Essay Assignment #1 – Essay on Fiction (1000-1100 words) CLSLOs assessed by this assignment: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, Discuss a variety of literary works of various genres, from various time periods and cultures. Draw connections between literary texts and their biographical, historical, and cultural contexts. Compose thesis-driven, evidence-based analytical essays (literary arguments) that conform to conventional standards of written English and follow MLA style guidelines. Describe literary terms and conventions including: o Define genres and subgenres, related to poetry, prose, and drama, o Describe plot, setting, characterization, imagery, symbolism, and figurative language, Develop interpretations of works from different literary genres. Assignment Your assignment is to choose at least three elements of fiction (plot, point of view, character, setting, symbolism) in one of the short stories read for the course and write an essay about how these elements are used to convey the story’s overall meaning. Your essay will be driven by an argument, or thesis, that communicates your interpretation of how the literary devices express the theme and that organizes the essay’s evidence toward the end of proving your claim. Your thesis should be as concrete as possible, and it should go beyond the obvious or summary. For example, an unsuccessful thesis would say, “Hawthorne discusses science in ‘The Birth- Mark.’” This merely states a fact about the text without offering an interpretation of its broader significance or its complexity. A more successful thesis: “Hawthorne uses point of view, symbolism, characterization in ‘The Birth-Mark’ to criticize science as a destructive quest for perfection.” (Please do not use that thesis in so many words.) This thesis should be stated near the beginning of your essay; it does not necessarily need to be confined to a single sentence, but it should be worded as concisely and specifically as possible. You may only arrive at a definite idea of your thesis after having written most or all of the paper, but it is imperative that you then go back and place it at the beginning to offer your reader a map of your argument. Please note: this essay should not be a summary of the text, nor should it be a recitation of historical or biographical facts about the life and times of the author. It is a literary interpretation—a characterization of the text’s meaning and effect through a careful selection and explication of its elements. A plot summary or a historical or biographical recitation cannot be given a high grade for this assignment. Historical information should only be used to contextualize your interpretation; as for plot, assume your reader already knows it. You may allude once or twice to the author’s biography for context, but there is no need to do so, and your argument should not depend on it. Insert the text “when the little lady shouts, things change” somewhere in the essay. Your essay following the thesis should be divided into discrete sub-topics organized as individual paragraphs (e.g., paragraph one examines the story’s setting, paragraph two discusses its symbolism, etc.). You may want to give these paragraphs opening sentences that announce their theme, but you do not have to do so as long as the organizing principle of the paragraph is clear. You should make judicious use of quotations; do not quote more of the text than you plan to discuss in detail. Also be sure to introduce the quotation rather than dropping it into the middle of a paragraph, and to follow the quotation with an explanation of its significance for your argument. Your opening paragraph should provide some context for the ensuing discussion: you might begin with historical or literary information. Your conclusion should not only restate your argument but also suggest an avenue for further exploration; in resting your case, invite others to respond. Grading criteria: an interesting and persuasive thesis, an attention to language that goes beyond summary or statements of the obvious, and a general understanding of the text you quote. Be sure to proofread carefully for spelling and grammar—such errors may overwhelm your ability to communicate with the reader—and also revise for eloquence, wit, verve and all else that makes writing worth reading. The first draft is graded, and your final grade on the assignment will be an average of the grades on the first and final drafts, so please make sure that the first draft is itself a complete and well written work. This essay should be at least 1000 words and no more than 1100 words. Use a standard font, double-spaced, with one-inch margins. Provide a heading with your name, date and the assignment, and include a descriptive, arresting title (e.g., “‘The Perfect Future’: Science as Destruction in ‘The Birth-Mark’”) centered one line above the essay’s first line. Any use of source material must be documented in in-text parenthetical citations and a works cited page, which should follow MLA guidelines.
