ENG 231: American Literature I
The Midterm Assessment: A Researched Critical Essay
Instructions
Complete a researched critical essay of a minimum of 1,200 words on one of the two
essay topics below. You are writing one essay of at least 1,200 words that addresses either
Essay Topic 1 or Essay Topic IInot both.
The critical essay must follow classic essay structure: the introduction with thesis, the
body, and the conclusion. The body of the essay must support the thesis by using information
and examples from the assigned readings and must include additional, documented information
from six primary and secondary credible sources. Your textbook may count as only one source,
regardless of the number of literary works that you cite from it. You are required to obtain at
least four sources from the librarys databases, such as the Literature Resource Center and the
History Study Center. Wikipedia, Shmoop University, and Spark Notes are not credible sources
for academic writing.
All paraphrases and quotations from your sources, including your textbook, must be
documented in strict accordance with MLA standards. The documentation must include
attributive phrases and/or in-text citations and a works-cited page. You may refer to the Online
Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University for updated MLA information and examples.
To eliminate plagiarism, you are required to submit at least one draft of your essay to
obtain the Turnitin Originality Check. The link for submission of the draft is in the Week 7
folder. You may submit the draft multiple times without having the link re-set. The draft is
excluded from the Turnitin database. In the Originality Check, do not be concerned if sources
are highlighted. This highlighting merely indicates that other students have located the same
credible sources as you have located.
marks and have provided corresponding attributive phrases and/or in-text citations. Paraphrase
again any highlighted material that is not a source and is not a quotation. This highlighting
indicates that the percentage of similarity is too high, and you must eliminate the similarity by
paraphrasing again. Continue to re-submit your drafts until you have eliminated the similarity.
Your completed, researched critical essay must be posted to the Turnitin Midterm Critical
Essay link in this folder: Week 7: The Midterm Assessment: The Researched Critical Essay. To
be graded and to receive credit, your essay must be submitted as a Microsoft Word document
(.doc or .docx) to this link. An essay submitted to the draft link and not to the Turnitin Midterm
Critical Essay link will not be graded and will not receive credit.
Essay Topic I
The early writings of colonial Americans reflect the hardships that they faced in coming
to a new land and in forming a new country. Choose three writers from the list below; and, from
analyses and interpretations of their writings and from research, discuss what they communicate
about the hardships of this new land, new government, and new culture. Be specific to the
assigned readings in the textbook, and provide examples from those readings. As you explore
pertinent contexts, be careful to use appropriate literary, political, and cultural terminology in
your writing.
John Smith
William Bradford
Anne Bradstreet
Benjamin Franklin
Thomas Paine
Thomas Jefferson
Phillis Wheatley
Essay Topic II
The writings of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson reflect distinct
cultural and political characteristics of America as patriots develop a revolutionary mindset.
Analyze the literary works of Franklin, Paine, and Jefferson for evidence of these cultural and political characteristics. Be specific to the assigned readings in the textbook, and provide
examples from those readings. Enhance and support your findings with research. As you
explore pertinent contexts, be careful to use appropriate literary, political, and cultural
terminology in your writing.
