ENGL 310, Early Modern Drama (Melissa Walter)

The project for this course is to write an article (500-1,200 words) to be sent to the Early Modern England Encyclopedia for a chance to be published. Follow the steps below - given by Professor Walter - which can also be found in the Blackboard course.

Read the EMEE Student Contributor Guidelines (below) for steps and more information on the assignment. Review the rubric to understand how your entry will be evaluated.

Please review Blackboard for all assignment instructions, due dates, etc. Information in the LibGuide is meant to assist with research. Questions about the assignment should be directed to Professor Walter.

Next, sign up to contribute.  Please go to the Google sheet and put your name in the "Author" column next to your chosen article. (*the Google Sheet link is available in Blackboard).   

Option 1--You can "single-author."  If you prefer to be the sole author of your article, please put "request single author" next to your name in the sign-up column.  This is not a full guarantee of single-author credit, as the EMEE editor has the final say. If the editor makes significant changes to a submitted article in order to accept it for publication, she will likely become a co-author. 

Option 2--You can choose to work with one or two other people on the same article.  I have co-authored (with one other person) multiple times and I like it, but it is not for everyone. If you want to coordinate with a friend or colleague and sign up together to co-author (up to three for the same article), please coordinate using course messages and sign up together.  Please put "group" next to your group.  In this case, no one else should sign up for that article. All co-authors will receive the same mark.   

Option 3--If you want to write your own essay and be marked individually, but don't mind if someone else does the same topic, just sign up with your name.  Someone else might also sign up (up to three people can sign up).  In this case, the articles that each of you create, if accepted, will likely be melded by the editor, taking the best from each, and you will receive co-author credit.  Or possibly, if they are quite different, the editor might choose to retitle them and accept each one as individual articles.  Pick this option if you really want to do a certain topic, and want to be graded as an individual, but are not aiming as strongly for single author credit.  Up to three people can sign up for each topic in this case.  Don't put anything after your name when you sign up. 

None of these options will necessarily result in a better or worse grade.  Choose the way you want to work and what is important to you, and sign up accordingly! 

1. Read the article(s) from the old site, Shakespeare’s Life & Times (if applicable). Your task is to assess the page(s) and make judgments about quality and content.

• What is missing?  What should be combined? What needs to be revised, removed, or added?
• Develop an entirely new article based on this content, which may be cited as a source.
• You may adapt but not repeat the language and organization of the Life & Times article. Please consider a new title and you must include a new image.

2. Engage in research to develop the article and a list of 4-8 Key Sources (print and online) using these sources:

• Pertinent, recent publications on each topic published in ~2000 or later.
• Use important sources published before 2000 as necessary.
• NOTE:  Use of Generative AI for brainstorming is discouraged for this assignment, as we cannot ultimately cite GAI on the EMEE site.  As always, though, if you do use it, and any ideas or words from the GAI appear in your submitted draft, you must make clear what ideas or words come from GAI.

Each article should offer readers at least two (or more) Key Print Sources AND two (or more) Key Online Resources on the topic. We prefer print sources published after 2000 when possible. You may list books, essay collections, articles, or other reference works available, including entries in major encyclopedias. Print sources can be accessed electronically, but they must also exist outside of web publications.

For online resources, please prefer verifiable online sites from reputable institutions such as universities, museums, libraries, or other research institutions or publications. Scholarly sites by individual scholars are also acceptable, as are magazines, major tourism sites, and other reputable online locations.

Seek out at least one or more new images (high-resolution) from a large list of cooperating sites or from any other museum, library, or public institution that has elected to digitize and license items in its collection for non-commercial use.

Images you use must be either in the public domain or have a license that permits usage (e.g. a Creative Commons license). Check out the Library's Finding Images Guide for sources and more information. Note: all sources should be given proper attribution. 

Review EMEE Student Contributor Guidelines and other documentation on Blackboard for what to include in your writing piece.

IMPORTANT:  Please note that even though some of these examples do not have as many citations (and the EMEE editors may decide that some of our careful citations are not necessary), when you turn the assignment in to Professor Walter, it is required that you fully cite all sources of information in MLA style, even when that information is paraphrased.  This allows Professor Walter to check your sources and make sure the use of sources is of publishable quality.  As a courtesy to the editors, it would also be kind to submit PDFs of your sources that you accessed in PDF. 

For further writing support, review the links below: