Department of English

Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University

Final Paper and Presentation Guidelines

Final Paper

The final paper (3–5 pp.; MLA format) is a way for you to present your examination of work we have read and discussed this semester and to bring together skills in reading, critical thinking, and writing that we have worked on these past few months. Hand in your work in class on Thursday, April 30, 2015 and submit a digital copy on Turnitin.com.

If you have never created an account on Turnitin.com, here is information for initial login:

• On the Turnitin.com homepage, click "Create Account" at the top right hand corner
• On the Create a User Profile page, at the Create a New Account heading, click "student"
• On the Create a New Student Account page, type in the following class ID and password, then provide the user information (Chula recommends using your chula e-mail account) and set up your account password, check that you are over 13 years old, and click "I agree--create profile"
• Class ID: 9907819
• Class Enrollment Password: daemon1
• You are now ready to submit your final paper.

Suggested Paper Topics

• Vision and tropes of seeing are often used to talk about education. Do the themes of education in our works make use of such figurative sight? If so, how? Examine the imagery, motifs or devices used to represent and discuss learning. What elements or aspects of education do they enable for scrutiny?
• Analyze a work’s incorporation of or allusion to external texts or events ex. M. Butterfly's use of popular culture and international relations, Frankenstein's allusion to scientific studies and discoveries, "The Palace Thief" and its use of Ancient Roman history, "Priscilla the Cambodian" and its use of modern Thai history. How does reality intrude into or become integral within an imaginative work? What aspects of the actual world are introduced and dealt with? How does creative form facilitate the handling of situations presented?
• Analyze a scene in which there is a clash between two or more ideas. Consider what is at stake, how the clash develops, and the implications of the result.
• Examine connections and disruptions in Misreadings. What kinds of connections and disruptions occur in the play? Compare connections and disruptions initiated by Ruth and by Simone.
• Explore means of communication in Misreadings. What manners or methods of expression are used to convey meaning or message? What kind of reading is needed for each type or form of communication?
• Milton's "Sonnet 19," famous for its concern about inaction, has a preponderance of verbs. Trace and analyze the development of verbs in the sonnet. How do the progression of verbs reflect the mental processes being described, or correspond to the argument being advanced?
• Write an essay on noise and quietness in "The Palace Thief." Compare the roles of noisy exclamations, questions, pranks and speeches to those of quiet moments ex. contemplation, silence, silencing and speechlessness.
• Discuss thievery in "The Palace Thief." What kinds of stealing occur in the story and where in society does it happen? How are the acts described, explained, or justified? What is the relation between the crimes' perceived gravity and the way it is recounted?
• M. Butterfly tackles several abstract issues such as stereotypes, fantasies and values. Analyze the choices Hwang makes in rendering abstract ideas concrete. What theatrical effects does he use to make the unseen seen? How does he translate the internal to external?
• In view of Henry Louis Gates's discussion of the talking book and the significance of literacy, orality, and literature in the African American context, examine the narrative voice of "Everyday Use." In what ways is the story literary and speakerly? How does this narrative quality relate to the three generations of women suggested by the title and subtitle/dedication?
• Analyze the relationship between sound, form, and meaning in representing different "places" in Yeats's "The Lake Isle of Innisfree."
• Compare and contrast the youth and adult worlds in Rattawut Lapcharoensap's "Priscilla the Cambodian." What characteristics differentiate the children's relationship and experience from that of the grownups'?
• Compare and contrast the structure and content of each stanza in Bloom's "Two Seasons." What is the significance of numbers versus description, of quantity versus quality? Consider the changes and developments throughout the poem that culminate in the final line of the last stanza.
• Compare and contrast the daemon's and Victor Frankenstein's experience of the same scenario ex. birth, education, making first friends, first encounter with disappointment, grief, death, first encounter with Walton.

Section 1 Final Paper Consultation Schedule

Revision

Rewrite to fix problems regarding the argument, support, prose, organization, mechanics, and style to  make your paper more effective. Some things to keep in mind as you proofread and edit your work:

• Does my title show that I have a point to make?

• Is my thesis sound, clear, and interesting?

• Have I supported my thesis with compelling evidence?

• Is the organization of my paper logical and appropriate to the arguments I am making?

• Is my language clear, consistent, and suited to the subject matter?

• Do each of my paragraphs have a clear point and coherence?

• Have I incorporated quotations smoothly into my own prose?
• Do I provide balanced analysis of the quotes I cite?

• Are my sentences varied, interesting, and effective?

• Do my verbs agree with their subjects? Pronouns with their nouns?

• Is my paper free of spelling mistakes?

• Have I cited my sources properly?

Final Presentation

Presentation of your final paper is in week 16 of class: Monday, April 27 and Thursday, April 30, 2015. Each panel of three papers will have fifteen minutes to present their study of texts on the syllabus. This will be followed by a ten-minute question and answer session. A moderator will be presiding over the presentations and discussion session of each panel, introducing the speakers, mediating the questions and responses, and making sure things stay on schedule.

Practice reading your presentation aloud and edit for speakability, clarity, and time.

Respondents give constructive comments on the panelists' talk, indicating illuminating and effective points made, pointing out problems to fix ex. content, logic, substantiation, organization, clarification, delivery, and giving further commentary and opinions on the issues being discussed.

 
You will be graded both for your performance in giving your talk and in responding to your classmates' presentations, how you present your own ideas and how you show that you know how to listen to, think about, and discuss ideas that others propose.

A program of the final presentation schedule will be posted on our detailed schedule page once panel and paper titles, speakers and moderators are finalized. You are responsible for e-mailing me any revisions to your work title by Friday, April 24, 2015.

Please inform me of any special equipment needs, otherwise our in-class computer (which uses Microsoft Office 2007) and LCD projector is provided.

Links

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Last updated April 29, 2015