Hello! Here is a 30-minute video for you to watch, containing an overview of things you should know when writing your papers for this class (or, for that matter, any English class). A lot of this will be review from WRT 101, but it never helps to hear certain pieces of advice too many times.
I refer in this video to the following handouts — these are also available on our Canvas site:
1.) First, here is a simple one-page handount outlining the component parts of a successful paper (this closely follows what I say in my video):
2.) Second, here is a handout explaining how to develop a paper topic. The paper assignments for3this course are open-topic, meaning that I won’t be giving you pre-packaged topics to write about; instead, you can write about anything you want (pertinent to the play, of course!). I use examples from A Midsummer Night’s Dream here, but my advice will apply equally well to As You Like It or Hamlet:
3.) Third, here is a handy list of “do’s and don’ts” that I’ve compiled for this class:
4.) Lastly, here is a short guide that explains some of the harder features of Shakespeare’s language. You may find that this answers some of your questions when close reading:
Prof. Jamey E. Graham 