ENG 330: Staging/Performance-Based Analysis Essay
First,
look through The Castle of Perseverance — to choose one small but significant extra-verbal cue in that text (i.e. some element which, in live performance or recitation aloud, necessarily causes something practical to happen involving real bodies or objects in real time and space, beyond the physical act of simply reading words aloud to a hearer — because the words would make poor sense if simply read aloud without the practical action they bring into being). You may also choose a particular turn of phrase that, in live performance, resonates meaningfully with an extra-verbal element cued elsewhere in the text. Whatever you choose, it must yield, after close reading, a compelling new way to look at part of the text (however minor). (If you are very strongly drawn to a class reading other than Castle, you can choose to analyze an element of that reading instead — as long as you interact with the reading in its original language, and as long as you clear your idea with me in Office Hours, at least three weeks before the paper deadline.)
Next,
by returning to that element or the passage that contains it, again and again, develop a close analytical reading of that single element that is ambitious, risky, complex, in-depth, and non-obvious enough that a 1250- to 1500-word scholarly argument is required to fully explain and defend it. You’ll need to find and include research from previously published studies (I’d recommend flipping through Andrea Louise Young’s Vision and Audience in Medieval Drama to see if she covers anything relevant to your inquiry), as well as close readings from elsewhere in the text, as far as these are necessary for your argument.
Next,
figure out how to convince me of your enriched, enriching argument, in a roughly 1250- to 1500-word argumentative essay. Your work must communicate a close analytical reading in a logically organized, thoroughly researched, and rigorously focused way. Arrange the material of your reading into a coherent, singular thesis. Include no information or material that is not immediately relevant to that thesis. The style, tone, and formatting of the writing should be professional and mature.
Meanwhile,
figure out how to get your classmates on board, and to provoke conversation among them, with your work. On the last Monday of class, every student will have two minutes to summarize their essay/argument in progress. Make sure your summary draws our attention to a specific word, line, or passage to which we can refer. Craft your two-minute summary with an eye toward provoking conversation, debate, and thoughtful questioning.
How you turn in your work (look closely — this is unusual for English classes!):
For this assignment, I require students to deliver this essay in real time, at a one-on-one pre-scheduled meeting with me. You’ll need to bring two hard copies of your essay to your appointment (unless you are meeting me remotely, in which case see the instructions below). At the meeting, either you or I (your choice) will read the essay aloud, from beginning to end; from there, we’ll discuss.
All students must pre-schedule a 30-minute time slot with me — about three weeks before the last day of class, I’ll let you know that appointment reservations are available, and on what days they are available. Once I’ve invited appointment requests, send me an email with four preferred 30-minute time slots within the range specified on the course schedule, in order of preference (time slots must begin on the :00 or :30; do not put anything in the email except the four time slots; list exactly four preferred slots, not a general “I’m free between” estimate). I will respond within a week with your confirmed appointment — that appointment is now your deadline. There will be no further submission of work, nor any further feedback, than what we exchange during our meeting.
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The live, real-time presentation of your paper will allow you to clarify any points of confusion and correct miscommunications in real time — and if I’m confused by what you’re saying, I may stop you briefly and ask you to explain (an explanation that can only help, never hurt, your overall grade). Students, including shy ones, often report that this format allowed for the most helpful, understandable essay feedback they’d ever received.
Your 30-minute meeting (unless you’ve done this before) begins with a 2-minute introduction from me. I’ll say something like this: Welcome to your first one-on-one essay delivery! We’ve got about 27 minutes together, the first two of which are used up in the introduction I’m currently giving. After I’m done, one of us will deliver the fullness of your paper in the other’s presence – which one of us is reading today? – but be aware that during the reading I will periodically say “pause”, so that I can make notes; I may ask brief clarifying questions during those pauses. Do not read into the number or duration of pauses I request, nor into the face I’m making while your paper is underway – that’s just my face, and it’s the same for everyone. Once the reading is done there’ll be a longer pause, just under a minute, while I gather together my notes into something I can express understandably. The remainder of the meeting, usually about 12 minutes, will be for feedback on the essay: this takes the place of what a prof would normally write in your margins, but every point I bring up will be up for conversation and clarification from you. Be sure you’re aware that this feedback session is the only feedback you’re getting from me: there isn’t any written follow-up, though I will give you a couple of handouts to take with you. Also be aware that I will not assign a grade at this meeting; rather, I’ll assign provisional numerical grades after every five student meetings or so, then go back and review those grades repeatedly, to make sure all is fair, and to take the pressure off of the individual meeting time, so we can focus on real feedback on the craft of scholarly writing and thinking, and specifically on writing and thinking about medieval drama. One last question: please let me know, before we begin, what kind of feedback you believe you’ll work best with — gentle, constructive, or unfiltered (know that unfiltered feedback from me can be very harsh, but is the most honest). Any questions or concerns beyond that? Then let’s begin.
