Perfume+Half+Paper+Guidelines

// __ Perfume __ //__ – Half a World Lit paper. __   **  What is the World Lit?  ** - An assignment of 1,000 to 1,500 words - Based on 2 of our 3 World Lit texts (// Perfume //, // The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea //, // Siddhartha //) - Topic to be chosen by you (I will help you though) - Supervised by your teacher (and will receive an ISB grade for your first draft) but then submitted to an external examiner - 20% of your final grade ** So why are we doing this ‘half a world lit’ assignment? **  One of the hardest parts of the World Lit paper is developing a good topic, so this paper is designed to help you practice by going through the process of choosing a topic and developing it appropriately. ** So what do we have to do for this assignment? **  - Choose a topic or idea that interests you from // Perfume // - Develop the topic until it reads like the ones from the powerpoint in class (the ones we said were good …) One of the first steps in this process should be to collect evidence and ideas about the topic – this will help you to decide if this is a ‘good’ topic, that it is neither too broad nor too narrow etc. - Write your thesis statement - Write a plan (this is due first day back after break) - Peer edit the plan, discuss with me if you need - Write the essay (750 – 800 words – so probably only need 2-3 body paragraphs, intro and conclusion) - Remain conscious throughout the process about the difficulties you face and what you need to improve on for the ‘real’ World Lit paper. ** What should my plan/outline look like? (This is due the first class back) ** - Your outline may take any form you choose e.g. diagram, handwritten, typed up etc. However it must contain: a clear thesis statement, topic sentences for each intended paragraph, specific and related text references. It should represent the body of your argument – introductory and concluding paragraphs are not necessary at this point. - You will ‘present’ your outline to a partner during the first class back to test out whether your idea is supportable. - Your outline should be approximately 400 words to ensure that your actual essay is well within the word count. ** REMEMBER: ** you should __already__ be thinking about topics for the real World Lit. Keep thinking about aspects of the work that interest you or seems to be important. Keep track of significant passages or quotes, keep careful notes and jot down ideas as they come to you, no matter how ridiculous they seem to you at the time. ** So how do I pick a good topic? **  Think about these questions as you are developing your ideas about your topic (both for the // Perfume // assignment and your actual World Lit): - What is the role of your chosen aspect in these works? - How does this differ or seem the same when comparing the texts? - What effects do they create in the text? - What was the authors’ probably purpose in placing them there? Once you have a focus or direction, going back to the text is VERY important. Don’t rely on memory – look at your notes and re-read part or all of the text(s), writing down and noting ANYTHING that seems relevant to your topic. As one examiner notes, ‘Students have found the careful assembling of evidence an invaluable way to shape their assignments. It is also the stage at which you can see if your proposed topic is going to work and to hold your interest. You cannot analyse (seeing how parts relate to the whole) until you see the whole picture.’