Essay #3- Frankenstein in Context ENG 102- Laura Cline For this essay, you will be writing about

Mary Shelleys Frankenstein, but it will be a little bit different from Essay #2, because we will be introducing context and secondary sources. The only resource you will use for this assignment will be your Norton Critical Edition that I asked you to buy at the beginning of the semester. PLEASE DO NOT DO OUTSIDE RESEARCH. Step One: What did you think about Frankenstein? What were the themes or motifs that stuck out for you? What do you believe Shelleys purpose was in writing the novel? Start out by answering these questions and developing your thesis. Step Two: Work on selecting critical articles from the back of the book that help to support your position, or provide a contrary position. Be careful not to start the other way around by choosing an article and copying its thesis. The ideas at the heart of the paper should be yours, and the other writers are there to support you and provide the voice of authority for your claims. Here are some examples of possible topics: 1. How Shelleys personal life and circumstances affected the writing and meaning of her book (if you choose this, I strongly recommend watching the lecture on Historical and Biographical criticism on Blackboard- otherwise the lecture is optional). 2. Depictions of femininity and reproduction in Frankenstein. 3. How Shelley represents science and the historical context for those representations. 4. Nature in Frankenstein. These are just some examples, and any of them could be approached in a number of different ways. If you are having trouble generating your topic, please schedule and appointment to conference with me in person or on Skype. Logistics: This essay should be four FULL pages and onto the fifth in length. Your essay should be in MLA format including citations, in-text and on the works cited page. Also, please use MLA headings and page numbers. Dont forget Times New Roman, 12 pt. font and 1 margins. Sources: You need to have four total sources for this essay. You should quote from and cite Frankenstein and also three articles from the critical edition. You

can quote from them as many times as you wish, but if it is on the works cited, it needs to be cited at least once in-text.
Checklist:  I have a thesis statement interpreting Mary Shelleys Frankenstein, based on my own ideas.  I am using other writers critical essays, from the Norton Critical Edition, to support my main points and ideas.  Each of my body paragraphs has a topic sentence.  Each of my body paragraphs has evidence to support my thesis in the form of a summary, paraphrase or quote from the primary text.  Each of my body paragraphs supports my claim about the primary text by quoting from a secondary text.  Each of my body paragraphs contains my analysis, which shows my reader how my evidence proves the claim I am making in my topic sentence and in my thesis.  I have a clear introduction that introduces the reader to my topic and grabs his or her attention.  I have a conclusion that wraps up my main point and addresses the So What? of my paper.  I have proofread my paper for sentence level errors.  I have ran my spell and grammar check (although I am not relying on it as a proofreader).  Optional, but encouraged: I have sent my draft to the online tutor or visited the Learning Center.  I have cited all of my quotes and paraphrases in MLA style.  I have a properly formatted works cited page with four sources, all of which are also cited in the body of my paper.  I have a title.  I have an MLA heading on the upper left hand side of my paper, which is double-spaced.  I have page numbers, in a header, with my last name in the upper right.  I have adjusted my margins to 1 on all sides.  My font is Times New Roman 12 pt. font and my text is double-spaced.  My essay is onto the FIFTH page.  I have saved my essay in Rich Text Format.  I have reviewed the criteria on the Holistic Grading Guide for the grade I hope to receive and checked that my essay meets those criteria.

 I have submitted my essay through Safe Assign and checked my originality report on Blackboard.