Diagnostic Essay: Close Reading ExerciseDescription: 2-page short essaySource: Macbeth, Act V, scene iiiTotal Points: 50Due: Niihka “Assignments” tab by class time on appropriate date

The AssignmentWrite a concise, well-supported, claim-driven 2-page close reading of a short scene (V.iii) from Macbeth. In your first paragraph, offer a detailed, nuanced (yet concise!) summary of the passage: in other words, examine the passage’s explicit meaning by explaining “what it’s about” as we practiced in class. For the remainder of the essay, start delving into the deeper implicit meanings of the passage: articulate a clear claim about how the scene develops one or two key issues, ideas, problems, or themes, and support that claim with specific evidence derived from the language used in the scene. Feel free to expand upon why these issues might be significant for the play more broadly, but keep your analysis very closely focused on this scene toward the end of the play.

This is the first essay you are writing for this class, so please spend time reading the text in preparation as well as in both writing and revising your argument: double-check everything from topic sentences to paragraph structure, and proofread carefully for accurate spelling and grammar.

NOTE: This is NOT a research paper: the goal is to practice the close reading skills we have begun using in this class, and the essay will serve as a diagnostic tool for me to determine how best to develop those writing skills over the course of this semester. Should you like to make arguments that address aspects of the theatrical or cultural context that might have influenced this play, feel free to appropriately cite the historical readings we have already read for this class (e.g., Greenblatt, or Dunton-Downing and Rider) using MLA style.

Criteria for Evaluation

Focus: the focus of your essay should follow the prompt carefully, and it should examine the specific scene as closely as possible (this is not an argument about plot)

Unity: the mini-essay will be unified by clear claims about what the passage means and why it is significant

Coherence: each paragraph has a topic sentence and moves logically from one to the next with careful transitions

Support: this should appeal to specific evidence from the text of the play to support your claims

Critical Thinking: critically engage with the scene’s implicit meaning; in other words, it should reflect how you are critically interpreting these details and issues in the play and why they matter

Readability: trim any fat from your prose (make every word count!), revise for clarity, and check for proper spelling and grammar

English and Film Studies 221Shakespeare and FilmCR