DUE: Draft due March 5; Essay due March 8
LENGTH: 800-900 words
FORMAT
Font: Calibri, 12-point; one-inch margins; set line spacing at 1.5 (under Paragraph format)
Heading: student’s name, course title and section, date submitted.
Center the title after the heading and then begin the text of your paper.
Include the Works Cited at the end and please number pages in the upper right corner.
ASSIGNMENT DIRECTIONS
Choose a character from each of two works listed for weeks 4-7 to study--not using works you wrote about in the last essay.
Carefully reread your selections, writing notes about key passages.
Create a setting and situation where the characters encounter each other.
Develop a scene that shows the characters interacting; make their behavior consistent with the writer's portrayal. Allow the scene to reveal characters' values and motivations as well as a story's theme.
Add an introduction or epilogue explaining your purpose in creating the characters' interaction. This commentary may be as long as 25% of the paper or just a brief paragraph.
Choosing characters: Select stories with common themes or characters who may learn from each other. Consider how the characters help us understand an idea from one story. Use an author's setting or create a suitable one. You are "playing God" as a writer so you may have characters from different periods interact.
Title: Create a title that reflects the theme of the encounter.
Dialog: Indent paragraphs for new speakers and follow punctuation rules for quotations. Use simple speaker tags (he said, she said) only when necessary. Break up long dialog with narration in between stating actions of characters rather than using adverbs about how they speak.
Citations: When you quote from the
works, use author and page references to stories in parentheses after the
quotation. Also credit any
ideas from commentaries in the textbook. For example, a citation following a quotation may be either
(O'Connor 239 ).
OR (239).
Include the bibliography titled Works Cited as a separate page at the end of the essay.
Works Cited [substitute your two selected stories]
Hemingway, Ernest."Hills Like White Elephants." Literature: A Pocket Anthology. Ed. R. S. Gwynn. New York: Longman, 2007.
Oates, Joyce Carol. "Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?" Literature: A Pocket Anthology. Ed. R. S. Gwynn. New York: Longman, 2009. 279-295.
Steinbeck, John. "The Chrysanthemums" Literature: A Pocket Anthology. Ed. R. S. Gwynn. New York: Longman, 2009. 160-170.
CRITERIA FOR GRADING ESSAY
clear theme as stated in the commentary and shown in the characters interaction
sufficient evidence (supporting details)
effective organization (paragraphs and story development)
proper grammar and style (sentence structure and variety); correct spelling and word usage
correct documentation of sources (according to MLA)
thoroughness in analyzing and following directions of assignment (including selection of quotations)