Kent-Drury
English 202
Paper #3
 

Choose one of the following options for your final essay. Your essay must be formatted in MLA format (1 inch margins all around, the appropriate signature block in the upper left hand corner, a title, and the appropriate running heading with your last name and page numbers). All sources must be cited in MLA style.

1. The long eighteenth century in England was a period of intense change in the political, social, legal, sexual, religious, economic, and ethnic/racial structures of the nation.  All of these changes are reflected in the literature of the period, when writers were much more engaged in the intense public discussions surrounding such changes than they are today.   Choose ONE of these areas, or a subset of one of these areas, based upon a pattern you have observed in the texts we read in class. For example, you may be interested in the way social class is discussed, but you may narrow your topic to focus just on the family, or even further to just relationships between parents and children, or between men and women, or between husbands and wives. Write a paper in which you describe the pattern you've observed.  Be sure you have a central thesis (a main point you are making), that you raise several sub-points to support your thesis, and that you provide evidence by quoting from the relevant texts. You must quote from the text and give page numbers to receive a passing grade on this paper.
2. Creative Option. Update Swift's Modest Proposal to fit a situation or problem that exists today (2-3 pages).  Your essay should demonstrate your sensitivity to the Swift's concerns and techniques, as well as the structure of his work.  Then analyze your update (2-3 pages), explaining why the modern issue you have chosen merits such radical treatment and describing how your creative work draws upon Swift's work as a model. Be sure to quote significant passages from the original and your own work as evidence that backs up your points.

If you need to review MLA format, I have a copy of the MLA style manual in my office you may consult. I also have a few xeroxes of parts of the MLA guidelines that I let students borrow. There is also a copy of the MLA style manual at the reference desk in the library. The guidelines are also available on a Purdue university site located at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/research/r_mla.html.