Tell all the truth but tell it slant

Discipline: English

Type of service: Essay

Spacing: Double spacing

Paper format: MLA

Number of pages: 2 pages

Number of sources: 2 sources

Paper details:

Tell all the truth but tell it slant — (1263)

By Emily Dickinson

Tell all the truth but tell it slant —

Success in Circuit lies

Too bright for our infirm Delight

The Truth’s superb surprise

As Lightning to the Children eased

With explanation kind

The Truth must dazzle gradually

Or every man be blind —

Find online here

DIAGNOSTIC ESSAY

Due to Canvas assignment link by 11:59pm on Sunday, 30 September 2018
This is a Participation item and won’t have a formal grade, but it will give us both insight into where you stand in terms of the skills necessary for success in this course.

ASSIGNMENT DETAILS:

Building on the work you’ve done in the Discussion area, you will write a 2 page essay in which you will respond to Emily Dickinson’s poem, Tell all the Truth but Tell it Slant. You should write a thesis-driven essay in which you express the poem’s comment on the theme* of TRUTH. You will further consider how the formal elements of the poem help convey that meaning and attitude.

*A THEME is a truth of human experience that exists in the REAL WORLD. Works of literature present fictional representations (characters, scenarios, etc), in order to make an observation about something that occurs outside the text. A successful essay about THEME emphasizes the real-world relevance of the critical claim and uses the literary work as evidence — a representative illustration of that real-world truth.

Your formal essay will include, in this order:

An introduction that includes
- an identification of the poem, naming the title and full name of the author;
- one sentence summarizing the poem; and
- your own thesis: a single sentence that closes the introductory paragraphs and that expresses the poem’s critical insight about the theme.
At least four body paragraphs, each of which will:
- Use a topic sentence to identify the paragraph’s primary idea and link to the thesis;
- Offer a correctly introduced (please refer to your resources on citation) reference to/citation from a source, accompanied by a discussion of why that quote supports the analysis you asserted in your thesis;
- Focus primarily on expressing your own thinking, using the quoted and paraphrased material to support a point you’ve made on in your own words.
Transitions between and within paragraphs to guide your reader through a logical sequence of ideas;
A conclusion paragraph that reassures your readers that you have actually ‘proven’ that the claim you made (in your thesis sentence) is both critically interesting and accurate.

GRADING DETAILS:

Please refer to the OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT information in the Syllabus for grading criteria. Your score will fall into the grade ranges listed there, so the points do not reflect a rubric strategy of deducting points for “errors.” Note that I’ll be looking, in particular, for the following foundational writing conventions in this formal essay:

Do you make a critically interesting and arguable claim (thesis)?
Do you keep your body paragraphs focused on a single idea each?
Are your body paragraphs clearly linked to supporting your thesis?
Do you introduce quotes according to MLA style?
Do you transition your reader between ideas, both within and between paragraphs?
Do you employ grammatically correct sentences and strive for correctness in punctuation, capitalization, etc.?

WRITING ANALYTICALLY READING TO SUPPORT YOUR DRAFTING:

Chapter One: The Analytical Frame of Mind
Chapter Two: Reading Analytically
Chapter Three: Responding to Traditional Writing Assignments More Analytically

ADDITIONAL POINTERS:

Refer regularly to my Essay Essentials handout. An essay that violates the criteria listed there will not earn a grade higher than 1.9.
Refer to the guidelines and policies in the course syllabus for grading, submission-processes, late work, and/or other details related to the development and completion of assignments.
Become familiar with the MLA Guidelines for using In-Text Citations and Works Cited. For more information, see the Writing Center’s modules at http ://edcc .edu /lsc /handouts /
Become familiar with requirements for MLA formatting (including Works Cited pages, when appropriate or required) for final essays. For more information on MLA formatting, see Writing Center’s modules at http ://edcc .edu /lsc /handouts /
Review the College Policy regarding plagiarism (i.e., presenting someone else’s work, words, or ideas as your own; not citing outside source; insufficiently citing outside sources), copied below:
- Learning to properly cite sources takes time and practice, so, when possible, instructors will strive to approach instances of plagiarism as teaching moments that can emphasize the critical importance of documenting sources and reinforce the skill of integrating and citing outside materials. However, instructors might also need to impose consequences, which can include the following:
  - Reducing the grade on the assignment (even if that means the student will fail the class)
  - Requiring the student to re-do the assignment using different materials
  - Contacting the Dean of Student Success and Retention
  - The instructor might ask for permission from students to duplicate their writing (with names and other identifying elements removed) and use it for departmental/campus training and review purposes. If so, the instructor will ask the students to fill out a permission form, but the decision is completely up to the students. They are free to decline that request.

