Your Bibliographic Essay will be on a single work by a single author in our text (the author and text do not have to be on the syllabus, however). This is not an argumentative essay; instead, your task is to find the most significant criticism and interpretation relating to the text you choose, and summarize it in a 2,400-word report (approx. eight pages, not including the Works Cited page).
You should have at least eight critical sources; at least three should be books, and the rest should be scholarly articles (in print, or found through the library online databases). In other words, don’t use open Internet resources — including Wikipedia — as resources for this essay (although you might use them for “grounding” yourself). Start planning early! See the first week’s assignments. Also, note the sample bibliographic essay posted on our class site.
You must follow MLA documentation style.
Your first paragraph will present your central focus: what key issue or issues unify or relate the materials you will summarize. After that, you basically report on the articles and books you have chosen; summarize the main points relevant to your central focus. It is not necessary to critique the sources. Use paraphrase and brief quotation; learn the difference between them. Learn how to frame a quotation. Cite according to MLA guidelines, carefully.
Then, present a brief summary conclusion.
