HILT ENGLISH 102/07-A ASSIGNMENT FOR ESSAY ONE

Remember that you can e-mail me questions (But dont expect an immediate
answer. Ill get back to you as soon as I check my e-mail.)
Please excuse the lack of clear formatting. I must reconcile my two Word programs.
Significant Dates Note that some of these dates are different from the
tentative dates given on the syllabus.
Weds/Jan 21
Distribution of the assignmentso that you can ask early
questions and be thinking about a topic.
Weds/Jan 28
Discussion of a library exercise related to this assignment. (If
youre not in class on this day, be sure to check Blackboard.)
Also, have tentative topic(s) in mind.
Mon/Feb 2 (Tentative until I hear from the Library staff.) Class meets at the
Library. To get to the Library, take the Michigan elevators to the 10th
floor.
Turn right. Turn right again. Walk down the hall until you see a
room filled with computers. Find a computer, sit down. Be
prepared to ask the librarian questions. That is what he/she
wants.
At the end of the session (or e-mailed to me by 6:00 pm Tues/Feb 3), I
will want the work that you have done (or begun) during the
session.
Weds/Feb 4 In-class work on planning the essay.
Weds/Feb 11
(This is different from the date given on the syllabus.) Draft due.
(No lates accepted.) To get credit for the draft, you must bring two
extra
copies for peer review. Otherwise, you cannot participate in the
review. A partial draft (minimum: 650 words plus at least three
tentative sources) will be acceptable, as long as it is followed by
a few sentences explaining your tentative plans for the completed
essay. This must all be typed and printed, of course.
Mon/Feb 16 Class meets at a computer lab (if one is available).Mainly, you will work
on a Rewrite of your draft. We will also discuss MLA style.
Mon/Feb 23 Essay Due in class---or e-mailed to me by noon, Sat/Feb 21.
Usual rules for late essays
apply.
Weds/Mar 4 Due date for (optional) rewrite. If you submit this rewrite, your final
grade for the assignment will be an average of the two grades. No
lates accepted. Please note that (since the purpose of rewrites is
to help you with future papers) you would be wise to submit the
rewrite long before this date.
Reminders:
1 If you neglect to submit the draft on the due date, your grade for the final essay
will be lowered 1/3 of a letter (one notch).
2 If you cannot attend class, I will accept an e-mailed draft or essayas long as it
appears in my computer by the time of class12:30.
Basic Assignment: An essay, minimum of 1100 words (not counting title,
documentation, etc.) You will have a title, of course. And you will underline the

thesis statement. This statement should not be more than two sentences.
Preferably, you will give it as only one sentence.
Choose two historically prominent persons prominent in history of the past
200 years. History can include science, politics, music, art, etc. (The two persons
cannot be still alive.) Compare and/or contrast these two according to who was
better or who had the most historical impact.
You will, of course, focus your discussion. For example you might decide to
c/c Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, the only two American presidents who were
impeached. You could focus on their impeachments; everything else about them
would be irrelevant (or almost so) to your essay. Or you could c/c Martin Luther
King, Jr., and Malcolm X according to their basic philosophies regarding the
black/white problems.
But you would have to keep in mind that so much has been written about
these last two men that deciding what to read for research purposes would be a
problem. Choosing someone like Hitler or Shakespeare or Abraham Lincoln would
be a hopeless taskunless you were to focus really carefully.
Also, stay away from persons who, although they actually lived at one time,
are now mostly legends.
You must have a minimum of four valid, substantial sources (as defined in
class), but you may need to have more for purposes of clarification or support.
Encyclopedias and similar books can be consulted, but they cannot count among
the required sources (although they will still be cited, of course). I will not accept a
paper which lists Wikipedia as a source.
Documentation: You will use MLA style, with a Works Cited page and citations
within the text of your essay. This part of the assignment will be discussed later.
For this first essay, I will be somewhat lenient regarding documentation format. But
it is IMPORTANT that you know that all material taken from research (not just
quotations) must be documented.
There will be in-class time devoted to organization.
If you want to show me an early draft or if you want to have an appointment to
discuss this assignment, let me know.