Purpose: Literary works are not created in a vacuum; they are products of the author’s cultural and social background, the political and historical period, and the religious and/or philosophical thoughts of the time and place.Explore a work of literature (essay, short story, drama, or poem) within a specific cultural context—historical, religious, political, or social status, etc. It is your job to identify one of these cultural contexts within a work of multicultural literature and show how that context has influenced or shaped the literary work.

Prompt: Choose a specific cultural context from which you will examine a work of multicultural literature we read and write a paper showing how that cultural context has shaped the work. You will need to do a little research for this assignment and cite your sources using MLA format. This context paper may be the same culture you researched for your presentation.

Guidelines: This should be a 3-5 page essay that focuses on a specific cultural context and how that literary work was shaped or influenced by the cultural context. At least one secondary source is required (more sources may be used at the student’s discretion) in addition to evidential support from the primary source (the poem, short story, essay, or work of drama discussed). Essays should be typed, 12-point font (Times New Roman), double-spaced with 1 inch margins following MLA format (see Hodges Harbrace Handbook), including a works cited page.

See Grading Rubric on the next page.

Points

Content

Development

Style

Format

5

Cultural context is clearly identified and demonstrated throughout the essay.

Essay meets length requirement, is well-developed, and clearly organized.

Sentences are mature and ideas flow together; writer uses correct grammar, usage, and punctuation.

Paper is formatted correctly using MLA style, citations are correctly used throughout the essay, and works cited page is well-developed.

4

Cultural context is identified and demonstrated throughout most of the essay.

Essay meets length requirement, is moderately developed, and organized.

Sentences are mature and ideas somewhat flow together; writer mostly uses correct grammar, usage, and punctuation.

Paper is formatted correctly using MLA style, citations are mostly correct throughout the essay, and works cited page is developed.

3

Cultural context is identified and explained in parts of the essay.

Essay almost meets length requirement, is somewhat developed, and organized.

Sentences are developed but ideas do not flow as well; writer sometimes uses incorrect grammar, usage, and punctuation.

Paper is formatted using MLA style with minor errors, citations are attempted in the essay, and works cited page is developed.

2

Cultural context is identified but not explained in the essay.

Essay does not meet length requirement, is poorly developed, and disorganized.

Sentences are developed but choppy; writer frequently uses incorrect grammar, usage, and punctuation.

Paper is not formatted correctly using MLA style, citations are poorly attempted in the essay, and works cited page is poorly developed.

1

Cultural context is not identified and not demonstrated in the essay.

Essay does not meet length requirement, is not developed, and disorganized.

Sentences are short and choppy; writer uses incorrect grammar, usage, and punctuation.

Paper is not formatted correctly using MLA style, citations are not attempted in the essay, and there is no works cited page. 

Cultural Context Paper Grading Rubric