The Renaissance Historical Context This module looks at the English Renaissance period, c.1500 to c. 1688 and focuses on several short selections from William Shakespeare’s works. Therefore, it makes sense to understand something of the world in which Shakespeare lived. Sometimes, this period is called the Early Modern Period and the language of the time takes its name from that title. Students who are just beginning to read Shakespeare often think of his language as “Old English,” but it’s really the beginning of our own Modern English with true Old English being unrecognizable to modern readers. During this period in England, the University of Massachusetts website explains that there was a “rebirth among English elite of classical learning, a rediscovery of ancient Greek and Roman authors, and a recovery of the ancient Greek spirit of scientific inquiry” (“Periods” para. 1). The same website provides additional background information on the major characteristics of the period at: http://people.umass.edu/eng2/per/renaissance.html. From November 17, 1558, to her death on March 24,1603, Elizabeth I ruled England. She presided over a golden age. She was an accomplished poet herself, and it was during her reign that Shakespeare’s work came to prominence. Her navy defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588. This was also the period when the New World was being explored by the English. It was truly a period of re-birth. On her death, she was succeeded by James IV of Scotland, who became James I of England on March 21, 1603. He, too, was a patron of the arts. Within a few days of the new king’s arrival in London, highly regarded people in the theatre were granted a license to perform in London at the Globe, Shakespeare among them expecting the greatness of Elizabeth’s reign to continue during James’. Read about Shakespeare’s London at the Public Broadcasting System’s website: http://www.pbs.org/shakespeare/locations/location154.html. You can also read about daily life Queen Elizabeth I, artist unknown, circa 1575 James I of England, by Daniel Mijtens, 1621 http://people.umass.edu/eng2/per/renaissance.html http://www.pbs.org/shakespeare/locations/location154.html in the city at Shakespeare Online: http://www.shakespeare- online.com/biography/londonlife.html. Shakespeare’s original Globe Theatre was built by his playing company in 1599 an destroyed by fire on June 29, 1613. However, its replica exists today in magnificent form, the brainchild of American actor and director Sam Wannamaker and opened for performances in 1997. It is a vibrant part of the London theatre scene today. Visit the Globe Theatre: http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/. http://www.shakespeare-online.com/biography/londonlife.html http://www.shakespeare-online.com/biography/londonlife.html http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/ Works Cited Mabillard, Amanda. “Life in Shakespeare’s London.” Shak ...

1. The Renaissance
Historical Context
This module looks at the English Renaissance period, c.1500 to
c. 1688 and focuses on several
short selections from William Shakespeare’s works. Therefore,
it makes sense to understand
something of the world in which Shakespeare lived.
Sometimes, this period is called the Early Modern Period and
the language of the time takes its
name from that title. Students who are just beginning to read
Shakespeare often think of his
language as “Old English,” but it’s really the beginning of our
own Modern English with true Old
English being unrecognizable to modern readers.
During this period in England, the University of Massachusetts
website explains that there was
a “rebirth among English elite of classical learning, a
rediscovery of ancient Greek and Roman

2. authors, and a recovery of the ancient Greek spirit of scientific
inquiry” (“Periods” para. 1). The
same website provides additional background information on
the major
characteristics of the period at:
http://people.umass.edu/eng2/per/renaissance.html.
From November 17, 1558, to her death on
March 24,1603, Elizabeth I ruled England. She
presided over a golden age. She was an
accomplished poet herself, and it was during
her reign that Shakespeare’s work came to
prominence. Her navy defeated the Spanish
Armada in 1588. This was also the period when
the New World was being explored by the English. It was truly
a
period of re-birth. On her death, she was succeeded by James IV
of
Scotland, who became James I of England on March 21, 1603.
He,
too, was a patron of the arts. Within a few days of the new
king’s arrival in London, highly

3. regarded people in the theatre were granted a license to perform
in London at the Globe,
Shakespeare among them expecting the greatness of Elizabeth’s
reign to continue during
James’.
Read about Shakespeare’s London at the Public Broadcasting
System’s website:
http://www.pbs.org/shakespeare/locations/location154.html.
You can also read about daily life
Queen Elizabeth I, artist
unknown, circa 1575
James I of England, by Daniel
Mijtens, 1621
http://people.umass.edu/eng2/per/renaissance.html
http://www.pbs.org/shakespeare/locations/location154.html
in the city at Shakespeare Online: http://www.shakespeare-
online.com/biography/londonlife.html.
Shakespeare’s original Globe Theatre was built by his playing
company in 1599 an destroyed by
fire on June 29, 1613. However, its replica exists today in
magnificent form, the brainchild of