Hayden’s Academic Essay Essentials

Do not refer to yourself in your essay. Using the personal pronouns “I” and “my” and such only undermine the strength of your arguments, and this is frowned upon in academic writing. If you have written a thesis statement or any other part of your paper in which you say things like “I think” or “I noticed,” edit them out immediately…
Do not refer to your reader in your essay. Using the pronoun “you” to address your reader also undermines the strength of your arguments, and you run the risk of alienating the person reading your work by essentially telling them what to think. If you have written any part of your paper in which you say things like “you get the sense that” or “you will see that,” edit them out immediately…
Do not attempt to determine the author’s intent. Without being able to interview the author/filmmaker him or herself, you can’t know what she/he meant to do or say or express. All you can comment on is the effect of the choices made. If you have written a thesis statement or any part of your paper in which you say things like “the author meant to show…” or “the writer wanted us to know…” edit them out immediately…
Do not assume when writing about a literary work, that the author is the same as the speaker. Artists comment all the time on aspects of human experience, and sometimes they have shared the experiences they write about. Still, a poem, for example, is a work of fiction, and the speaker of the poem is a persona created by the artist in order to explore and represent an element of human experience. If you have written any part of your paper in which you say things like “the poet experiences” or “the poet says,” edit them out immediately…
Do not presume you are on a first-name basis with the authors of our texts. There are times when you might refer to a character within a text by first name, but the general rule should be that you introduce an author the first time by her/his full name (Hayden Bixby) and then by last name only, without a title designation (Bixby – not Ms. Bixby) for every subsequence reference.
Do not stray from the requirements of the assignment. Remember that the assignment asks you to express a point of view about a particular theme, using the assigned text(s) – and ONLY the assigned texts – for evidence. If you have written a thesis statement that merely overviews the meaning of the text(s), you haven’t yet achieved the required focus.
Do not use any source other than those assigned to make your argument. Remember that the assignment asks you only to respond critically to the assigned text(s). This is not a research paper, and you should not be incorporating other sources.
Do not use rhetorical questions or cliches. These might have been a nice gimmick in high school, but they are worn out by college. Use your own declarative thoughts to express your point of view.
Do not use any WUSSY WORDS! Remember that I already know that you’re “just” a student and that you “don’t totally know” what the works mean and that what you say they mean is only “your opinion.” And, yet, I actually want to know what you think – and I want it to be BOLD! Be creative, go out on a limb, assert your interpretation more forcefully than even you believe… it’s easier to rein in an idea that’s too big than it is to try to pump up something flat and flavorless. When you write, state your interpretation as FACT, then use the evidence to support that specific interpretation. We know that it might not be the last word on the subject, but we are seeing how it plays out. No apologies.
Do not offer “meta” commentary or reviews. Don’t say “this essay will” do anything… just do it! Don’t cite the assignment or the class (“the works assigned share a theme” or “comparing these texts it’s clear they relate to each other”), etc. And don’t offer your review of the quality of the text(s) (“in the well-written essay by…”). These kinds of comments distract your readers from the forcefulness of your argument.
DO follow all MLA formatting guidelines! You can find all the relevant formatting information in a variety of ways: through your textbook, via the EdCC Library website, via the Online Writing Lab, and, of course, through our work together in class. The information is accessible directly from the MLA website, too! Work to understand the formatting rules early in the quarter so that it becomes second nature for all of your future college-level writing work.