1. Each essay is to be typed (or word-processed), double-spaced, and is to contain 1" margins on all sides (or reasonable default on word processors). Use print no larger than Times New Roman 12 and no smaller than 10 bold-faced, if using a word processor.

2. Each essay must have a title page which identifies the specific assignment, the author, the course, the instructor, the date, and the quarter. Make certain the appearance is good: no dirt, no crumpled or dog-eared paper, no faded, hard-to-read print. NO HANDWRITTEN CORRECTIONS OR ADDITIONS ARE PERMITTED ON FINAL DRAFTS! Appropriate, tasteful clipart is welcome. The title page on these or any other essays are not considered a part of the length requirement for the essays.

3. Each essay must have a Works Cited page including correct MLA formatting and the correct MLA bibliography entry for the Anthology of American Literature (Primary Analysis) and correct entries for cited research sources (Research Essay only). Although the Works Cited page does take a page number, it is not considered a part of the length requirement for the essays. It is the student's responsibility to review the appropriate information and apply it, since creating MLA bibliography entries and Works Cited pages was taught in the courses prerequisite to English 299.

4. Each PRIMARY ANALYSIS essay is to be three (3) body pages in length, exclusive of the title page and works cited page. That means each of the essays is to be no more and no less than three full pages in length. The Research Essay, of course, is the exception to this rule.  It is to be no less than six (6) and no more than (8) body pages in length, exclusive of the title page and works cited page.

Make sure to paginate each essay. Page 1 is the page on which your introduction begins

5. Each essay which is primary analysis must be documented (internal citations:lead-in techniques and parenthetical references) exactly according to the MLA methods of documenting fiction or drama. The Research must be documented according to the MLA rules for documenting Research. Be sure to review COMPLETE lead-in techniques, for they will be required the first time you cite a source.  It is the student's responsibility to review the appropriate information and apply it, since applying MLA documentation to critical essays was taught in the courses prerequisite to English 299.

WARNING:  Whether writing primary analysis or research essays, you absolutely must cite sources in the body of each essay, as well as make bibliography entries on the Works Cited Pages.  If the only documentation that appears is on a Works Cited Page, you have not met the documentation requirements for the essay.  No documentation in the body of an essay = no critical essay and no research essay.  What you have instead is unverified opinion rather than critical analysis or research.

6. Basic Writing Skills --those 100-level matters of spelling, punctuation, usage, sentence structure, development of details, organization, paragraphing, documentation, etc. COUNT HEAVILY. Matters of style, such as writing clearly and concisely, eliminating wordiness generated by repetition, redundancies, ambiguities, nominalizations, etc., will count just as heavily as the other writing skills. So does the appearance of the essays. In short, college-quality work is expected.

7. Each essay must be written using the basic essay structure taught in the English 100-level courses: an introduction (properly organized and detailed according to the requirements in #8, below), a well-developed, well-organized, MLA documented body, and a conclusion that explains the significance of the analysis/findings.

8. In each essay, the introduction must be organized and presented in the following way:

1st: Clearly and significantly announce the subject of your essay.
2nd: Clearly explain what the situation/issue/problem is that you will be dealing with in the body.
3rd: State in one clear sentence (no questions or phrases) exactly what position you will defend/overall point you will make about the situation/issue/problem in the body of the paper. THIS STATEMENT MUST BE UNDERLINED IN ALL ESSAYS AND MUST APPEAR AT THE END OF THE INTRODUCTION AND NOWHERE ELSE!  DO NOT PRECEDE THE STATEMENT WITH THE PHRASE: "THESIS STATEMENT."
DO NOT NUMBER THE ELEMENTS IN THE INTRODUCTION.

9. In each essay, the introduction must be followed immediately by a ONE-PARAGRAPH SUMMARY of the plot (Primary Analysis Essays, only). If the Research Essay is a critical analysis of a piece of poetry, fiction, or drama, then and only then the one-paragraph plot summary rule will apply to the Research Essay. That is to help prevent you from writing a plot summary rather than a critical analysis in the rest of the essay.

10. In each essay, all arguments, details, evidence in the body must be clearly and directly connected to the focus of the position statement---(thesis at the end of your introduction). The clarity of these connnections is the writer's responsibility. The reader will not guess what overall point/position the writer is trying to illustrate, nor will the reader guess about what the arguments or supportive points in the body have to do with the topic and/or thesis.

Remember: each essay must be documented properly according to the MLA rules for documenting literary or research papers. Without documentation, there is no critical paper: there are only a number of unverified opinions. Thus, you must document properly to meet the requirements for the assignments.

Remember: Essays #1 and #2, and  the Midterm Essay are to be written based solely on primary analysis. That is, no secondary or library sources are to be used. You take a position regarding your topic, and defend that position based solely on documented evidence and examples from the poem, short story or play ONLY!   With Research, you take a position regarding your topic and defend that position based solely on documented evidence and examples from expert secondary (research) sources.

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