4. American actor and director Sam Wannamaker and opened for
performances in 1997. It is a
vibrant part of the London theatre scene today. Visit the Globe
Theatre:
http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/.
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/biography/londonlife.html
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/biography/londonlife.html
http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/
Works Cited
Mabillard, Amanda. “Life in Shakespeare’s London.”
Shakespeare Online. Amanda Mabillard.
n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2014.
Mijtens, Daniel. James I of England. 1621. The National
Portrait Gallery, London. Wikimedia
Commons. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.
“Periods: Renaissance.” British Literature Review. University
of Massachusetts. n.d. Web. 13
Nov. 2014.

5. Artist Unknown. Queen Elizabeth. 1575. National Portrait
Gallery, London. Wikimedia
Commons. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.
Shakespeare’s Globe. The Shakespeare Globe Trust. 2014. Web.
13 Nov. 2014.
“Shakespeare’s London.” In Search of Shakespeare. Public
Broadcasting System. n.d. Web. 13
Nov. 2014.
1
The Enlightenment
Late 17th through 18th Centuries
Historical Context

6. The Enlightenment is also known as the Age of Reason. People
of the Enlightenment were
convinced that human reason could achieve many things.
Professor Robert M. Kirschen’s
teaching website at the University of Nevada, extracting
materials from The Oxford Guide to
Philosophy, this period included several essential beliefs:
es him not only
to think, but to act,
correctly.
perfection.
respect to their
rationality and should, thus, be granted equality before the laws
and individual
liberty. These are considered to be natural rights, the
“unalienable rights” in the
United States Declaration of Independence.
on the basis of reason, not on the
authority of priests,

7. sacred texts, or tradition. Thus, many Enlightenment thinkers
embraced deism,
shorn of the supernatural and miraculous elements and designed
primarily to
support an enlightened moral code, and in some cases to
account for the fact that
the universe is a rational system, wholly accessible to human
reason. For example,
some of the founding fathers of the United States, most notably
Benjamin Franklin,
were deists. People, therefore, are able to discover the natural
laws of the universe
through their rationality. Local traditions that owe their
development to historical
peculiarities rather than to reason are devalued. Nationality is
not important as all
individuals are united in brotherhood with all other individuals
based on the
rationality all people share. (para. 2)
One result of this philosophy is that, as Prof. Kirschen states,
there can be unending
progress in knowledge, technical achievement and moral values
(2).

8. The Death of General Wolfe, by Benjamin
West, 1770
2
Many deists thought of God as the great architect of the
universe and the universe itself as
a machine that, once set in motion, no longer requires divine
intervention. The afterlife was
not the main focus of works here on earth, but for deists, the
primary focus should be on
one’s achievements and on finding happiness here on Earth.
Another result of Enlightenment thinking is the idea of
humanitarianism. According to
Dictionary.Com, the doctrine states “that humanity’s
obligations are concerned wholly with
the welfare of the human race” (para. 2a). Before this period,
people generally believed
that people who were less fortunate were being punished for
some offense. Therefore,
helping them was, in fact, interfering with God’s will. With the
Enlightenment came the idea
that charitable and philanthropic activities were acceptable.

9. Read more about the Enlightenment at the website of Prof. Paul
Brians, Washington State
University:
http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/hum_303/enlightenment.html
http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/hum_303/enlightenment.html
3
Works Cited
“Humanitarianism.” Dictionary.Com. n.p. Web. 19 Dec. 2014.
Kirschen, Robert M. “The Enlightenment Period.” Course
Handouts. University of Nevada, Los
Vegas. n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2014.
West, Benjamin. The Death of General Wolf. 1770. National
Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Khan
Academy. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.
Cid 1

10. Student Cid
Prof. Vicki Lague
LIT2120 Ref. #XXXXXX
October 20, 2014
Religion in Tartuffe
Religion can be the bastion of saints, or the mask of devils. It
can be an unrelenting
force—for good, or evil. At the time of the Enlightenment, all
of human society was undergoing
profound shifts in thought, and religion—a powerful force
throughout Europe—was not exempt
from the great leap forward. In Molière’s Tartuffe, the theme of
religion, and in particular
religious hypocrisy, is explored through the supposed holiness
of Tartuffe, the praise he receives
from others, contrasted with the reality of his nature.
To begin with, a number of those around Tartuffe are obsessed
with him, unquestioning
of his holiness. The play opens with Madame Pernelle defending
Tartuffe, singing his praises.
She says, “He is a holy man, and must be heeded” (1.1.49).
Tartuffe is treated as a saint by

