LENGTH: 1000-1100 WORDS - Criteria for evaluation
Critical commentary (secondary sources)
DUE ~ Topic and selections -11/16 ; Essay due -11/21
Assignment: Choose three or four works from the course from two or three
genres* which appeal to you and which have similar themes or ideas.
You must select two works which you have not written about in the first two
essays. Use the thematic index in the text appendix to review themes and related
titles. In reviewing the works, think critically and creatively about the ideas
and characters and review notes from class discussions and your assignments. After rereading your selections, compose an essay in your own words
interpreting the idea common to the three works.
Audience: People who have read the works and want a better understanding of the theme and characters.
Introduction
In the opening section (one or two paragraphs) identify the title and author of each work you
are interpreting and explain the focus of your essay. Your main point
(the thesis--the point you will prove)
should be the last sentence of your first paragraph or the closing
sentence of the second paragraph, depending on how you've
decided to introduce your essay. The essay's
title should also reflect your thesis. In this section you might also pose one
or more questions you are addressing.
Body
The body of your essay depends on what you've decided to
examine as supporting evidence. For example, you might analyze the theme of
prejudice and how it limits communication. You might examine how power is abused in relationships
or how greed causes human suffering. You might also look at how three different
characters influence the protagonist to change or experience a
new self-awareness. Remember, your main purpose is to explain what you have
learned by connecting ideas and analyzing the works, not just to list
similarities and differences. Choose relevant supporting details and use five or more quotations;
you should include at least
one quotation and citation for each work. Make sure the quotations are properly introduced
and
integrated in the text of your essay.
Conclusion
Your final paragraph
may frame the essay by referring to a statement or image in
your opening section or title. You may make a final judgment of one character as
more admirable than another or explain what the future may hold for the
characters.
For font use Calibri, 11 point.
Set line spacing (Paragraph menu) at 1.5.
Set one-inch margins on all sides (under Page setup in Word).
Please number pages in the top right corner.
Place the heading at the top of the opening page; include your name, English 102, date, instructor
The essay title is centered beneath the heading on the opening page and describes the focus of your paper. Capitalize only the important words; do not underline or use quotation marks unless another work, such as play or poem, is part of your title.
For the five quotations
from the texts (at least one from each work) use parenthetical citations according to MLA
documentation. Following the quotation, list the author's name and page,
such as
(Ibsen 40).
For poetry list both the page and the lines, such as (Browning 544 lines
23-24).
The Works Cited list, a separate page at the end of the paper, presents
sources (the works you are interpreting) in alphabetical order according to the author's last name. Secondary sources are optional; list and cite them if used, but write
the paper in your own words. Following is
a sample bibliography.
Works Cited
Browning, Robert. "My Last Duchess." Literature: A Pocket Anthology. Ed. R. S. Gwynn. New York: Longman, 2012. 558-559. Print.
Glaspell, Susan. Trifles. Literature: A Pocket Anthology. Ed. R. S. Gwynn. New York: Longman, 2012. 1031-1044. Print.
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll's House. New York: Dover Publications, 1992. Print.
Miller, Michael G. "Browning's My Last Duchess." Explicator 47.4 (Summer 89): 32. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web.
Criteria for judging written essays
*Genres we have read include short stories, plays, and poems.