Hopkins Review Essay: Evaluating Poetry

The Hopkins Review essays mark an important departure in the course from our regular focus on writing creatively.  Although the essays may require more research than the poems you've submitted thus far and a bit of a closer analysis than our in-class readings, they should be something to worry you.  I grade the essays on a relatively simple rubric - by following the rubric and the simple tips, you will be able to write a quality essay which reveals important aspects of both the work evaluated and poetry in general.

This article provides tips and grading information for IFP Essay 1 - Analyzing a Poem.  The poems to be analyzed are from The Hopkins Review - Winter 2010 - New Series 3.1.  For more information on publication and subscriptions, please visit the Hopkins University Press.

For Introduction to Fiction and Poetry, most sections assign the two Hopkins Review essays to be turned in at the end of the course as part of the portfolio.  For Section 10 (Ryan Edel's Section), the two essays are due earlier in the semester, and you may submit revised essays with the portfolio to improve your grade.  The grading rubric provided is one I have developed specifically for my section - please check with your instructor regarding the grading and expectations for your section.

For my sections, I have divided the essay grading into five components for a total of thirteen points:

2pts - Summary of Details
Do you select appropriate quotes? Does your opening paragraph remind us of the key details of the work without retelling the entire story or poem?

2pts - Identification of Literary Techniques
Have you identified the key literary devices at work in the story or poem?

3pts - Analysis of the Literary Techniques
Do you analyze the meaning and importance of the literary devices?  Have you explained the relationship between the structure of the work and its meaning?

3pts - Evaluation of their Effectiveness
Does the story or poem work well? Are you able to point out the strengths and weaknesses of the piece you've read? Can you provide specific suggestions for how the author could have improved the piece?

3pts - Discussion of the Poem's Role in Literature
Can you categorize the work based on other stories and poems we've read this semester? How does the piece relate to our daily lives? How does reading this piece help us understand the art of writing?

Based on how well you fulfill each of these areas of the assignment, grades are given as follows:

13 - A+
12 - A
11 - A- (and so on - each point corresponds to a third of a letter grade)

Something I would like each of you to keep in mind is that the best essays will integrate the five key areas together throughout the essay.  First, start with a good introductory paragraph or two.  Let us know what the poem is about in a sentence or two (Summary), Identify the key techniques in the poem, and then very briefly tell us what your essay will show (think of this as an abstract for the Analysis, Evaluation, and Discussion).

After the introduction, I'd like to see each paragraph Identify a literary technique, provide a Summary of details showing where this technique occurs, and then Analysis of how this technique functions within the poem.  Then, either in that same paragraph or the next one following, Evaluate how well the technique works.  Did the author write an effective metaphor, or was the imagery overbearing?  It is important that you support your assertions with good quotes (Summary) and Analysis.

As you write, maintain a balance throughout the essay.  I have read essays where there is so much Summary that we have no room for real Analysis or Evaluation, and other essays where a very strong Evaluation (either exceptionally negative or completely positive) is unsupported by details from the poem itself.  What I'd like to see is a coherent whole - I want to know that you've read the poem, you considered what the poem is trying to do, and you've told us how well the poem does it.

At the end of your essay, I'd like to see a conclusion which briefly mentions what you've shown about the poem.  Then Evaluate the poem as a whole.  Is it a good poem, or does it need a lot of work?  Is the author's intent clear?  Do we feel satisfied after reading it?  Then, Discuss the poem's role in the canon of literature.  Is it a narrative poem?  Then tell us how it either supports or changes our views of narrative.  Does this poem reveal a greater truth about life?  What is that truth.  Is it something that we can easily understand?  Is it something that people often experience and rarely talk about, or is it something so banal that you would have preferred not to see a poem written for this topic?  Typically, a conclusion may require a whole paragraph for Evaluation, or perhaps a whole paragraph for Discussion.  Do keep in mind that the bulk of your Discussion points will come from this area of the essay, so it's better to go a little long if you need the space to develop your point.

About the the Essay Length and Deadlines:

The minimum essay length is three pages, double-spaced, maximum 1.25" margins on the sides and 1" margins top-and-bottom.  Regardless of essay length, use 12-pt font.  For my section, you may submit more than three pages.  It is certainly possible to submit an A-paper in three pages, and I encourage everyone to aim for this.  However, if you find that there is simply too much to write about, feel free to submit up to five and six pages.  If you think you might go past six pages, please notify me in advance so we can discuss the focus of your essay.  And please note: I cannot give extra credit for a longer essay, but I may take off points for a late essay.  It's better to turn in a rough draft on-time and then ask for an extension than it is to turn in a perfect essay after the deadline.

As always, I welcome comments and questions, and this is particularly true for the literary essays.  If you'd like more on how I view literary essays in the creative writing classroom, please see my article "Teaching the Literary Essay."

Happy Essay Writing,
Ryan

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