Essay #1 Prompt
(1000-1400 Words)

Please note: I do not read any paper that does not reach the minimum number of words. Essays which do not rise to the word count receive an automatic failure for the assignment. The word count only includes the following: the title and the body of the paper.

Directions:

• Choose one of the following topics and write a 1000-1400 word paper (double-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font) based on your own analysis of the work.

• You are NOT to use outside sources EXCEPT class notes/discussion and editorial material from the Anthology of American Literature, which must be cited using MLA style. (The Bible may be used if applicable.)

• You are expected to support your paper using references to the primary text(s), cited in MLA style (use line numbers for poetry, page numbers for prose). Formal lecture notes given by the professor must be cited as such.

• Papers must be submitted to Safe Assign on BlackBoard by 11:59pm.

Topics:

1. Demonstrate how Jonathan Edwards exemplifies American culture in one of his writings.

2. Explain how either Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson reflect(s) a Christian worldview.

3. Show how one of any (from the works covered in class) of the eighteenth-century writers covered in class exhibit the literary, cultural, and/or historical characteristics of their age. When writing this paper, narrow your focus to one historical/cultural event, figure, trend, or invention to ensure a focused and succinct thesis instead of a broad and ill-defined one.

4. Write an analysis of one of the arguments about racism made by Phyllis Wheatley and then evaluate her position.

5. Examine the how the FORM (i.e., poetry, prose, literary devices, etc.) of any of the works covered this semester contributes to the CONTENT of the work(s).