You Have a Choice . . . Plus Some Final Reminders

Although I had hoped that people would take last week's reading deadline seriously so that you could get going on the final paper about a week ago, the reality is that many of you did not do so.  And this essay, done well, involves too much complexity and supportive detail to knock off easily this evening.  Some of you do a good job of brewing ideas at a complex level even as you go about your daily life; if you've been doing that, and if you know the books well enough to pull out the essential detail fast enough and blend it fluently, you might be OK.  But for most of you, slapping something together just tonight will not result in a quality paper.

So, for those of you who are sick, or at Camp Orkila, or tending to other business, here's the deal we made in class today:

1) Papers are still "due" tomorrow--hard copy and on turnitin.com-- for the dual benefits of full credit and a prom week-end free of AP English work, worry, or guilt.

2) Anytime tomorrow (up to 11:59) provides the benefits described above:  as long as it's on turnitin.com by midnight, the hard copy can come in on the test day.

3) However, now there is a further option, but it comes with a price:  you may turn in your paper (again both hard copy and turnitin.com) by the time of your test.  Yes, this varies--3rd period needs to turn it in on Monday and have it online before class or before you leave the room.  First and second period have until their class times on Tuesday.  That's the breaks of finals week.  What is the price?  A grade deduction of up to five percent. Papers turned in on Monday will get a better deal. 
Camp Orkila people are of course exempt from any penalty; you had the Monday/Tuesday option from the beginning.

4) These are good rich texts.  Do them justice.  Illuminate--don't rehash the familiar and/or obvious.

• Do not be mindless or careless about MLA; you know the drill.
• Introductions are especially important when you are setting your own topic. You need to set an appropriate context for the particular elements of interest, and the thesis must reflect and arguable claim as well as a (circle analogy of choice:  road map   game plan   blueprint) for the paper's organization.  This should be subtle, not blunt.  But I should be able to read the paper, look at each body thesis, and go back and match them up with parts of your thesis.
• Organize around POINTS OF COMPARISON/CONTRAST.  Each body thesis needs to make a claim--an assertion--that your paragraph (or a couple of paragraphs) will go on to support.  In the best papers, this claim will have underlying complexity that not only observes something of interest, but also goes on to assert cause, consequence, qualification, or other relationships that bring depth and nuance to your claims. 
• Consider diction.  You are almost in college.  Sound like it.
• Proofread.  If you type it, I will assume you mean it.

Then you will be done.  Your final test should be easy if you know the books well enough to write a good paper. 

The End.