11. Madame Pernelle; she directs venom towards Damis, her
grandson. To him she says, “I can’t
endure, with any show of patience, / To hear a scatterbrains like
you attack him [Tartuffe]”
(1.1.50-51). The great irony is that even as she praises Tartuffe
for his supposed holiness, in her
act of disdain for her own grandson, and in her lack of patience
and charity, she has made herself
a thoroughly unholy hypocrite. Molière draws out the truth with
Madame Pernelle’s own words
and from the very start of the play makes clear that characters
will step all over their own family
members without a second thought in defense of this, as yet
mysterious, Tartuffe. In speaking of
Tartuffe with Cleante, a more reasonable voice, Orgon (Madame
Pernelle’s son, father of
Damis), speaks with fanatical reverence. He says to Cleante,
“Dear brother, you’d be charmed to
Cid 2
know him; / Your raptures over him would have no end. / He is
a man… who… ah!… in fact…
a man” (1.6.12-14). Orgon speaks of Tartuffe to the point of
almost treating him as more than a

12. man. He stops short of saying that Tartuffe is more than a man
but speaks of him almost as
though he were a God. He stutters and becomes almost nervous
when speaking of Tartuffe, as
though he were mad. Tartuffe, the holy man, is praised and
venerated. Orgon is so emotional that
he can't even rationally describe what he really thinks of
Tartuffe. Sometimes, people become
convinced of what they've heard, but they don't even understand
it on an intellectual level where
they can explain it themselves. Orgon's stuttering may actually
be that sort of thing, where he's
emotional about Tartuffe, but by no means rational, and can't
put his thoughts into words
precisely because they're not rational to begin with. His
emotions have run away with him.
Making a simple stutter mean so much is a very subtle
maneuver on Molière’s part.
Further on, the play reaches the heart of the matter in showing
the audience exactly who
this Tartuffe, so loved by those obsessed with him, really is.
The man praised by hypocrites like
Madame Pernelle, and the easily manipulated and fanatical
Orgon, is a hypocrite in and of

13. himself. He is no holy man. Tartuffe attempts to establish an
illicit relationship with Elmire,
Orgon’s wife. He attempts such a thing with the wife of the man
who is so loyal to him,
impassioned in speaking of him. The key here is to remember
that Tartuffe is a symbol of
holiness, of religion, and thoroughly trusted. Yet, holy as he is,
wrapped up in the cloak of
religion as he may be, he is an evil man and a traitor. Tartuffe
says to Elmire, “Madame, I am
overjoyed. / ’Tis sweet to find myself alone with you” (3.3.22-
23). He reaches for Elmire’s hand,
puts his own hand on her knee, and caresses her dress. The man
so praised and trusted, the
religious symbol of holiness upon whom every praise is
lavished from the very start of the play,
is a demonstrable hypocrite unworthy of any trust whatsoever.
When Damis, who has seen what
Cid 3
Tartuffe has attempted, later attempts to reveal to his father the
truth about Tartuffe, Orgon again
sides with the religious hypocrite. He is again blind, as some

14. are with religion. Orgon dismisses
his son’s claims, and takes pity on Tartuffe, the traitor, the faux
holy man. He disowns his son
and promises to sign over his inheritance to Tartuffe. The act
finishes with Orgon’s words: “Poor
man! / We’ll go make haste to draw the deed aright, / And then
let envy burst itself with spite!
(3.7.48-50).
Molière establishes Tartuffe from very early on as a sort of
saint, according to the praise
of those who have vested much trust in him. Madame Pernelle,
Orgon—they lavish praise on
Tartuffe. As the drama progresses, the audience encounters
more and more of the reality of the
man. The reasonable doubts of anyone listening to such
fanatical praise of another human being
are enough to set off alarm, suspicion, about this Tartuffe
character. As the drama progresses and
the audience reaches the climax of the play, the truth about the
faux holy man is revealed, and in
it, a truth about religion—that sometimes human beings are
blind to the realities of religious
hypocrisy, and too willing too follow and obey those who they
are told are holy. At the time of

