Q Assignment Instructions You may write on any of the authors from our syllabus (or you can make a case for writing about an author you feel should have been included in the syllabus), but you ARE NOT restricted to the assigned readings. Be sure that you use all the elements of strong writing. Your paper should be focused, insightful, supported by at least FIVE outside scholarly sources (in addition to the primary text(s) you discuss), and it should be grammatically correct. You should analyze, evaluate, and synthesize the material you find in your sources, incorporating your own ideas with that of the your research. You want to be sure, however, that it is YOUR voice that remains strong in your paper, and that your sources simply support your discussion, providing evidence that what you assert is true or has merit. Sources also provide concrete examples for concepts you mean to discuss. Your paper should NEVER be a clever cut and paste of various sources. As well, don’t try to write everything there is to know about your subject. Instead, after reading a few scholarly articles, try to choose a particular angle of discussion for your paper. An example taken from British Literature might be: English politics in Gulliver’s Travels or John Donne and the theology of redemption in his later poems. HINT: Writing a scholarly essay means entering an ongoing “conversation” about a particular subject. In this case, you intend to discuss a particular Middle Eastern writer and/or work. So, it is necessary that you discover what “voices” are already a part of that discussion and that you interact with those voices in your paper. This means you will read many more sources than you will use in your paper, as you try to determine which “voices” should be listened to (which sources are legitimate sources of research—this is especially important if you use internet sources). WRITING EXPECTATIONS All written submissions should be submitted in a font and page set-up that is readable and neat. It is recommended that students try to adhere to a consistent format, which is described below. • Typewritten in double-spaced format with a readable style and font and submitted inside the electronic classroom (unless classroom access is not possible and other arrangements have been approved by the professor). • Arial 11 or 12-point font or Times New Roman styles. • Page margins Top, Bottom, Left Side and Right Side = 1 inch, with reasonable accommodation being made for special situations and online submission variances. • Indent paragraphs • Double space (it is not necessary to skip an extra line between paragraphs) • Number your pages in the upper right corner • Use MLA documentation *For help with MLA format and other writing questions, a very useful site to visit on the web is Purdue University’s Writing Workshop: http://www.english.uiuc.edu/ You’ll need to select humanities links and then you’ll be able to select the Writing Workshop. Or see any of the many websites listed under course materials. Be sure to review the Rubric for good writing in the syllabus.