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English 85: The American Novel
Sections A & F, TA: Melanie Ho

Homework Assignment: "Choose Your Own Adventure" Explication Practice
DUE DATE: Next week-Friday, 11/14 at the beginning of section.

Purpose: We will have a timed, graded explication quiz next week (Friday 11/14) at the beginning of section. The quiz will include two parts. In Part I, you will have to quickly identify the novel and author for three different passages (from the books read so far). In Part II, you will pick one of those passages and write an explication on it. You will have approximately 20 minutes to do this. Since each of you has different concerns and strengths when it comes to explication, I would like you to prepare in whatever way is best for your specific needs.

Directions:

• Review all the explication handouts from class and the advice on the website.
• Read all of the options below and choose ONE. Bring your typed assignment to class next week. You can also combine two options, or make up your own, so long as you clear it with me in advance. Make sure to write down which option (or combination) you chose. (If you want to do more than one for additional practice, go for it.)
• You will receive points for completing this assignment, but it will not be graded, so don't feel like you have to pick the easiest option; pick the one that you think will help you the most.

Select ONE of the following options:

If you would like more practice with organization (including selecting the right examples and presenting them in a logical order):

1. Pick TWO separate passages from The Names (these should be from different chapters). For each one, write a detailed outline of an explication. Each outline should include: a) ONE main idea/argument about the passage and b) THREE carefully-selected quotes or groupings of quotes that you would discuss in an explication AND notes on how you will talk about each in relation to your main idea/argument. Pay special attention to organization-the order in which you will talk about things and the selection of your examples. Then choose ONE of the two outlines and write your explication.

If you would like more practice analyzing specific words and phrases in service of an argument:

2. Look at the directions for the first homework assignment again (on Charlotte Temple-"How the Story is Told"). Pick TWO passages from The Names and then, for each passage, choose a main idea/argument that you would like to discuss in relation to each passage (in can be the same idea/argument, but it doesn't have to be). For each passage, pick EIGHT specific words or phrases (no complete sentences) from your passage that relate to your idea/argument and list them. Next to each item, explain (in 1-2 sentences) why each word or phrase contributes to your idea/argument. When you are done with that, then choose ONE of the two passages and write an explication in paragraph format. Keep in mind that your explication does not need to include all eight words/phrases nor should they be simply discussed in the order you made the list; think about the most logical way to arrange your explication.

If you would like more practice with thinking of arguments, focusing on one, and then organizing your thoughts around it:

3. Think about THREE different ideas/arguments in relation to The Names. For each idea/argument, find TWO different passages (from different chapters) that you could use to write an explication on that idea/argument. Select ONE. Then write an outline and an explication (see Option for more details on outlining).

If you would like more practice mastering a series of "steps" to explication:

4. Look at the Benito Cereno homework assignment (Explication v. Summary) and the steps to explication from our class week 3 group activity (the one with the butcher paper-you can find all of this online). Pay attention to the difference between the steps, and think about which series of steps worked better for you (or combine them or switch around the steps if you like). Pick a passage from The Names, take it through the steps, then write an explication in paragraph format.

If you would like to practice feeling comfortable with conditions similar to those of the quiz and exam:

5. Before you start writing, take a few seconds to think about what process you will go through during test conditions. Will you make an outline first? Mark up the passage first? What will you keep in mind as you write your explication-in other words, what will your mental checklist be? Jot down a few notes on what your process should be. Then either flip through The Names at random and choose a passage or look at one of the extra explication practice passages from The Names on the website. Set a timer at 20 minutes and write your explication.

If you would like to practice writing clearly and precisely under pressure:

6. Select TWO passages that Professor Mott has mentioned in lecture (one of these must be on The Names, the other can be from one of the other books). If he just talked about a few words or phrases, then find a longer passage (a short paragraph, or the equivalent) from which he took those words or phrases. Write TWO explications where you take the passage and relate it to the same argument that Professor Mott advanced in lecture. Since you will not have to think of your own argument in this exercise, you should pay special attention to your writing and your clear discussion of the quotes. Set a timer at 15 minutes for each.

If you want to try a more creative approach to thinking about language and meaning:

7. Select any passage from The Names. Then decide on a main idea/argument expressed in that passage. Then RE-WRITE the passage so that the events are the same but the idea/argument is no longer as strong (see the sample from class today). In your rewriting, change at least SIX things in the passage (word choice, sentence construction, etc). Write a paragraph comparing your passage to DeLillo's; explain your specific rationale for changing specific parts of the passage.

Another creative option:

8. Think back to the "Three Bears" story from the first day of class. Pick one event from the story (such as Goldilocks entering the house, or the bears finding her, etc.), and write your own version of the story TWICE - once in the style of DeLillo and once in the style of either Zora Neale Hurston or Susanna Rowson. Make sure someone else in the class would be able to tell who you were tying to imitate. One of the best ways of learning how to analyze language is to imitate another author's style.