After the intro, we’ll have about 13 minutes for the reading/delivery of your essay. If you keep your essay below 1500 words, it should take only 10-12 minutes to read, at a calm, conversational pace. Practice ahead of time! If your presentation goes too far past the allotted 13 minutes, I may have to cut you off.
The subsequent 12 minutes (or more) are for feedback on your essay. I have found that opening a one-on-one dialogue with students is far more effective, in my classes, than jotting comments in the margins. You’ll get to ask me to clarify points and discuss your writing and argumentation with me in depth (which also offers you an opportunity to improve your grade); you’ll walk away with two handouts (selected from among my 12 criteria for essay grading) that will help crystallize what we talked about.
The remaining 3 minutes are for the transition to the next student. It is by necessity a quick transition — so let’s both do our part to remain within the time limits I’ve set! That said, there always ends up being a bit of a lag, usually my fault — if you show up for your appointment and I’m not ready yet, it’s because we are behind schedule. Please be patient — everyone will get their 30 minutes (and please, when scheduling other appointments around this one, allow an extra 15 minutes for possible delays).
This exercise is far better in person than remote, but I can host remote meetings if need be. Just email me a copy of your essay one hour before your scheduled meeting and let me know to expect you remotely (we’ll use the same link I always use for remote meetings, which you can find under “Resources” above, or just by clicking here).
If you miss a scheduled essay appointment, for any reason, you may submit your paper by email by 11:59pm on the day your appointment was scheduled, and I will treat it as I would any late paper with no in-person component, deducting 3 points (out of 100) and withholding feedback and commentary. If you cannot get it in by the end of the day your appointment was scheduled, I will treat it as a doubly late paper, penalizing it by 6 points (out of 100) and withholding receive feedback or commentary. Emailed late assignments will be accepted no later than 11:59pm two days after the last day of in-person essay meetings; after that, the assignment mark falls automatically to 0.
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Choosing a true extra-verbal effect, one with real significance to our understanding of the text, which you can really prove to be cued by the text (implicitly or otherwise), is the most important thing to do for this essay; essays that do not do so will likely score in the 60s or lower.
Grades above 79, meanwhile, are reserved for essays that truly convince me about something that I didn’t believe or know before (an essay that does so isn’t guaranteed an 80, but you can’t get an 80 or higher without doing so).
Beyond that, here are my main criteria for grading:
Specificity. Base your essay in close reading, teasing out ambiguities; after that, choose one very small thing as the primary subject of your hypothesis.
Clarity. Use as many words as are necessary, arranged with sensible grammar in a straightforward style, to get your ideas across.
Rigor. An essay should be (not contain) a [hypo]thesis. Say only what is actually true; establish and defend that truth with (and only with) stringent logic.
Innovation. Develop and position your hypothesis in relation to what has already been said about/around your primary subject. Disagree, deepen, destabilize.
Precision. Unlike a literary text, your essay should be unambiguous. Every word counts: choose the words that communicate your ideas most exactly.
Tone. Your writing should come off as decisive, warm, and (in terms of formality) business casual. Know your audience.
Focus. Organize your essay according to the logical progression of its argument; cut anything that is not structurally necessary to that argument.
Stakes. Argue a thesis that you actually believe and care about — find what matters in the specific item you’ve taken as your primary subject.
Complexity. Never simplify; always ramify. Look for, and incorporate, evidence that disproves or troubles your hypothesis.
Depth. Dig into your narrow primary subject. Uncover what lies beneath what lies beneath the obvious. Read against the grain.
Economy. Use as few words as are necessary to get your ideas across. Cut empty wordage; be sincere.
Conceive of your scholarly writing as public work. For your target audience, you should imagine a group of graduate students and intelligent bloggers who have read your text once, and recently, with full comprehension of its basic meaning, but who do not have the text open in front of them; they have not read any of your supplemental texts. For a deeper dive into my essay criteria — and some very helpful tips on writing essays — click here.