Provincial stories: George Singleton has described himself as a provincial writer rather than a Southern writer. One meaning of the word “provincial” is that it refers to a person outside of urban culture who is often viewed as rustic, conservative, or unsophisticated. Using this idea, students are to analyze at least two stories from Half Mammals of Dixie as illustrating “provincial” culture. Student should use at least two articles from the library databases that discuss provincial America, rural America, or American or Southern folk culture and apply ideas from those articles to an understanding of the works selected. The essay should be a minimum of 750 words and be documented following MLA documentation style.
Singleton, George. The Half Mammals of Dixie. Harvets, 2004. Print.
Requirements
- Length: Your essay must be a minimum of 750 words.
- Documentation Format: You must include an MLA formatted Works Cited page that includes correctly formatted internal citations for the stories and the additional resources.
- Sources: You are restricted to stories from Half Mammals of Dixie by George Singleton and articles from the library databases that discuss provincial America, rural America, or American or Southern folk culture. Your response is based on your own close reading of the works and selection of relevant evidence in support from each work supported by arguments based on explanations from the articles in the databases.
- Format: The essay must be in MSWord format (.doc or .docx). Create one body paragraph for each story. The paragraphs should appear in the same order as the works listed in the thesis.
Students must use MLA style documentation. Internal citations should identify the author and page number for the stories and author for the article. Students must also include an MLA Works Cited page.Students should proofread carefully their final drafts for spelling, grammar, and punctuation as well as clarity, conciseness, and completeness. The final draft should be typed, double spaced, with one inch margins, in Times New Roman 12 pt. The essay should be a minimum of 800 words.
The essay will be evaluated based on how well students develop their arguments with significant support from the story (thesis, topic sentences, supporting details from the story); clarity, cohesion, and conciseness; correct use of MLA format; and grammar and spelling.For this essay, students may use a dictionary to help with words with which they are not familiar but should not refer to the dictionary definitions in the essay. Students must use MLA style documentation. Internal citations should identify the author and line number for the poems and author or authors for any articles or other resources. Students must also include an MLA Works Cited page.
Students should proofread carefully their final drafts for spelling, grammar, and punctuation as well as clarity, conciseness, and completeness. The final draft should be typed, double spaced, with one inch margins, in Times New Roman 12 pt. The essay should be a minimum of 900 words.The essay will be evaluated based on how well students develop their arguments with significant support from the poems (thesis, topic sentences, supporting details from the poems); clarity, cohesion, and conciseness; correct use of MLA format; and grammar and spelling.
