First Essay: Individuality vs. Society

Read, Write, Think

ESSAY ASSIGNMENT on Individual vs. Society     Name _____________

Due date: 1^st paragraph and working thesis due in your blog by Mon. Sept. 12

Due date: 1^st polished draft uploaded to Turnitin.com before midnight on Mon. Sept. 19

Due date: Final 3-5 page proofread essay uploaded by midnight to Turnitin Sun. Oct. 2

Essay Question:

To what extent should individuality be compromised for the larger needs of the group and society?

You must use examples from Pride and Prejudice to illustrate your main idea. You must have a clear but nuanced idea or argument that is clear and clearly explained and explored throughout your essay. You may also include examples from The History of Love, the poetry we are reading, other short works assigned, and, as well, from your own contemporary society. Write a 3 to 5 page essay with a strong thesis.

   Questions to help you think about your topic:

·         Since we are social beings, shouldn’t we take into account the needs of the whole group and the pressure to fit in? What advantage do we get and what price do we pay when we fit in with the group? What happens to who we are when we change groups (e.g. move to another country or go to college)?

·         Since our individual values define who we are, shouldn’t we stand up for them even if they go against the crowd? What price do we pay when we don’t fit in? Is it always black and white, fit in or not fit in? Are there areas where we can compromise without undermining who we are?

·         Are Elizabeth and Charlotte the most extreme examples of individuality vs. socialization? Or is Charlotte acting in her own interests, rather than for the good of the whole? How do we define individual vs. society’s interests?

·         Give examples from Austen, History of Love, and your own society where individual values conflict with the normative pressures of the group. Explore the details of such examples and what they tell us about this topic.

·         How can individuality get lost in group society? At Buckley? At college? When is the personal price worth it? When is it not?

·         Explore examples from Leo Gursky, Alma Singer, Darcy, Prufrock, Coy Mistress, your own family, and your peer group.

·         Alternative topic: How does the idealized idea we hold sometimes interfere with the actual or real experience? Consider marriage, proposals, adolescence, families, senior year, college admissions, etc. What do these examples tell you about the ideal vs. the actual? How do we get confused and/or deal with the difference? Explore examples from Austen and HhHHHistory of Love, as well.

PLAN BEFORE YOU WRITE

Use your time effectively by beginning here:

[] 0. Start Early! Don’t begin the day before. Work a little every day. Make a plan, an outline, and a rough draft. Go to the Writing Lab for feedback.

[] 1. Choose your main topic about individuality vs. society.

[] 2. Find representative examples.

 [] 3. Craft a title and a thesis statement. Experiment with the following format: “While at first it might appear that ___, close examination reveals that _____.”  Consider tacking on a very short second thesis to clarify the long one that begins “In short, _____.”

[] 4. Begin writing your outline, introduction, and topic sentences so that when you sit down to type, you are well begun.

[] 5. As you continue writing, look at how each example can do more than just supply evidence, but rather can help you develop new insights that develop your thesis claim.

[] 6. Save plenty of time to proofread, use proper MLA documentation, change words.

Notes on writing essays:

1. Opening: Be direct. Introduce your topic quickly. Catch our interest.
2. In your thesis say something surprising.
3. Analyze quotes, don’t just quote them. Integrate quotes into your prose
4. MLA header: No page number on page 1, last name, space, page number starting page two in the header
5. Use a two-part title with a catchy phrase, a colon, and the name of the work or author mentioned. Give away your best idea in the title, your main point.
6. Don’t underline or italicize your title, only the novel’s.
7. Use proper MLA punctuation” (Smith 22). Period after parenthesis, quote marks before, no comma or “p” before page number.
8. Develop your main idea: don’t just repeat it and give examples of it. Say more about your ideas as the examples are discussed.
9. Narrow your topic or main idea: cover less territory in 3-5 pages, but more in depth.
10. Topic sentences: first sentence of paragraph makes a claim (not an example) that predicts the main topic for the entire paragraph.
11. Use paragraphing effectively.
12. Make closing sentences of paragraphs sum up the paragraph’s main idea or link back to the developing thesis idea or transition to the next paragraph’s idea.
13. Write a conclusion that reminds us of your best ideas and examples but also goes beyond, hinting at some of the implications of what you’ve shown us.
14. Avoid comma splices, they join two sentences by a comma.
15. Agreement (of noun and verb, or noun and pronoun: reader/their)
16. A sentence fragment.
17. Don’t space differently between paragraphs
18. Don’t use a comma between subject and verb.
19. Ellipsis is made by spaced periods. . . .
20. Period after page number” (27).
21. Use two hyphens--to make a dash.
22. Try this structure: “At first it would appear, but. . .”
23. Shorten your quotes: only use the words from the text you need to repeat.

How to Tell a Strong Thesis Sentence from a Weak One

Create a strong, arguable Thesis Statement; it is your essay’s claim, main point, or argument. Don’t write an over-general thesis statement. Instead, write an interesting and debatable claim—that is specific, not vague or general. Avoid the shotgun approach of listing several possible topics or merely announcing the topic. Narrow the focus and revise the thesis to fit what you say in the body of the essay

  Show your conclusions about a subject in your thesis. (Don’t save your concluding ideas for the end.) a. A strong thesis takes some sort of stand. b. A strong thesis justifies discussion. C. A strong thesis expresses one main idea.

Readers need to be able to see that your paper has one main point. If your thesis expresses more than one idea, then you might confuse your readers about the subject of your paper. d. A strong thesis statement is specific. A thesis statement should show exactly what your paper will be about, and will help you keep your paper to a manageable topic.  (See www.indiana.edu)

PLAGIARISM: Always remember: Browsing the internet or Spark Notes or Wikipedia for an overview of your text or topic can lead to intentional or unintentional plagiarism, which are treated the same way. Be careful when “[h]aving someone help you write a paper (peers, a writing lab, tutor). Not knowing the correct way to attribute sources is not an excuse for submitting improperly cited papers.” (from USC’s website)