Survey of English Literature I - Assignment 19 (REQUIRED) James Madison University

Instructions: This assignment can be hand-written as long as it's legible and on a full-size sheet of paper. It will be graded only as an acceptable or unacceptable effort. It is, however, REQUIRED. In other words, it can't be the one you skip without penalty, and your paper due 12/4 will not be accepted if you have not submitted this assignment.

• First, either state which of the proposed topics you have chosen or describe your alternative topic. (Remember that alternatives must have been pre-approved by me before you submit this assignment. Practically speaking, this means getting in touch with me during office hours Friday, 11/13/09, or by email before the end of that day in order to get an approval decision before this assignment is due.)


• Next, write a short (maybe a sentence or two) preliminary thesis statement for your first paper. This statement should be more than just a general topic or a description of what text you think you might use. Instead, even though you might not be sure what you want your thesis to be, give a first draft here of something that you think /might/ be a thesis. (Though you cannot change your general topic, your final thesis definitely doesn't have to take the same stance on the topic as this first draft! I also expect that your language is very likely to change as you incorporate the thesis into the introduction to your paper. :) )


• Finally, provide one or two specific quotes from a work we've read that you expect to use to support your thesis. At least one of these quotes will have to be among the quotes you use in your actual paper.