with the evolution of British literature throughout eight
centuries, your major writing assignment for the course asks you
to apply what you have learned as the course progresses. You are
expected to write an MLA documented paper including in-text
citations (approximately 7 - 10 pages) that shows some of what
you have learned in the class. No personal voice ("I") should be
used in the writing. Here are the specifics.
NOTE: This paper is worth 30% of your final course grade.
Students should continually be drafting sections of this paper
throughout the duration of course. Students are encouraged to
frequently ask for clarification of assignment or feedback on
drafts as needed.
1. The topic of your paper should be one of three "theme"
questions we have for the semester:
• How does literature reflect the relationship between the
individual and faith/belief/religion?
• How does literature reflect the relations between women
and men?
• How does literature reflect the evolution of the hero-like
character?
2. What I would like to see is your interpretation of how and
why writers' responses to these topic questions changed
in response to changes in history, culture, society, literary
fashion, literacy, etc. - i.e., your interpretation of the
sweep of literary history.
Fig: 1