Essays
Guidelines for All Essays (PDF)
Assessment of Writing
I expect written work of the same caliber as the work required in your other MIT subjects. This means carefully composed and proof-read (no sloppy errors), thorough, well thought-out, sufficiently supplied with supporting material quoted or paraphrased from the text(s).
In reading your work, I do not distinguish between “content” and “style” or “quality of writing.” How you decide to state something, how you assemble an argument, how you construct each and every sentence—these things constitute your argument and are indistinguishable from its “content.”
Oral Reports
At the beginning of the term I will circulate a list of topics suitable for reports of no more than 5 minutes in length; each student will choose one topic for the first of your two reports. Your job will be to inform your classmates as clearly and concisely as possible about various historical, literary, and cultural matters that can aid understanding of the works we’re covering. You should be able to find all the information you need by means of a brief internet search or by consulting reference materials in the Humanities Library.
Oral Report Topics
| SES # | TOPICS |
|---|---|
| 4 | Courtly love in the Middle Ages; Eleanor of Aquitaine and her daughter Marie de Champagne |
| 5 | Origins and versions of the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table |
| 6 | The picaro and picaresque literature in relationship to Don Quixote |
| 7 | The Hidalgo in the class system of Renaissance Spain; The concept of “Clean Blood;” and the place of Jews and Arabs in the Spanish historical background to Don Quixote |
| 8 | Jonathan Swift’s politics; Whigs and Tories in early 18th century Britain and Ireland; Jacobitism |
| 9 | Lycurgus and ancient Sparta as described by Xenophon and Plutarch |
| 10 | William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft (Mary Shelley’s parents); Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, and their circle, especially 1816–1818 |
| 11 | The search for the Northwest Passage |
| 12 | Humphry Davy; The study of chemistry and the life sciences at the start of the 19th century |
| 14 | King Leopold of Belgium and the Congo; The Casement Report |
| 15 | The Scramble for Africa; The Berlin Conference of 1884 |
| 19 | Leslie Stephen; the Bloomsbury |
| 20 | Tennyson’s poem “The Charge of the Light Brigade” and the occasion for which it was written |
| 21 | William Cowper’s poem “The Castaway” and its use in To the Lighthouse |
I will grade you both on the accuracy and usefulness of the information you present as well as on your presentation style, which should not be too slangy and informal. I will be looking to see if you have prioritized the information you found so as to present what is most pertinent to our concerns in the class.
Advice on Oral Reports:
- Have a prepared outline or text to speak from, but …
- Don’t just read out a text; make eye contact with your audience and talk to it.
- Rehearse and time your presentation in advance.
- Convey your information to the other students, not just to me.
- Prepare powerpoint slides or provide handouts showing unfamiliar names or terms, maps, etc.
- If you use powerpoint, don’t just read out to the audience the exact same words that appear on the slides. We can read! The slides should provide the skeleton of your report, not the entire substance.
And For the Audience:
Since everyone will be presenting and it will thus be your turn eventually, be respectful to the student reporting, pay attention, take notes, and show some appreciation for the effort that has gone into the presentation.
