if you chose Psychological Criticism, you might include (1) theoretical source a
if you chose Psychological Criticism, you might include (1) theoretical source about the merits and uses of psychological criticism as a whole and (2) a psychological study on intergenerational trauma that you can then apply to the characters in There, There. This paper will test your ability to critically analyze a text, as well as your capacity for thoughtful research.
Completion (30 points): Paper is turned in on time, responds appropriately to the assignment, and is a minimum of 2,000 words and no longer than 3,000 words.
Theoretical Research (25 points): Paper includes at least (1) outside source that is relevant to the field of study; the source is a peer reviewed, scholarly article; quotes chosen from outside source are relevant to the paper’s main argument and help support the analysis.
Contextual Research (25 points): Paper includes at least (1) outside source that sets the contextual scene of the paper’s argument. This might mean a historical document to give background for the novel (for example, history of the U.S. government and Native American relations, an overview of the creation of Native American History month, the history of Thanksgiving, etc.); an interview with the author that includes their goals or perspective; a psychological study (for example, if you want to talk about alcoholism in the novel, you should include a text that discusses the psychological history, treatment, or causes of alcoholism); etc.
Analysis (55 points): No matter what literary theory chosen, the paper goes beyond the surface level, focusing not only on what happened in the story, but diving deeper into the how and why, highlighting in particular the consequences and effects of the story’s elements and author’s choices.
MLA Format (10 points): Paper is written in MLA format, including a header on the first page, last name and page number on the top right corner of each page, and Times New Roman 12 pt font used throughout.
Works Cited Page (10 points): Paper includes a Work Cited page in MLA format, with alphabetically ordered citations. Note: Papers without any works cited page will receive a 0 on the essay as a whole. These points refer to the MLA style and format of the citations.
Quotes (15 points): Paper utilizes direct quotes and/or summaries from the novel, utilizing appropriate moments from the text to support the paper’s argument.
In-Text citations (15 points): Whether a quote or paraphrase, moments from the novel are cited with in-text citations that include the author’s name when necessary and the page number. It is always clear whether the novel or the outside scholarly source is being quoted.
Grammar and Syntax (15 points): Paper is generally free from grammatical errors, uses complete sentences, and is generally easy for the reader to understand.