15. the Enlightenment, such ideas must have been controversial, but
in this day and age, Molière’s
take on the theme of religion is more vindicated than ever. The
audience must be mindful that
Molière is not necessarily disparaging religion in general, but
showing disdain for religious
hypocrisy, and in so doing, may be defending sincere religion.
Tartuffe faces justice in the end,
once Orgon realizes the traitor he truly is. Tartuffe ultimately is
exposed to the light, and seen by
Orgon for what he truly is. In the end, Orgon, most charmed by
Tartuffe, says of him: “Nothing
more wicked e’er came out of hell” (4.6.1).
In sum, Molière’s revelation of Tartuffe as a hypocrite, by
comparing the reality of
Tartuffe to the praises of those blind to his hypocrisy, is a
condemnation of hypocrisy in religion
Cid 4
at the time of the Enlightenment. In line with the thinking of the
time, light had to be shed in
those dark areas where people were unwilling to look, and the
truth had to be revealed. Molière

16. does this perfectly through the person of Tartuffe, exploring the
theme of religion and in
particular religious hypocrisy by exploring the blindness of
human veneration.
Cid 5
Works Cited
Molière, Jean-Baptiste Poquelin. Tartuffe. LIT2120 class
handout. Miami Dade College. Miami,
FL. n.d. PDF file.

17. I, Jonathan Cid, confirm that this assignment is my own work
and that I have documented all
sources that were used in this essay.
1
Essay #1
This is a Gordon Rule Assignment. If you do not submit this
paper, you will not be able to
pass the course.
What This Assignment Is NOT:
The assignment is not a plot summary of the literary work (a
paraphrase of what happens
or an explanation of what the text "is about"). Your paper will
earn no more than 65% if
you write a plot summary.
ou can refer to
historical context if you think

18. you need to for your ideas to be clear, but the main focus of the
paper must be an analysis
of the literature that supports your thesis statement.
work
with your own ideas. Do not
include any sources other than the literature you are analyzing.
What This Assignment IS:
You are trying to show your professor that you know and
understand the literary works about
which you choose to write. You may write about the literature
included in Modules 3 and 4.
Additionally, you need to take what you learned in Module 2
into consideration as you write.
Table of Contents:
Paper requirements
Cut-off for uploading your work
Directions for writing the essay draft

19. Templates for signal phrases
Samples for parenthetical citations
Sample Works Cited entries
Fatal Flaws
2
Requirements:
1. Consider only these literary periods:
This a Dagger I See before
Me” from Macbeth; “To Be or not to Be” from Hamlet)
Voltaire)
ot use authors or texts
that are not assigned in the
lessons.
2. Then, choose one of the themes in the list below. Do not try
to combine them. To be

20. effective, the theme must apply to all of the text you chose in
Step 2.
Themes for Essay #2:
Love Death Exploration Friendship Power
Religion Wealth Truth
3. Write at least 2 to 3 full pages of analysis. If you don’t reach
the bottom of page 2 (following
the layout requirements), your paper is not developed enough
and will lose credit.
4. Do not use secondary sources. Use your own ideas and the
works you are analyzing, not
something you found on the Internet or anywhere else except
your own head. You may use
links provided for historical background, etc. However, be sure
you are using only the links
in the course. It’s all too easy to go from a link on a web page
in the course to a different web
page outside the course. Make sure you treat those linked web
pages in the course like the
sources they are, with signal phrases that identify the title of the
web page, quotation or

21. paraphrase from the web page, and a parenthetical citation (use
paragraph numbers for a
website even if that means you have to count the paragraphs
yourself). Outside sources will
lower your grade.
5. Introduce all source material (quotations and paraphrases)
adequately with a signal phrase
rather than "dropping" them into the paper with no introduction.
You should provide a signal
phrase before each quotation or paraphrase, giving some context
for the quotation.
6. Use parenthetical citations for all source material. Keep in
mind that different genres
required different information in the parenthetical citations.
Follow MLA requirements for
parenthetical notation as shown in the template section below.
7. MLA-style documentation requires a Works Cited. Start your
Works Cited on a new page
after your essay. Include all the sources you used in your essay.
3

