GOAL: To cultivate the development of your own critical, analytical, and creative voice.
Three (3) short papers will be due this semester.
Short Papers should in some way engage at least one of the required readings, and attending themes, that we have addressed during the given timeframe. You also may want to [hint, hint] draw upon other relevant research and scholarship in these papers, which will entail a certain “added” initiative (a trip to the actual or virtual library, perhaps?) on your part.
Things to consider in writing your Short Papers:
1) Isolate a specific concept/theme/topic in the text(s) that most piqued your interest.
a. How is this concept/theme/topic analyzed by the author?
b. How is this concept/theme/topic relevant to the author’s overall argument or claim?
2) Include a statement of intent (2-4 sentences).
a. What questions or concerns do you have about this concept/theme/topic?
b. What are you going to do about those questions/concerns? How are you going to address them? What, in a nutshell preview, will your argument and analysis entail?
[To my way of thinking, 1) and 2) above should probably occur in the first 2 paragraphs.]
3) Offer your own argument and analysis concerning the specific concept/theme/topic you have isolated. (This is the “meat” of the paper, as it were.)
a. What is your “take”?
b. Support your argument (consider examples and/or consider contemporary applications of ideas discussed in reading, e.g. through examples linked to art, music, literature, film, other media; through social/cultural/political themes and discourses; etc.
4) Focus, focus, focus.
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS for SPs:
Use footnotes or endnotes. [In Microsoft Word, this should be as easy as choosing “References” in the top menu and then choosing either “Insert Footnote” or “Insert Endnote.” In scholarly parlance, this mode of citation is typically called Chicago style. I have included sample paper using Chicago style in the Content area of our Canvas course.]
4pp of content as a minimum target (excluding any bibliography, title page, etc.)
“Common” font (e.g. Times New Roman, Garamond)
12” font size
Double-spaced
Left-justified
1” margins
Paginated (header or footer acceptable)
No space between paragraphs
