About THIS Midterm exam:
You've been asked to bring in 12-15 signifcant lines from Cyrano which you will discuss. These MUST be a SEQUENCE of lines (like the passage you chose for the close reading) so that you can explain why this set of lines is significant. It's useful to think of this assignment as another close reading, except using dramatic literature.

You may bring in an OUTLINE of your proposed essay. Write this outline on a 3x5 notecard only. You may NOT have any paragraphs or extended writing in this outline. You must also include ideas and insights you got from your class discussion in the first hour in the essay. Including class discussion is an integral part of the exam.

We will be meeting at 6 PM sharp in Room 6303 in the Language Arts Division on the Foothill Campus. Bring a bluebook (buy them in any college bookstore), a copy of your significant lines, one page of notes, and a pen/pencil. You may also use the MACS in the lab to type your exam if you'd like. Also, you will need a picture ID that I’ll check off when I collect your bluebook (you’ll then get another from the random pile). Be sure you review the Unit 5 Lesson on this essay so you understand what you’re being asked to do.

Here’s how the evening will go:
Voluntary 5:45 Coffee and appetizers in the Language Arts Division Office

6-6:15 Review of ID and preview remaining course requirements
6:15-6:50 Group discussion
6:50-7 Break/Voluntary Planning /Caucusing for Colloquium Groups
7-8 Write the essay.

We have a tight schedule so be on time. Note that you cannot bring ANY food or drink into Room 6303 but I’ll plan to make a pot of coffee and provide cheese, fruit and crackers for sustenance from 5:45 on outside in the Division Office nearby (Room 6029).

This will be the first of three gatherings, culminating in the final and the colloquium (to which you can invite friends and family if you’d like).

The Essay Prompt

Choosing 12-15 Significant Lines from Cyrano

Provide a rationale for the significance of these lines in terms of the play as a whole, explain the context for the lines, and analyze the lines in terms of character, setting, relationships, or issues.

Your paper should also explore how these lines correspond to what we already know and what we will soon know in the play. (adapted from a Jim Whearty assignment)

Keep Focused

As Cyrano stayed en guard in his sword fighting, you must stay on point in your essay writing.

Remember that this is much like a close reading in that it is tightly focused on just a few lines from the play and you are arguing why these lines are significant.

You are not retelling the story; you are providing evidence for the importance of these lines to the play as a whole.

Talk, Listen, Learn

You are encouraged to incorporate any insights you gathered from the hour-long discussion into your essay. Be sure you cite the source (your fellow student) and indicate his/her ideas using quotations. Your essay should be a rich mix of evidence to support your argument that these lines are significant.

What's Next?

What's Important Here?

At the Essay Level

Most importantly you need to determine that you've "cultivated the land" you've been assigned. In other words, have you completed the task outlined in the essay prompt.

Choose 12-15 lines
Situate them in terms of character, scene, and the whole play
Support your argument for their significance. These are important lines because......?

Secondly, you need to determine that you've organized the essay according to some logical plan.

Do you have a beginning, middle, and end to the essay?
The reader must feel invited into the essay, and ushered out at the end.
Does each paragraph predict or lead into the next?
The reader should feel a certain momentum of ideas, pulling her through the essay.
Does each paragraph advance or deepen the discussion of the previous paragraph?
The reader should feel that she is stepping down into the heart of the argument as she moves from paragraph to paragraph.

Lastly, you need use transitional words or phrases and other coherence devices to connect ideas and to foreground the relationships among the ideas you are exploring. You are weaving a tapestry of ideas and these strategies tighten the "weave."

At the Paragraph Level

Consider here the order and depth of evidence that you use to support your argument for significance of lines. Refer to the text and use specific references that are relevant to your argument. Cite these sources using correct MLA style, and keep your paragraphs focused--moving from generalization or assertion to specific evidence. Imagine an inverted pyramid of ideas. Be sure that you ensure a smooth flow from the end of one paragraph to the beginning of the next, both in form and idea.

IM Pei's unique entrance to the Louvre in Paris

At the Sentence Level

Note the mechanics AND the style of your sentences. Are they free of editing errors? Are they clearly focused and do they clearly convey your intent?

Note also the words you've chosen. Are you using concise words? Are you in control of the subtext of your sentences---meaning are any of your word choices connotatively loaded?

Note that your sentences should be both correct and stylish. Stretch yourself a little to use stylistic devices such as parallel structure, balanced sentences, the power of threes to "upgrade" your writing.

Your sentences should be powerful, stylish, and sophisticated---just like the Ferrari as my husband would argue.

What's Next?

After you write your paper and get it back, check out the next Reading on ways to revise the essay.

Taking Another Look

What do you know NOW that you didn't know then?

It's always useful to review your essay after the creative energy has dissipated a little and you can be a dispassionate critic of your own work. Read over your essay and note its strengths and weaknesses at the essay, paragraph, and sentence levels.

In taking another look at your paper, after a time, you are shifting your perspective from that of a writer to a reader, and thus you can consider the essay as a reader would, noting what makes sense and what doesn't.

Mark your text for editing issues, gaps in logic, and weakly supported arguments.

How can you enliven the writing?

Consider that an essay can be correct but not compelling. Note the types of sentences you use and the "sound" of your sentences. Try reading your essay aloud and notice where you stumble over awkward phrasing or convoluted syntax.

Look for imprecise words and opportunities to add stylistic devices which might make your writing more interesting.

Where can you better connect with the reader?

More points of connection make a stronger essay.

Are there any paragraphs or any examples that you can reframe so that the reader is drawn more deeply into your argument? What's your mix of logos, pathos, or ethos? Can you use any metaphors or analogies which will illustrate your point? How do you welcome your reader into the essay and how do satisfy their curiosity at the end?

Revising is more than Correcting!

Be very sure that revising an essay involves much more than correcting the errors. You need to rethink what you've written and like any artist, re-envision the whole to better communicate your ideas.