MidTerm Paper. Your Paper and You ... In this sort of paper, the “touchy feelie” (
how do you feel about this story) may ... final paper later. Choose something you
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MidTerm Paper MidTerm is 20% of your total grade for the class. DUE: Friday March 1, 2013!!!! The paper is a short (3 to 5 page) explication of a course reading of the student’s choice through a particular context that the student finds of relevance to the text. It must note the following: title; year published; country of publication; author's name; and any context as it is relevant to your explication of the work. In the process you should also note brief descriptions of the setting, main characters, and notable scenes as they relate to your interpretation. Guidelines for writing you Response Paper Treat this as an argument. Your task is to argue that all interpretations that neglect the context you have chosen are bunk; and yours because it (brings this context to bear) is the best. Include one close reading of a scene, character, phrase, or word.
Does this one theme, scene, character, phrase, or word teach you something you hadn’t known or understood before? How does this help us to understand the work? How does your interpretation of the work help us understand the subject of the work better? In choosing the one scene,
CMLIT 415 Spring 2013
character, phrase, or word to write about ask yourself if it is important to the work
as a whole. Does it fit a pattern apparent in the work? What other places do we see a
Be specific. Cite passages from your sources. But don’t assume those passages stand as self-evident. You need to rewrite what that quoted passage is doing in terms of your own argument and interpretation. It is not enough to have a general blanket statement and then drop the quotation and expect that your reader connects the dots. Connect them for your reader.
The World of Graphic Novels
vital portion of the mid term paper how you argue for your interpretation (not your ability to summarize and prove that you’ve done the reading... which is assumed)—that is, what meaning or meanings do you make of or find in combining the text with your
has the benefit of letting your reader know that you acknowledge that the green-in-absentia might not have been central to understanding the story for most readers, but that it was for you. This way your reader will see how you are approaching the text, rather than the color fixation coming from left field. In this sort of paper, the “touchy feelie” (how do you feel about this story) may be a legitimate place to begin, but what is most important is explaining your own logic in thinking it (why you felt that way). You may write that you wholly disagree with the sentiment or ideology of the autobiographical graphic novel. Many of us do. But unless you can explain how your feeling helps explain the story or inform your interpretation, then do not include it.
Your Paper and You
In general, your personal experience is irrelevant and beside the point. For instance, if your grandmother is an awesome cartoonist and told you about being a colorist for Marvel during the 1960s. That is very interesting. And may make you feel more passionate about a particular text or even a particular point of view about the text. But unless you can articulate and explain the relationship between that experience and your interpretation of the text (your reading), it is irrelevant. The exception here is if your personal experience directly relates to how you read the text; if so, then
similar scene, character, phrase, or word? Does this one instance help us make sense of the others? Avoid excessive plot summary. It is sometimes necessary that you refer to some plot point, but assume you are writing for someone who has read the story. The most
The response paper can be the basis for a final paper later. Choose something you like and you may work with it again!
you may mention it. So if grandma mentioned how difficult it was to use greens and your interpretation hinges on the lack of green colors in 1960s comics, then you may want to acknowledge that your fixation with the absence of green may stem from grandma’s story and not the story you read. This
Feel free to end with questions. How far does your interpretation take us? You don’t have to answer everything, but you can show how you think your interpretation connects to bigger issues by posing a question. Speculation is where the most creative and often most productive thinking lies. This sort of question can lead to some interesting outside research further down the road, but is outside the scope of this paper.
Spring 2013
