1302 John Steinbeck Essay Prompts

Potential essay topics.  Choose one:

• Evaluate the use of fictional methods by Steinbeck to make political arguments.
• Analyze one of the characters such as Tom Joad, Jim Casy, or Rose of Sharon as an archetype who represents a larger, American trait.
• Evaluate Steinbeck’s attempt to portray the universal human need for dignity balanced with the novel’s realism and specific portrayal of life in the Depression years.
• Surprise me. Develop your own argument using evidence from Grapes of Wrath.

 Format:

• 1000 words
• Double space
• 10 or 12 point font
• Standard written English
• One inch margins
• Cite with footnotes in Chicago style, not in parenthetical MLA style.

Content:

• Your paper must have a main idea/thesis/argument. It cannot be a summary of the reading.
• Your paper must be carefully edited. Grammar, punctuation, and spelling count.
• Cultivate your own voice/style. You will be writing a lot of papers in college, at least three in this course, so find your voice.  This does not mean the papers are about you.  Do not write about yourself.
• You must demonstrate understanding and familiarity with both core text by Steinbeck.
• These are reading response essays, not research papers. There should be no other source material beyond Steinbeck; do not summarize content you have read on the internet.
  

Grading:

• Meet the format requirements
• Have a strong main idea
• Write clearly and edit your work

A papers do these three tasks strongly, B papers may be weak in one area, C papers may be weak in two areas, etc.

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the theft of words or ideas from another writer and dishonestly passing them off as your own.  Any plagiarism- even a few sentences or a single paragraph- will result in a ZERO on the paper.  Do not be tempted to submit work you did not create.