Analyzing Literature You′ve read excerpts from secular works written in the medi

Analyzing Literature
You′ve read excerpts from secular works written in the medieval period such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Canterbury Tales. Both are quest narratives that reveal much about the social life and codes of conduct followed in the medieval period. Write an essay on one of the topics provided in part A of this task. Follow these guidelines for writing the essay.
Guidelines
Gathering and evaluating sources
Refer to online resources or books in a library on the relevant topic in order to write the essay.
Make sure you look for the date and the author of the resource and check whether the resource provides valid information that is useful in writing the essay.
You can refer to this article or search for other web pages like it to find out more about evaluating sources.
Developing a thesis or argument
Your essay should be built around a thesis statement, or the main argument.
The thesis statement should be well supported by your research and the text you are analyzing.
This article will provide you with more information on thesis statements and developing a topic.
Writing the essay
Consult this resource for guidelines when writing an analytical essay.
The structure and language of your essay should be your own. Read these guidelines on how to avoid plagiarism. Make sure you cite all sources you refer to, using a consistent format for both in-text citations and the Works Cited page. You can use either MLA or APA formats.
Reread your essay to eliminate spelling errors and to rule out grammatical mistakes before turning in the essay.
Part A
Choose one of the two topics detailed below for your essay:
A medieval romance is a kind of writing that has a mysterious, supernatural setting, idealizes chivalry and courtly love, and may involve masking a character′s real identity. Usually the hero of a medieval romance is a knight who takes an unusual challenge and whose triumph brings glory to the king and the nation. Reread https://app.edmentum.com/redirect//352677 from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (or you may choose to read more of it from an online source), and write an analytical essay that examines how the poem fits into the genre of medieval romances.
In The Canterbury Tales, pilgrims relate the stories on their way to the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury. However, the stories often have an irreverent tone. Examine to what extent “The Pardoner’s Tale” or “The Nun′s Priest’s Tale” (or another section of another story if you want to read more online) seems to mock aspects of religion in general or Christian beliefs and church practices of the time in particular.
Which topic did you choose?
Part B
You consulted various sources to write your essay. List your sources in MLA or APA format, and describe how you decided your sources were credible.
https://app.edmentum.com/redirect//352677
Part C
Write your thesis sentence in the space provided.
Task 2
Analyzing an Essay
In this task, you will read George Orwell’s Politics and the English Language. You will write your reactions to the parts of the essay that cite rules for writing or state methods for preventing the decline of the English language.
Part A
Choose one point from Orwell’s essay https://app.edmentum.com/redirect//352322 with which you agree and one point with which you disagree. Include reasons for your arguments.
Write your response in the space provided.
Part B
George Orwell gives examples of bad writing in the essay “Politics and the English Language.” Choose two examples from the essay and discuss how you feel about the quality of writing. Do you think Orwell’s criticism is valid? What other comments would you make about his examples? Do you think people write in similar ways now, and if so, is that a problem?
Write your response in the space provided.
Part C
Language changes with time and context. What is your opinion about what constitutes good or bad usage? Is it necessary for speakers or writers to follow a particular standard of correctness? Do such standards vary with the audience and the situation?
Do you think an individual or a group of individuals can actually maintain a certain quality of language and usage? If your answer is yes, state how these rules can be applied effectively. If your answer is no, then state the reasons why such control should not be exercised. Write a short essay to state your position on these questions.
Write your essay in the space provided.