essay 3 short fiction with research
Essay 3: Short Fiction with Research
Spring 2020
Worth 15%
Choose one of the following topics:
1)Compose a formal essay analyzing a major theme of one of the two short stories using acombination of the following literary devices: symbolism, characterization, and/or setting.
2)Compose a formal essay analyzing the symbolism in one of the two short stories. Consider a symbol that recurs over the course of the story and look closely at each appearance it makes. How does the story’s use of the symbol evolve?
Choose from the following works: “The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck
“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Requirements:
- Typed in the basic MLA format
- 2 scholarly sources (research assignment) as well as the primary source
- Includes a Works Cited page
- 750-1000 words in length
- Submit through the Canvas tab by 11:59 PM, Thursday, March 5.
Introduction: You establish a context for the significance of your thesis in regards to the literary work as a whole. How does your argument contribute to understanding the author’s major literary/thematic concerns? What can other readers learn from your analysis.
Thesis: You state in 1-2 sentences your main idea. The thesis is the culmination of your introduction.
Organization: Your essay should follow that of a typical literary critique:
Since your focus must be on analyzing some literary motif or symbol, theme, or a combination of a literary elements (such as symbolism, character, setting, etc.), your essay must contain well-structured supporting paragraphs that contain a topic sentence, quotes from the primary text, quotes from secondary sources ( not sparknotes, enotes, ect), an explanation/discussion of the significance of the quotes you use in relation to your thesis, and a concluding sentence or two that situates the entire paragraph in relation to the thesis. Your thesis will focus on some kind of critical analysis of the primary text, so your supporting paragraphs should be organized around each of the quotes you use, explaining the significance of the quotes and why (or how) transitions and at least six (or more) sentences.
Conclusion
Regardless of which option you choose, you want a conclusion that avoids summarizing what you’ve just said. You also don’t want to say, “In conclusion…” Your aim in a conclusion is to place the discussion in a larger context. For example, how might your critical analysis of a literary character relate to the other characters in a work? How might your thesis be applied to other aspects of the text, say for example, the setting or symbolism?
Grammar and Mechanics: Your paper avoids basic grammar mistakes, such as fragments, comma splices, run ons, dropped apostrophes in possessives, subject/verb agreement, arbitrary tense switches, etc. Use only present tense! The paper demonstrates a commitment to proofreading by avoiding easy-to-catch typos and word mistakes (effect for affect, for example). The paper adheres to the MLA formatting style for the in-text citations and Works Cited citations. No fragments, fused sentences, or comma splices! These three errors count off 10 points each!
Presentation: Your paper meets the minimum length criteria of 750 words, is typed with a creative title. The paper is required to be in the MLA format, using the primary source, at least one scholarly secondary source but no more than two, in-text citations, and a Works Cited page.You must have both in-text citations and a Works Cited page or risk failure on the essay.
Outline Structure for Literary Analysis Essay
I. Catchy Title
II. Paragraph 1: Introduction (Use HATMAT)
- Hook
- Author
- Title
- Main characters
- A short summary
- Thesis
III. Paragraph 2: First Body Paragraph
- Topic sentence (what this paragraph will discuss, how it will prove your thesis)
- Context for the quote
- Who says it?
- What s happening in the text when they say it?
- Quote from the text (cited appropriately)
- Analysis of the quote: How does it prove your thesis?
- Closing sentence (wrap up the paragraph to effectively transition to the next paragraph)
IV. Paragraph 3: Second Body Paragraph
- Topic sentence (what this paragraph will discuss, how it will prove your thesis)
- Context for the quote
- Who says it?
- What s happening in the text when they say it?
- Quote from the text (cited appropriately)
- Analysis of the quote: How does it prove your thesis?
- Closing sentence (wrap up the paragraph to effectively transition to the next paragraph
V. Paragraph 4: Third Body Paragraph
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1. A Catchy Title
Parts to a Great Essay
same as above, just worded differently
- Introduction: the opening paragraph. The introduction should include the following:
- Hook, Author, Title, Main Characters, A Short Summary, Thesis
- Hook The beginning en ence of he in rod c ion ha ca ch he reader interest. Ways of beginning creatively include the following:
- A startling fact or bit of information
- A meaningful quotation (from the work or another source)
- A rich, vivid description
- An analogy or metaphor
- Introductions should identify the work of literature being discussed, name the author, and briefly present the issue that the body of your essay will more fully develop (your thesis). Basically, introductions suggest that something interesting is occurring in a particular work of literature.
- Body: The body of your paper should logically and fully develop and support your thesis.
- Each body paragraph should focus on one main idea that supports your thesis statement.
- These paragraphs include:
- A topic sentence a topic sentence states the main point of aparagraph: it serves as a mini-thesis for the paragraph. You might think of it as a signpost for your readers or a headline something that alerts them to the most important, interpretive points in your essay. It might be helpful to think of a topic sentence as working in two directions simultaneously. It relates the paragraph to the essay’s thesis, and thereby acts as a signpost for the argument of the paper as a whole, but it also defines the scope of the paragraph itself.
- Context for the quote
- Who says it? What is happening in the text when they say it?
- This prepares the reader for the quote by introducing the speaker,setting, and/or situation.
- Quote/Concrete details – a specific example from the work used toprovide evidence for your topic sentence/support thesis.
- Commentary – your explanation and interpretation of the concrete detail.Commentary explains how the concrete detail proves the thesis.
- Clincher/Concluding Sentence – last sentence of the body paragraph. Itconcludes the paragraph by tying the concrete details and commentary back to the major thesis.
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4. Conclusion: the last paragraph where you are given one last chance to convince the reader of your argument and provide a sense of closure.
- Summarize your argument AND extend your argument.
- A sophisticated conclusion does not simply restate the thesis of the introduction orsummarize the logic presented in the body of the essay. Your conclusion, most often, will try to suggest the broader significance of your discussion – why is it important?
In other words, suggest in your introduction that some literary phenomenon is occurring. In the body of your essay, use examples and fully developed logic to prove that the literary phenomenon takes place. Finally, in your conclusion suggest why such a phenomenon is significant.
Source: amundsenhs.org/
HOW TO WRITE A LITERARY ANALYSIS ESSAY
The purpose of a literary analysis essay is to carefully examine and sometimes evaluate a work of literature or an aspect of a work of literature. As with any analysis, this requires you to break the subject down into its component parts. Examining the different elements of a piece of literature is not an end in itself but rather a process to help you better appreciate and understand the work of literature as a whole. For instance, an analysis of a poem might deal with the different types of images in a poem or with the relationship between the form and content of the work. If you were to analyze (discuss and explain) a play, you might analyze the relationship between a subplot and the main plot, or you might analyze the character flaw of the tragic hero by tracing how it is revealed through the acts of the play. Analyzing a short story might include identifying a particular theme (like the difficulty of making the transition from adolescence to adulthood) and showing how the writer suggests that theme through the point of view from which the story is told; or you might also explain how the main character‟s attitude toward women is revealed through his dialogue and/or actions.
REMEMBER: Writing is the sharpened, focused expression of thought and study. As you develop your writing skills, you will also improve your perceptions and increase your critical abilities. Writing ultimately boils down to the development of an idea. Your objective in writing a literary analysis essay is to convince the person reading your essay that you have supported the idea you are developing. Unlike ordinary conversation and classroom discussion, writing must stick with great determination to the specific point of development. This kind of writing demands tight organization and control. Therefore, your essay must have a central idea (thesis), it must have several paragraphs that grow systematically out of the central idea, and everything in it must be directly related to the central idea and must contribute to the reader’s understanding of that central idea. These three principles are listed again below:
- Your essay must cover the topic you are writing about.
- Your essay must have a central idea (stated in your thesis) thatgoverns its development.
- Your essay must be organized so that every part contributessomething to the reader’s understanding of the central idea. THE ELEMENTS OF A SOLID ESSAY
The Thesis Statement
The thesis statement tells your reader what to expect: it is a restricted, precisely…
