This is a research essay , you will be expected to use a minimum of three academic sources (in addition to the course materials). These sources may include scholarly books or journal articles. The ess

Fall 2021

RLGN 1440 – Evil in World Religions

Dracula Essay Instructions

Dracula Essay Assignment – due date: November 4, 2021

*Late assignments will not be accepted unless there has been a case of medical or family emergency

The purpose of this research essay is to explore a particular form of “evil” in Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula. This is a research essay and students will be expected to use a minimum of three academic sources (in addition to the course materials). These sources may include scholarly books or journal articles. The essay must be between 5-6 pages double-spaced (12-pt new times roman font and default margins). Students must include a clear thesis statement which outlines an argument, and this thesis statement should be placed at the end of the introductory paragraph. In addition, students are expected to include a title page (name, student number, course information & essay title), in-text citations (Chicago style preferred but APA and MLA are acceptable), and a bibliography at the end of the essay. **Wikipedia and other webpages may NOT be used as sources for this essay.

Essay Topic:

The purpose of this essay is to explain how Bram Stoker articulates his understanding of evil in his portrayal of female characters in the novel. In your essay, you will want to address some of the following issues: What are the key differences between the female characters in the book? How does Stoker present female sexuality in the novel? How does this tie into his religious worldview (ie. how did Christian teachings/ideologies about sex and reproduction influence Stoker’s presentation of these characters)?

The main goal of the essay is to craft an argument about how/why Stoker presents female sexuality in a particular way and how this connects to his views on Christianity.

Research Materials:

The best place to find scholarly source materials is through online databases available at the University of Manitoba library. The two most useful databases are JSTOR and EBSCO, which are interdisciplinary databases that have access to thousands of scholarly journals. Students can access these sites and search terms such as "Dracula" + "evil" + "Christianity" and the database will retrieve relevant academic articles. Helpful sources might include literary analyses and reviews of Stoker’s novel.

Grading Criteria:

The research essay will be graded on the following criteria: presence of a thesis statement/argument, quality of research materials, use of research materials and evidence from the novel, level of engagement with the essay topic, grammar/spelling/syntax, citation style, organization and structure, flow, coherence, and format.

Letter Grade Rubric:

A+ (95%-100%)

A paper in this category will be exceptional. It will be insightful, demonstrate an excellent understanding of the source materials and have outstanding organization, structure, and grammar/style. There should be no errors in citation formatting and the paper will have an appropriate number of paraphrased sections interspersed with direct quotations. Papers in this category will also use excellent academic sources and engage with those sources at a high level.

A (86%-94%)

A paper in this category will be very well done. It will provide both clear description or the issues and insightful analysis using evidence from the academic source materials. There should be almost no grammatical or stylistic errors and the paper will have good flow, organization and citation style should be consistence and correct.

B+ (80%-85%)

A paper in this category will be quite well done. The descriptive content should be clear and the analysis should be engaged with the academic sources. The level of sophistication will be slightly lower than an 'A' paper but should still demonstrate a clear understanding of the source material. Papers in this category should also use relevant examples from the text in the analytical portions. Grammatical and stylistic errors will be at a minimum. 

B (71%-79%)

A paper in this category will be well done. The paper may not be as sophisticated as a 'B+' or may border on descriptive and lack a sustained analysis. The organization and structure should be good but improvements could be made. There may be a few grammatical and stylistic errors throughout and citation formatting should be relatively accurate. Sources used will be relevant but again, there may be room for improvement in this area. 

C+ (65%-70%)

A paper in this category will be satisfactory and meet the basic requirements of the assignment. The paper might be more descriptive than analytical and there might also be structural/organizational issues with the essay. The source materials may be good but the engagement with them in the essay could be improved. 

C (56%-64%)

A paper in this category will be sufficient but there are significant issues with some of the following categories: use of sources, analysis, organization, citation style, grammar/style.

D (50%-55%)

A paper in this category will not really be the requirements of the assignment but an attempt has been made. The essay does not meet the length requirements, number of sources, or have a clear analytical component. Sufficient use of and engagement with source materials is not evident in the paper. 

F (Less than 50%)

There is no attempt to meet the requirements of the assignment. Or there is a serious issue with plagiarism.