Project #2

ENG 2001-D536

Prof. Rosen

Spring 2018

Project # 2

You are a student who is very interested in making the available digital texts of Quicksand by Nella Larsen more robust and useful to a variety of readers, including other students. Write a business letter to an editor at the Hathi Trust project proposing a digital annotated edition of the novel to enhance the currently available version. In making your case for the benefits of an annotated edition, use the specific example of an annotation you have written to show how the information you provide enhances readers’ understanding of a particular passage in the novel, and how that understanding leads to greater analysis of the novel. Also show how defining difficult words can improve readers’ comprehension of a specific passage, which also aids in more developed analysis. Provide documentation of your claims by including both the researched annotation and the glossary annotation, and provide sources for each. Remember that the editor will look for credible sources of your material, and will need to be convinced of the value of this edition to expend the cost to produce it.

Learning Goals: In writing this essay, you will learn to or further develop your ability to

  • analyze literature through thematic consideration;
  • understand the importance of openly available annotated digital editions;
  • write a clear argument based on detail-oriented textual evidence;
  • quote from, cite, and respond to our assigned readings (according to MLA format);
  • conduct research by evaluating sources for their usefulness and quality;
  • address a particular audience
  • use the conventions of the business letter
  • write with clear, grammatically correct prose.

Writing and Formatting: Your essay should

  • be approximately 750-1200 words—3-5 pages plus the annotations with citations;
  • follow the format of a business letter
  • use the letter format to introduce your argument, support it with evidence, and conclude your points;
  • refer specifically to the text, using quotations and paraphrasing appropriately;
  • use MLA citations and a Works Cited page to give credit to the sources you use, both from our course readings or elsewhere;
  • conform to the grammar, punctuation, and usage conventions of American English;
  • make reasonable use of your computer’s spelling- and grammar-checking programs;
  • uphold City Tech’s academic integrity policies to avoid earning a zero for the assignment

Finally, as with our last assignment, you must meet with me during office hours or in a scheduled appointment to discuss some phase of your project: brainstorming, researching, drafing annotations, drafting the letter, revising. We will review our work in class at various stages of the project’s development. Writing in drafts helps avoid that last-minute rush to finish your essay by the due date.

Schedule

  • Assigned: W 3/28
  • In-class Brainstorm: M 4/9
  • Peer review for annotations: W 4/18
  • Project #2 Annotations due: M 4/23
  • Peer review for Project #2: W 4/25
  • Project #2 due: M 4/30