22. 8. If your professor requires an Honor Code at the end of your
paper, see the syllabus for the
correct wording.
Cut-Off for Uploading Your Work:
Upload the essay to the TurnItIn.Com Dropbox by the cut-off
date/time. You may submit it
earlier, but no extensions will be allowed except as provided for
in your professor’s policy in the
syllabus. Plan your time accordingly.
Directions for Writing the Essay Draft:
1. Follow your professor’s paper layout requirements.
2. Write a thesis statement that includes the title of the literary
work and the theme you chose
from the list. The work is the subject of the paper, and the
theme is the "point" you are
making about the subject. Make sure that the theme/point is in
the thesis. Don’t make your
professor guess! Putting the theme in the title of your paper
does not replace the requirement
for putting the theme in your thesis statement.
3. Make a chronological list of the quotations that support the
thesis statement. (You must use

23. quotations. Paraphrases are OK as long as you use mostly
quotations and don’t forget to
document the paraphrases, too.) This list is a planning step that
will help ensure that your
thesis is well-supported. Note the information you will need to
write parenthetical citations
for each quotation (see the Basic Requirements below). It's
usually best to keep the list in
chronological order, discussing the text from beginning to end.
As you write your draft, you
can refer in later portions of the essay to something you wrote
earlier in the essay if
necessary. If the theme is true for the literary work in question,
you will be able to see
quotations throughout the text, not just in one spot.
4. Create a title for your essay. It should include the theme on
which you are working.
5. Write a introductory paragraph for your essay. The first part
of the introduction should
include the author’s full name and the title of the text, properly
formatted (“identification”).
(Note: Later in the essay, you can refer to the author by last
name only, but never by first
name only.) Make sure you format the title of the text properly.
This leading part of the

24. paragraph should introduce and logically lead up to your thesis
statement, which should end
your introduction.
6. Write the body paragraphs for your essay, supporting your
chosen theme as it applies to the
literary work. Incorporate quotations from your list as you go
along, still in chronological
order. The quotations are the "facts" in your essay that support
your ideas. You may
paraphrase, but quotations are stronger support. As you write,
set up your source material
(quotations and any paraphrases) well: start with an signal
phrase, followed by the source
material, followed by the parenthetical citation, followed by
your interpretation, where
you explain how the quotation or paraphrase helps support the
topic sentence of the
paragraph or the thesis statement. Do not go on to a new idea,
new source material, or a new
paragraph without providing interpretation.
4

25. 7. Write a concluding paragraph that brings your essay to a
logical close. Don't just repeat
everything you already wrote. You can restate, but keep in mind
that restating something
means saying it in a complete different way. Make sure you
have a real paragraph (at least
two sentences), not just one sentence.
8. Write a Works Cited page following MLA documentation
requirements.
Templates for Signal Phrases:
Notice that the introductory signal phrases in the templates
below use present tense verbs, which
is the tense you should use to analyze literature.
If your quotation comes from the narrator of a story or the
speaker of a poem, you can use one of
these templates:
The narrator says, _____________ (Fill in appropriate
parenthetical citation).
The speaker says, _____________ ( ).
Voltaire writes, ______________ ( ).

26. You can use the signal phrases to make sure your professor
knows to which work you are
referring, so another kind of signal phrase could be:
In "When in Disgrace with Fortune and Men's Eyes, the speaker
says, ____________ ( ).
If a character is speaking, the signal phase should tell who is
speaking to whom.
Dr. Pangloss tells Candide, _____________ ( ).
Be careful to avoid a run-on if you introduce a quotation with a
complete sentence.
Fused Sentence (no punctuation between sentences):
Cunégonde is happy when she speaks to Candide "_____" (
).
Comma Splice (only a comma between sentences):
Cunégonde is happy when she speaks to Candide, "_____" (
).
Corrected (signal phrase inserted after the sentence):
Cunégonde is happy when she speaks to Candide. She says,
"__________" ( ).

27. 5
Samples for Parenthetical Citations:
Poetry: Use line numbers for poetry regardless of the medium in
which it is presented. Count
the lines yourself if you have to. Line numbers start from 1 for
the first line of the poem and
continue until the end. Don't start over again with line 1 when
you go into a new stanza of the
poem. On the other hand, long poems are sometimes separated
into sections by the poet. Here are
some parenthetical citation examples:
Quotation taken from line four of a short poem: (4).
Quotation taken from lines 3 to 5 of a short poem: (3-5).
Also, don't forget to use a slash to separate lines of poetry in
your quotations.
Plays: Even if the playwright, like Shakespeare, uses poetry for
the dialogue in a play, you still
need to document the lines you quote or paraphrase as a play,
not as poetry. (However, use
slashes to separate lines because the play is written as verse.)

