English 1118 Essay 1 PDF

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ENGLISH 1118 - Reading and Writing Critically II ...

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English 1118-71 Summer 2015 Essay #1: Short Story Analysis Assignment: Choose any of the short stories from Backpack Literature and write a short 3 page essay that analyzes the author’s use of one or more literary elements (for example, setting, symbolism, point of view, etc.) within the story. Your essay should include the following:  An introduction that grabs your reader’s attention, introduces the story (title, author, and any other background information about the story), and ends with a thesis statement that states the overall effect the author’s use of one or more particular literary elements has on the story. o Example: Steinbeck’s excellent use of symbols in “The Chrysanthemums” really deepens the significance of a seemingly simple story. Note: In your introduction, often a good way to introduce a story is to relate the topics and themes of a story to the real world.  A summary paragraph directly after the introduction that summarizes the plot of the story. Pretend that you are writing this essay for an audience that may not have read the story before. Keep the summary short; it should be no more than ½ a page long.  An essay body of at least 3 paragraphs that analyzes elements of the story in order to support the overall effect stated in the thesis. If you are writing about many literary elements, each body paragraph can focus on one of the many fiction elements (point of view, character, setting, tone and style, theme, symbol, etc) we have discussed this semester. If you are writing about just one literary element, then each body paragraph can focus on another example/aspect of that particular element.  Each of the body paragraphs should have a topic sentence (usually at the beginning, but not always) that states the controlling idea of that paragraph. o Example: In “A Rose for Emily,” the minor character point of view from which the story is told helps the audience feel like they are part of the town’s rumor mill. o Example: Beyond driving the plot by providing a situation for an extramarital affair to occur, the storm also symbolizes the passionate meeting between Calixta and Alcee. Make sure your topic sentences help to support the overall effect stated in your thesis statement. Your topic sentence then needs to be supported with details from the story. Make sure that you provide examples (either paraphrased or quoted) from the story that support the statement made in the topic sentence, and then be sure to provide explanations of those examples.  Use of some of the literary vocabulary that we have been studying in the short story chapters.

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Parenthetical citations of all paraphrases and direct quotations using the MLA format. When writing about a primary source (like a work of literature), all you need is the page number(s) in parentheses after the quotation. (Example: (45).) Don’t forget the works cited entry (also using the MLA format) of the short story at the end of the essay. o Example: Faulkner, William. “Barn Burning.” Backpack Literature. 4th ed. Eds. X. J. Kennedy, and Dana Gioia. Boston: Pearson, 2012. 147 - 161. Print. A conclusion that quickly reviews that major points made in the essay and attempts to finish in a memorable way. Try to keep your audience thinking about the essay after they have finished reading. A note on mechanics: Titles of short stories (as well as short poems) should be in quotation marks. Do not italicize or underline short story titles.

Essay Requirements:  MLA formatting (see any of the examples of essays given in Chapter 29 of Backpack Literature)  Minimum length: 3 full pages (of writing)  Double-spaced and Typed in an 11 Point Calibri o Note: Some versions of Word set the default font at 12 point Times New Roman. Make sure that your font is set at 11 point Calibri.  1 inch margins o Note: Some version of Word set the default Left and Right margins at 1.25 inches. Make sure your margins are set at 1 inch.  Page numbers Due Dates:  Friday, June 12  

Friday, June 12 Monday, June 15

SmartThinking feedback due.  Submit via Dropbox by 11:59 p.m. Submit a Draft of your essay to Turnitin.com (accessible via D2L) Final Draft due.  Submit via Dropbox by 11:59 p.m.

English 1118-71 Checklist for Essay #1

1. _____: Write a Rough Draft (handwritten or typed) 2. _____: Revise Rough Draft and type a Revision Draft 3. _____: Submit Essay to SmartThinking for feedback.  SmartThinking Username: _____________________________  SmartThinking Password: ______________________________ 4. _____: Turn in SmartThinking Feedback (via D2L Dropbox).  Friday, June 13 5. _____: Revise essay and prepare an Editing Draft. 6. _____: Edit essay and prepare a Final Draft. 7. _____: Proofread Final Draft. 8. _____: Submit Final Draft (via D2L Dropbox).  Monday, June 16...