Literature and Medicine

CWL 315: Literature and Medicine
Use the same reading for 2 Assignments

Assignment 1: (D2) Closing reading
Read either “A Medical Document” or “A Doctor’s Visit” in order to begin the process of close reading. Then, write up your analysis, drawing on quotations from the text in order to explore its meaning, in about 300 words. It is useful to think of this discussion post as possible paragraphs in a future essay, even if that essay doesn’t have a definite thesis statement yet.

Assignment 2: (E1) Write a thesis-based analytical essay that uses the skill of close reading to analyze and explain ONE of the following stories in light of ONE of the theoretical essays:
Short Stories Theoretical Essays
Doyle, “A Medical Document”
Chekhov, “A Doctor’s Visit”
Charon, “To Render the Lives of Patients”

Brody, “Storytelling as Medicine”

Peterkin, “Adult Intake Form”

Format:
• Single-space your header, including only name, course title, and date.
• Double-space your assignment. Use Times New Roman font.
• Include an introduction with a thesis statement and no generalizations.
• Include body paragraphs with evidence from the text and analysis of that evidence.
• Include a conclusion paragraph that re-states your argument and gestures to a
larger conclusion.
• Use parenthetical citations. No Works Cited list is required.
• 3-4 pages.
• If you use a Mac, please convert your document to a .docx, .doc, or .pdf file; I cannot open .pages documents.

Your Grade Will Be Based on Your Paper’s:
• Originality. Do not regurgitate lecture and discussion. Instead, build on the class lecture and discussion in order to make a new point about the text(s) you have chosen.
• Thesis. Your paper should make a nuanced, provable argument. Avoid repeating yourself: do not prove one point many times. Prove one complex point once.
• Analysis. Do not summarize. Remember who your audience is: someone who knows what happens in the text, but not why it matters for your thesis. Write to them. Base your analysis on quotations from the text and close readings of those quotations; they are the evidence that proves your thesis. Feel free to draw on other material we have covered in class.
• Synthesis. Make sure to tie your ideas together, moving towards proving your thesis about the texts by the last body paragraph and gesturing to a larger relevance in the conclusion paragraph.
• Clarity. Write well: Use transitions to connect ideas. Define difficult terms. Explain why a quotation matters. Format your paper neatly. Proofread for typos and errors.