Prompt
Term Paper Assignment Instructions
Read every word of this assignment before beginning your work.
During this term we have, thanks to the ideas from Francine Prose’s Reading Like a Writer and lectures provided by your instructor, considered the art of writing fine fiction through the examination of the building blocks from which great writing is made: words, sentences, paragraphs, narration, dialogue, and details.
Write a e paper in which you consider how Raymond Carver utilized words, sentences, paragraphs, narration, dialogue, and details all in support of characterization in his short story “Cathedral.” You must address all six of the building blocks in your paper in your examination of Carver’s characterization of the story’s narrator or any other of the characters in the story. Use examples from “Cathedral” and cite also Francine Prose Reading Like A Writer – relevant sections (both are attached)
STEAL method for characterization, just keep this in mind
Says
Thinks → what’s going on inside the character’s head
Effects on others
Actions
Looks → expressions and dress
Use the same writing style as the MidTerm paper attached. Look into the comments as well to understand even better what I’m looking for. I need to get a better grade of the MidTerm Paper (which was a B+, I need to get an A.)
**Show how all the writing building blocks are used in service of characterization, so how words support characterization of the characters, how sentences show characterization of a character, etc. show how each writing building block (e.g. a word, a sentence,, a paragraph or a paragraph break, narration, dialogue, details **
The introduction does not have to be super long and of the same length as the other paragraphs. It can be shorter. Be direct in the introduction. In the thesis statement & intro do not say “this paper will analyze”. Hint at what you have concluded about Carver’s use of words, sentences, paragraphs, narration, dialogue, and details.
Narration: for the narration section, state first what kind of narration it is, analyze quickly the narrative distance and then delve into how narration is used in service characterization of the narrator and other characters.
Order the paragraphs from the least important in terms of characterization to the most important.
Attached are some notes with some (good) examples that can be used in the paper. Please read these notes and use some examples that are covered there, just expand on them. DO NOT GO INTO analyzing THE MEANING of something, rather, go into how that supports and is used in service of characterization.
For each building block show concretely how each element supports characterization.
Use one body paragraph per each building block (even if they’re going to be long) or if appropriate split into smaller paragraphs but do it with a reason behind it.
Organizational, compositional, and stylistic requirements:
Provide an original title, using an interesting title with colon
Proofread your paper carefully so that it contains no errors (in grammar, diction, usage, punctuation, spelling, or mechanics). Essays will be graded not only for content and analytical technique, but also for compositional expertise. This means that grammar and style comprise a large portion of your grade. Please be aware that an essay with compositional errors, problematic organization, lack of unity and/or coherence, and lack of support in body paragraphs cannot receive a grade higher than a C. See the grading standards below.
Format, citation, research, and length requirements:
Use MLA format! MLA format includes strict guidelines for margins, headings, spacing, and paragraphing, in addition to guidelines for citing sources properly both in-text and at the end of a work. You must use at least two sources in your paper (Carver and Prose). Your assignment must include a formal list of works cited, properly formatted, on a separate page. Failure to use MLA form may hurt your grade significantly. See the checklist at the end of this assignment.
This essay should be at least eight FULL pages in length (excluding list of works cited). Papers shorter than the required length will lose a percentage off the grade based on the percentage the paper was below the required length.
Please use Times New Roman font in 12-point in your essay.
Failure to cite sources correctly–including course texts–constitutes plagiarism.
If you use information from an encyclopedia, do so on a limited basis because encyclopedias are not considered scholarly sources.
NOTE: The submission will be submitted to Turnitin.com for a plagiarism and AI-use check. Do not use AI in any aspect of preparing your essay (this includes Grammarly). You must include in-text citations for all quoted and paraphrased work.
Departmental Grading Standards
The grade of A reflects excellence. The A paper offers a well-focused and organized discussion appropriate to the instructor’s assignment, reflects critical use of relevant materials, and demonstrates effective and formal writing requirements. Papers involving research and outside sources must demonstrate outstanding efforts to identify varied pertinent sources, to employ those materials critically in the text of the papers, and to provide error- free citations of those resources.
The grade of B represents an effort beyond satisfactory and indicates the paper was completed in an appropriate and competent manner and, in general, demonstrates a strong attempt at original and critical analysis, writing, and research. The B paper may contain a number of minor errors of grammar or citation, and its thesis or its conclusions may be undeveloped or too weakly supported.
The grade of C indicates that the paper was done in a satisfactory or appropriate fashion and represents the average work expected for university courses. The presentation is organized around a central idea with arguments supported by relevant examples. The paper is structured into correctly written paragraphs and sentences. Although fulfilling the assignment, the C paper may exhibit one or more weaknesses including, but not limited to, errors of punctuation and grammar, imprecise or incorrect word use, inaccurate or uncritical use of materials, occasional inconsistency of organization or development, and lack of direct relevance of the selected research materials to the topic.
The grade of D indicates that the paper may have a poorly defined topic or thesis, lack clear focus or organization, and contain unsupported generalizations or conclusions. Research support is inadequate, not clearly relevant, or improperly documented. A less-than-minimal research effort is evident. The paper may also suffer from numerous or major formal writing errors.
The grade of F indicates that the paper is not clearly relevant to the assignment and that its topic and thesis are poorly focused or defined. The paper may display inadequate organization or development, unsupported generalizations, and nonstandard formal features (including language usage, sentence structure, paragraphing, and so on). Research support is absent, inadequate, or irrelevant to the assignment.
To avoid losing points unnecessarily in your written assignments due to problems in formatting, please ask yourself the following questions before submitting your assignment: Do I use the same typeface and type size throughout my assignment?
Do I have a page-number header that appears flush right, 1⁄2 inch from the top of the page, includes only my last name and the page number, and appears on every page?
Do I have a page-one header that appears at the left margin 1 inch from the top of the page and includes four lines (my name, my instructor’s name, the course name and/or number, and the correctly formatted date of submission)? Does this page-one header only appear on the first page of each essay?
Do I have an interesting title that is centered? Is it in the same typeface and type size as the rest of my document?
Is the paper size of my document set to A4?
Is the left margin of my document set for one inch?
Is the right margin of my document set for one inch?
Is the bottom margin of my document set for one inch?
Are the first lines of my paragraphs indented 1⁄2 inch?
Have I avoided inserting any extra lines between paragraphs and between my page-one header, my title, and the body of my paper?
Have I performed a spell-check and manually proofread my document at least twice?
Is my document double-spaced throughout?
Have I included properly formatted MLA parenthetical citations and a properly formatted list of works cited?
