Edwidge Dandicat
Introduction: Give your audience an ever-so-brief introduction to the author, the author’s work, and your thesis.
Body: In a highly-organized manner, the body should match elements in the author’s work with events in the author’s life to support claims that, taken together, support the thesis.
Conclusion: Reinforce your thesis by summarizing the claims you have made in the body of the paper as well as the evidence from the stories and the biographical sources.
Note: Your paper must incorporate at least five sources (not counting the short stories) that are either books or articles from the library databases. You may use more sources and you may use sources beyond books and the database, but at least five of your research sources MUST be books or articles from the library database!
*You may choose from the following authors to write your essay on:
Guy de Maupassant, Margaret Atwood, Raymond Carver, Edgar Allan Poe, Ernest Hemingway, Jamaica Kincaid, John Updike, Toni Morrison, Anton Chekhov, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Edwidge Dandicat, Yasunari Kawabata, or Franz Josef Kafka.
Critical Biography Rubric (1)
| Critical Biography Rubric (1) |
| Criteria |
Ratings |
Pts |
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeIntroduction contains an effective “hook” that compels the reader to want to read the entire essay (Don’t begin the essay in a bland manner. Make a startling or even controversial statement so that your reader has no choice but to read the entire essay). |
| 5.0 pts
Full Marks |
0.0 pts
No Marks |
|
5.0 pts |
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeIntroduction contains a clear thesis (Remember: A thesis is a focused, concise argument, not a broad statement). |
| 5.0 pts
Full Marks |
0.0 pts
No Marks |
|
5.0 pts |
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeIntroduction contains a “preview” of claims student will make to support thesis (Remember: We are learning how to build an argument. An argument requires claims which, in turn, require evidence. The claims and the evidence will constitute the body of the essay). |
| 5.0 pts
Full Marks |
0.0 pts
No Marks |
|
5.0 pts |
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeBody paragraphs are organized in a logical manner that reflects the “preview” provided in the introduction. |
| 5.0 pts
Full Marks |
0.0 pts
No Marks |
|
5.0 pts |
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeBody paragraphs are “glued” together with transition sentences. |
| 5.0 pts
Full Marks |
0.0 pts
No Marks |
|
5.0 pts |
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeConclusion restates the thesis without repeating it verbatim from the introduction. |
| 5.0 pts
Full Marks |
0.0 pts
No Marks |
|
5.0 pts |
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeConclusion leaves the reader with a “call to action,” or a question, or in some way wanting to know more about the topic (just as your hook must engage the reader at the beginning, your conclusion should leave the reader stunned and determined to learn more about your subject matter). |
| 5.0 pts
Full Marks |
0.0 pts
No Marks |
|
5.0 pts |
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeStudent demonstrates a thorough, critical understanding of the short stories discussed in the essay. |
| 10.0 pts
Full Marks |
0.0 pts
No Marks |
|
10.0 pts |
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeStudent has successfully synthesized elements of the author’s biography with elements of the author’s fiction in order to support the thesis. |
| 10.0 pts
Full Marks |
0.0 pts
No Marks |
|
10.0 pts |
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeStudent has refrained from directly referencing him/herself in the essay (i.e., using the word ‘I’, etc.). |
| 5.0 pts
Full Marks |
0.0 pts
No Marks |
|
5.0 pts |
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeStudent has seamlessly integrated at least three quotations from the short stories discussed in the essay (a single quote bomb will earn a mark of 0 in this category). |
| 5.0 pts
Full Marks |
0.0 pts
No Marks |
|
5.0 pts |
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeStudent has seamlessly integrated at least three quotations from the research sources discussed in the essay (a single quote bomb will earn a mark of 0 in this category as well). |
| 5.0 pts
Full Marks |
0.0 pts
No Marks |
|
5.0 pts |
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeStudent has integrated a sufficient number of summaries and paraphrases from the short stories discussed in the essay. |
| 5.0 pts
Full Marks |
0.0 pts
No Marks |
|
5.0 pts |
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeStudent has integrated a sufficient number of summaries and paraphrases from the research sources discussed in the essay. |
| 5.0 pts
Full Marks |
0.0 pts
No Marks |
|
5.0 pts |
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeStudent has demonstrated thorough editing took place before turning the essay in (i.e., there are no more than five or six grammar and/or punctuation errors in the essay). |
| 5.0 pts
Full Marks |
0.0 pts
No Marks |
|
5.0 pts |
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeStudent has demonstrated sufficient skill using MLA in-text citation. Student has formatted the essay in MLA style. Student has included an accurate MLA works cited page. Failure to meet any one of these criteria will earn a mark of 0 in this category.
|
| 5.0 pts
Full Marks |
0.0 pts
No Marks |
|
5.0 pts |
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeStudent has met the word count. Failure to fall within 25 words of the minimum will automatically earn a mark of 0 in this category. |
| 10.0 pts
Full Marks |
0.0 pts
No Marks |
|
10.0 pts |
