Tuesday, November 16th

Hello, good morning,
below is a copy of the assignment for out of class essay 3.
Tomorrow in class we will be viewing some fairly interesting clips and commentary from Breaking Bad that some of you may find helpful when writing essay 3. See you tomorrow.



English 20, Section 7
Fall 2010
Prof. Fraga

Out of Class Essay Assignment #3 (200 points)
Assigned: Wednesday, November 10
Optional Rough Draft Due: no later than Wednesday, November 17
Due: Wednesday, December 1st

Requirements:
• MLA format
• If you utilize any outside sources (not required) you must follow MLA format for in- text citations, Works Cited page, etc.
• Attach Character Study Journal (all 7 entries) to essay when submitting

Before we began viewing the first season of Breaking Bad, I assigned a Character Study Journal. You were to select a character to focus on more carefully than others and to record observations of him or her as the episodes unfolded.

This Character Study Journal will now be a valuable source as you write your last out of class essay for this course.

Assignment:
Write an in-depth character analysis of one of the characters in the first season of Breaking Bad. Write your essay for an audience that has NOT viewed these episodes.

Your essay must include the following:
• An introduction/description/background of your character
• Assertions about your character
• Supportive evidence from the episodes that support your assertions (how did you come to the conclusions you did regarding your character?)

Your supportive evidence might include but is not limited to:
• what others observe/say (or don’t observe/say) about your character—either directly or in private
• the actions of your character in particular situations
• the reactions/responses of your character in particular situations
• what drives this character
• what terrifies this character
• what pleases this character
• what does this character long for
• what does this character need

Your thesis must be assertive…it is YOUR opinion as a viewer of these episodes.
Whether or not you LIKE or DISLIKE this character is not an issue in this essay.
Whether you LIKE or DISLIKE the series is also not an issue in this essay. Proving to the reader that this character has the attributes (good, bad, layered, shallow) that you assert he or she has is your goal.

Your thesis might read something like this:

Once Walter learns of his terminal cancer, he seems very unstable and irresponsible; however, his behavior truly represents a very determined, focused and highly intelligent and highly moral father and husband.

or…

Marie is a very insecure and lonely woman who is unhappy and uncomfortable living in the shadows of her power-driven DEA husband and her happily married and very bright sister, Skylar.

Reminder: Keep in mind that you will be presenting the highlights of this essay to the class on either December 6 or December 8. This is not a speech class, so I do not expect you to be elaborate. Just share a brief summary of your character analysis. You are not required to do this in front of the class; you can simply sit at your desk and speak. Sign ups for this presentation will be next week.