Debra P. Holmes
Member
Good Morning, all!
I have assigned some kind of paper in my intro to theatre course every time I have taught it as I strongly believe in the value of the written word's communication value. This semester, it was a DISASTER!!! I assigned a research paper comparing and contrasting the genre of tragedy by choosing two of the three plays we read this semester (Oedipus Rex, Hamlet, and Death of a Salesman). Oh my goodness!!! SO MUCH FAIL!!! More than half of my students failed the assignment for a variety of reasons:
Thank you so much for your suggestions! I really appreciate all of your support!
Debra
I have assigned some kind of paper in my intro to theatre course every time I have taught it as I strongly believe in the value of the written word's communication value. This semester, it was a DISASTER!!! I assigned a research paper comparing and contrasting the genre of tragedy by choosing two of the three plays we read this semester (Oedipus Rex, Hamlet, and Death of a Salesman). Oh my goodness!!! SO MUCH FAIL!!! More than half of my students failed the assignment for a variety of reasons:
- They don't know what a research paper is
- They don't know how to get proper academic sources
- They can't use MLA (or understand in line citations)
- Their writing is HORRIBLE!
- A summary is not a research paper
- The fact that these plays were written in different eras means nothing, unless you can support it with some kind of cultural differences (Like Hamlet was Catholic and Oedipus worshiped the Greek gods)
- Oedipus did not die, he blinded himself (among other incorrect facts)
Thank you so much for your suggestions! I really appreciate all of your support!
Debra