Appendix. Sample essay by Alex Hobbs
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
Summary
Here is an essay that was written by a student in her first year of study for a degree in English and American Literature at the Open University. It has been reproduced in its entirety and its original format without any editorial alteration or correction. You can read it independently in order to examine the features of a strong essay but you'll also find more detailed methods of analysing it on pages 82, 109 and 113 in chapter 4: Essays. You could also reformat it in the MLA style for textual references if you want to practise referencing methods.
“The model of individual triumph over adversity tends to undermine the pleas for social reform at the heart of all antebellum slave narratives.” (David Van Leer, 128, Sundquist) Do you agree?
Slave narratives had a gripping story line, which captured the reader in the same way as picaresque and sentimental novels. Due to this, they were bestsellers; as Baker notes, they were widely translated and cheaply available, and as a result “sold by the thousands”. However, these were autobiographies and so contained truth, this strengthened the impact of the story for the reader. Whether the slave directly called for social reform in their narrative or whether it can be inferred, it is certain that by writing this literature, the author hoped to influence attitudes concerning black people in American society. […]
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- Information
- Studying English LiteratureA Practical Guide, pp. 156 - 165Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2008