of distinguishing yourself in
science and discoveries.” (Chapter 24)
Frankenstein: Chapter 24
Quotes
“Do you think that I was then dead to agony and remorse? He
suffered not in the consummation of the deed. Oh! Not the ten-
thousandth portion of the anguish that was mine during the
lingering detail of its execution.” (Chapter 24)

‹#›
Quotes to Know - Consider the importance of each quote as you
read.
Jot some ideas in the boxes to the left.
“You throw a torch into a pile of buildings, and when they are
consumed, you sit among the ruins and lament the fall.
Hypocritical fiend!” (Chapter 24)
Quotes Continued
“But it is so; the fallen angel becomes a malignant devil. Yet
even that enemy of God and man had friends and associates in
his desolation; I am alone.” (Chapter 24)
“I, the miserable and abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned
at, and kicked, and trampled on.” (Chapter 24)

‹#›
Notes
Compare and contrast Walton with Frankenstein.
‹#›

ENG2150 - Assignment 2

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