Avoiding Plagiarism (YouTube video)

Paper Heading:

On the left side of the first page, include your name, class and class time, the date, and Essay#. Centered on the first page include a title for your paper. Like this:

Instructions:

• Choose one of the topics below.

• Write 5-7 pages (double-spaced, 12-pt. font).

• The conventions of Standard American English should be observed.

• You should incorporate the articles from your annotated bibliography into your essay.

  • Acceptable research sources include:

    • The Main Library and the Library's online resources.

  • Unacceptable sources:

    • Google Search

    • Wikipedia

    • Spark Notes, Shmoop, and similar websites

• I will deduct up to 20 points for using unacceptable sources and/or for failure to cite in text.

• You will receive a "0" on this paper and possibly an "F" for the class for plagiarism. "I didn't mean to plagiarize" and "I didn't know that was plagiarism" will not excuse you.

• Works Cited page, like this:

• In-text citations, like this:

Types of papers:

• Listicle (List Article)

  • Format

    • Introduce your topic, telling your audience ...

      • the impetus to write the article, or

      • the importance of the topic, or

      • the relevance of the topic

    • Make a list of "things" which have something in common, for example

      • 6 Reasons not to             

      • 5 things you never knew about            

      • 4 amazing people who            

    • Explain, describe, or analyze each "thing" on your list

  • You may use pictures, graphs, or videos (or video links) for emphasis or illustration.

  • Include a bibliography and cite your sources in your article.

• Traditional Essay

  • Featuring an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, this type of paper is perhaps the one you are most familiar with.

  • You may use pictures, graphs, or videos (or video links) for emphasis or illustration.

  • Include a bibliography and cite your sources in your article.

• Explication

  • An explication or "close reading" examines a short passage from the text.

  • The writer is looking for words/phrases or themes or motifs in the selection which he finds significant.

  • Finally, the explication should consider the small passage within the context of the play.

Topics:

• Sexuality/Eroticism

  • Explore the theme of eroticism in the play by writing a listicle or a traditional essay about Shakespeare’s obsession with the bodies and sexuality of Desdemona and Othello.

  • Possible titles: “The 5 Times Shakespeare Imagined the Sex Life of Desdemona and Othello” or “Iago Can’t Stop Thinking about Desdemona’s ‘Jungle Fever’”

  • Consider using one or more of these questions to develop your thesis and come to a conclusion:

    • Why does Shakespeare focus so much attention on the sexual nature of the relationship of Desdemona and Othello?  What is the relationship between eroticism and racism in the play? Why/how do Desdemona and Othello fall in love? What is the relationship between Othello’s violent nature and his sexuality? What do you make of Desdemona’s  arousal during Othello’s tales of pain and violence? Is the murder of Desdemona in any way sexualized?

• Motifs

  • In either a traditional essay or a listicle, write about one of these motifs:  Animals/beasts, gardens/nature, or monsters/devils

  • Possible titles: “6 Times Othello was a ‘Beast’” or “Iago’s Obsession with Nature” or “The Many Monsters in Othello”

  • You should both identify all of the occurrences of the motif and formulate a theory as to why Shakespeare chose the motif for this play.

• Racism

  • Explore the theme of racism in the play by writing a listicle or a traditional essay about the many occurrences of the “othering” of Othello.

  • Possible titles: “The 5 Times Shakespeare Emphasized Othello’s Race” or “The Sexualizing of the Black Male Body in Othello”

  • You should explore both the instances of racism in the play, as well as whether or not you think those instances point to an overall racist tone.

  • Consider using one or more of these questions to develop your thesis and come to a conclusion:

    • Why did Shakespeare make Othello a Moor? How does the racial dynamic affect the characters, plots, and outcomes? Would this play be different if Othello were white? Is Othello's personality and behavior closely tied to his race?

• Explication

  • Explore one of these themes in an explication of one of these passages: 

    • Themes

      • Identity

      • Deception

      • Jealousy

    • Passages

      • 1.3.740-761

      • 2.1.1087-1113

      • 2.3.1420-1430

      • 2.3.1488-1514

      • 3.3.1805-1844

      • 4.3.3085-3131