For this essay, you will choose Macbeth as your main text.
In your essay, you should begin by posing an argumentative thesis statement that promises to explore an interesting aspect of the text you’ve chosen. An argumentative thesis statement is one that requires proof and one that can be refuted by a different interpretation of the text. You will use quotations from the text to support your argument. Your argument should make an important intervention into interpretations of the text, and should not simply reiterate material discussed in class.
You may choose your own topic and thesis, and we encourage you to choose something that interests you. One way to begin thinking about this essay can be by posing a question, one to which your thesis statement will provide a robust answer.
An example of a thesis statement from an A paper on Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko has all of the elements we’re looking for in a thesis statement. This student offers a thesis statement that (a) requires textual evidence that must be clearly analyzed and explained by the student, (b) is one that could be refuted by differing interpretations of the evidence at hand, and (c) makes an important intervention into interpretations of the text (in this case, arguing that Behn uses the ambiguous narrator to influence English readers into thinking about the violence of slavery). Your intervention should also comprise the “so what?” of your thesis—the explanation of why it is an important intervention to make in the study of your text. This thesis statement requires substantive argumentation to prove the student’s point:
In her prose piece Oroonoko, Behn frames the narrator as a connection point between the English readers and the characters of the story, using the narrator as a means of implicating the readers in the violence of slavery.
Two caveats: First, beware of making any sweeping generalizations or assumptions about the lives of early modern peoples (such as: women were always oppressed and never allowed to speak; or: Shakespeare represents every lived experience in early modern England). Your essays should avoid such tropes and instead should explore the nuances of your arguments as evidenced by the text. All of this is to say: the argument you make and the ways you prove your thesis should be grounded in textual evidence in the form of quotes that require analysis, rather than in larger assumptions or generalizations.
Second caveat: Try to avoid only rehashing arguments made in class. I am looking for fresh thinking on these texts. You can certainly use bits and pieces from class as jumping-off points, but the bulk of your essay should be your own thoughts and arguments about the text.
Research Component
This essay should also incorporate research from at least 3 scholarly articles.
A scholarly article is one that appears in a peer-reviewed journal or publication, or as a chapter in a book.
Useful databases for this kind of research include the MLA International Bibliography (although they only link to articles/book chapters, so some may be inaccessible); JSTOR; and ProjectMUSE.
Avail yourself of Interlibrary Loan services for texts not held by the library.
Please include your scholarly sources on your works cited page.
You should engage with each scholarly source: that is, your quotations from your sources are not self-explanatory. Tell your reader how this source helps your argument. That can happen in several ways: you might disagree with the article’s premise, and you can explain how your counterinterpretation is correct; the article might illuminate something about the text you’re analyzing that helps support your argument; or the article might offer some background or an interpretation of a part of the text that you’re not directly discussing, but want to incorporate (without having to prove it in, say, an entire paragraph of your own essay). There are myriad other ways to incorporate other scholarly articles, just ask if you have questions!
Please note that dictionary entries, biographical entries, etc. do not count toward this requirement.
You can only use 1 (one) of the scholarly articles we have read in this class in your essay.
Formal Requirements
Formally speaking, you are not limited to the standard five-paragraph essay; each paragraph, instead, should move your argument forward towards the conclusion. If you can rearrange your paragraphs without affecting the sense of your argument, your argument is probably not complex enough. Your essay must have:
A title that reflects the argument you are making.
A formal introductory paragraph that names the work you will be discussing, and includes an argumentative thesis statement. You should also include a brief roadmap or outline that explains where your paper will go, so your reader knows what to expect as your argument unfolds.
Each body paragraph should begin with a topic sentence that explains the mini-argument of that paragraph; quotations and textual evidence from the text; and a concluding sentence that both sums up the paragraph and transitions it to the next.
A formal conclusion that restates your thesis statement and offers some closing thoughts on the significance of your argument.
A works cited page that lists your primary text and all secondary texts referenced in your essay, in proper citation format. Do not rely on autogenerated citations! They are often wrong. Verify your citation formats using your style guide of choice. Updated guides can be accessed for free via the Online Writing Lab at Purdue: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/index.htmlLinks to an external site..
Basic Requirements
Length: 1250
12-point font
1” margins
Consistent citation format (MLA or Chicago preferred)
Works cited page (not included in the word count)
