LITR 4232 American Renaissance 2012 Student Midterm Samples 3. Web Highlights: Review at least 3 posts from course website's Model Assignments (4-6 paragraphs)

Joe Bernard

Part 3: The Examples of our Ancestors

          One of the most helpful things that any one person can do is go back and examine history in order to determine what things work and what don’t. By going through three examples of past student work, there are several elements that stick out as worthy to be praised and commented on. Not only are these pieces exemplary, but they teach three distinct lessons: the importance of voice, the critical nature of close reading and the importance of understanding the nature of one’s assignment.

          Eric Cherrie’s long essay entitled “The American What?” brought a smile to the author’s face. Just by reading the title by itself makes the reader curious as to what will be discussed. Not only does this hook the audience, but gives an all too necessary element of personal voice to his essay. No reader desires to read a piece that lacks individual touch. As Eric continues his discourse, he makes several connections to outside sources, such as the Bible and mythological tales. These external references not only make his essay stronger, but give insight to what Eric has been exposed to and possibly favors. It gives the essay a unique feel that cannot be replicated by any other. A key element to Eric’s writing style is that his voice does not come across as too “over the top” or personal; he keeps his academic composure through the whole essay, which is an admirable feat.

          Matthew Chavez wrote an impeccable short essay entitled “Whitman on Sublimity”, in which he illustrates through close reading just how important the act of close reading is. He does not inject his own thoughts or speculation about the poem, but instead forces the reader to look at the poem itself and make conclusions based on the text rather than loose hypothesizing. Take for instance the argument he makes in the second paragraph: “The next two lines of the poem detail what studies the astronomer has done.  ‘The proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before [him],’ the heavens have essentially been dissected, labeled, and put in a case on display.  By approaching nature in a scientific method, the heavens go from being sublime to being luminal.” (Chavez, 2010) Matt comes to an educated conclusion by examining the text itself and applying analytical skills.

          Brittany Fletcher composed a research journal in 2010 that was named “Crazy is as Crazy does”, a humorous title to a not so humorous topic in the gothic. By looking through the journal, it became quite clear how organized the journal must be in order to serve as an acceptable piece of academic writing. Starting with a clear introduction of the “psychological gothic” and what it actually is, Brittany goes through a litany of examples that span from Poe to the popular movie “Shutter Island”. Bringing in a host of sources and tying them altogether to form one cohesive unit is an impressive feat as well as telling of what is expected.

          All in all, the examples furnished by the instructor proved to be quite valuable to the learning experience of the author. By looking at how critical voice is to the academic essay, the author is encouraged to continue to add his own personal “flare” to his future works, all the while maintaining academic composure. Also, the author was reminded of how important close reading is to the interpretation of literary work and how loose speculation does not do a just service to the text being examined. Finally, the author truly knows what is expected of him when it comes to the research journal, which is a concise, organized litany of material that seeks to clarify a topic.