28. Plays are documented using act,
scene, and lines. The assigned excerpt from Macbeth is from
Act 2, Scene 1, lines 33 through 64;
the assigned excerpt from Hamlet is from Act 3, Scene 1, lines
64 through 98.
Sample from the first two lines of Hamlet’s soliloquy: (3.1.64-
65).
Note: Don’t use any spaces in the citation.
Prose: Normally, you use page numbers for prose. However,
with all our prose online, page
numbers don't always work! It depends on the medium in which
the prose is presented to you.
PDF files: Treat the prose in the same way as any prose printed
in a book, by using page
numbers.
Quotation from one page: (4).
Quotation that starts on one page and ends on the next: (7-8).
Web page: MLA says to use paragraph numbers for a website. If
numbers are not
provided, you will need to count them. You should indicate that

29. you are using paragraph
numbers for a text the first time you provide documentation.
Paragraph numbers are used regardless of the kind of text being
displayed on the website.
For example, a speech shown on a website uses paragraphs
numbers like any other text
on a website.
Quotation from one paragraph: (para. 6)
6
Quotation that starts in one paragraph and ends in the next:
(para. 6-7).
Once you have established in your first parenthetical citation
that you are using paragraph
numbers for a particular source, you can leave out para. in the
remaining citations.
Samples Works Cited entries:
You can find a lot of information about MLA documentation

30. requirements at the Online Writing
Labe (OWL) hosted by Purdue University:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/.
There is information about what is required for different types
of sources as well as a sample
Works Cited page:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/12/. Notice
that the entries
on the page are in alphabetical order by the first item in each
entry. The page follows normal
page layout, including margins and double-spacing. The
author’s name is always inverted: Last
Name, First Name. Also noticed the correct spelling and
placement for the title of the page. If
your are required to add an Honor Code, place it at the bottom
of the Works Cited page.
Class Handout, PDF File:
Template:
Author’s Name. “Title of PDF File.” Class handout. Name of
College. City, State. Date.
PDF file.
Sample:

31. Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.” LIT2120 class handout.
Miami Dade College.
Miami, FL. n.d. PDF file.
Note: The notation n.d. (literally meaning no date) is used
because the page being documented in
the sample does not have a date of last update.
Web Page:
Template:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/12/
7
Author’s Name. “Title of Webpage.” Title of Website.
Sponsoring Organization. Date of
last update. Web. Access date.
Sample:
Shakespeare, William. “Sonnet 18.” Shakespeare Online.
Amanda Mabillard. n.d. Web.
14 Dec. 2014.

32. Notes: Amanda Mabillard is an individual who sponsors
Shakespeare Online. Her name is used
because there is no sponsoring organization. Ms. Mabillard
holds the copyright for the site. Also,
the copyright date for a web page is not the same as a date of
last up date.
Here is another sample:
Mabillard, Amanda. “Introduction to Shakespeare’s Sonnets.”
Shakespeare Online.
Amanda Mabillard. n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2014.
Note: In this sample, Ms. Mabillard is both the author and the
sponsor, so her name appears in
both places.
Fatal Flaws:
The following errors will result in loss of credit or a low or
failing grade:
Problem Effect on grade
The essay does not focus on one of the themes for this
assignment.

33. No credit for the paper
The paper is not submitted to the TurnItIn Dropbox by
the cut-off date/time.
No credit. For a documented
emergency, see Ground Rule #3 in
the syllabus for details.
The essay is plot summary instead of literary analysis.
Automatic grade of 65%
A literary work other than from those assigned for this
paper is used.
Automatic grade of 65%
No quotations from the literature are used to support
your thesis.
Automatic grade of 65%
Parenthetical citations OR the Works Cited is missing
Automatic grade of 65%
Parenthetical citations AND the Works Cited are
missing
Automatic grade of 50%

34. The essay does not have a thesis statement. The grade will
depend on the
8
quality of your writing, but it will
not exceed 79%.
Documentation is present, but does not satisfy MLA
requirements.
The grade will depend on the
quality of your writing, but it will
not exceed 79%.
Outside sources are used, documented or not. -10% for each
outside source
The paper’s layout does not follow the requirements
listed in Ground Rule #5 in the syllabus.
-5%