4890: Response Essay – Due September 18 Most academic research begins when a scholar notices something or finds something troubling in a text. To begin your individual research project, write a 3-page essay identifying the things you notice in the text or texts you’re studying. What would you like to explore further about the text(s)? What strikes you as interesting or unusual or perhaps unclear? What questions do you have about your text(s)? How do you think theyrelate to our course theme of literature as political commentary? You do not need to have an answer or any answers at this point. Use this essay to put into words – and thereby make concrete and clear for yourself and for me – the responses, questions, and issues that the text(s) raise(s) for you. This will get you started on finding a focus for your project. Grading criteria: Attentive, sensitive response to the text(s) – Do you seem to be wrestling with real issues and responses or identifying the most obvious themes of a text? I’m looking for essays that show you actively thinking and taking risks, not simply summarizing the text or giving the safe or obvious interpretation. You want to have something worth saying, and that must begin with noticing something that matters. Inquiry – Do you identify significant issues that are worth further exploration, or do you already have conclusions? I’m looking for initial responses that will lead you into genuine inquiry, not for responses that you’ve already figured out and would simply flesh out a bit and insert a few barely relevant quotes. You want to find ideas that you can run with, ideas that will take you somewhere that you can’t yet see. Relevance – Are you identifying themes or aspects of the text that relate to the theme of literature and politics? I’m looking for evidence that you are at least beginning to use ideas from the course, not repeating things you already know or analyses you’ve done for previous courses. You want a way to approach your topic that will let you develop a rich analysis that fits well with this course and that gives you new insights. Effective writing – Do your ideas come through clearly and engagingly, or is the piece hard to read and boring? I’m looking for writing that makes me want to read more, not writing that I have to struggle with. You want to practice writing in a serious but personable voice.