After reading Jackson’s “The Lottery,” you will be writing a critical literary analysis in which you will be discussing the irony/symbolism and/or hypocrisy present in the story. Something is often considered ironic when the opposite of what is described or stated happens. For example, from the title of the story, one expects a positive outcome, but after reading the story in its entirety, one can see the somber effects of the so called “lottery.” There is also a lot of hypocrisy throughout the entire story because even though the community seems to be very united, they are quick to turn on each other.
You will be expected to use direct quotes from the story to support your analysis. Because of this, you will be expected to cite your quotes appropriately within your essay. You will also be expected to include a work cited page at the end of your essay. If you use additional sources besides the actual story, you must indicate w/in your in-text citations, as well as your works cited page.
Additional Guidelines:
The introduction should identify the author, title of the story, and a brief description of the type of irony, or theme selected, accompanied with a brief summary of the story tailored to match the irony and theme to familiarize readers with the reading. A thesis statement must be included in the intro—it should be the last sentence of the introduction.
Structure of essay—Introduction; 4 Body Paragraphs; Conclusion
Paragraphs must be at least 8-10 well developed sentences.
Make sure to use formal English—no personal pronouns; contractions; or slang language
Make sure to write your essay in the present tense—use is instead of was; does instead of did; etc.
Make sure to cite quotes accordingly—“Put quotation marks around what you copy word for word from the story, and in parenthesis, put the author’s last name and the page number” (Jackson 419).
Make sure to introduce quotes w/ a transitional phrase. Do not begin sentence with the actual quote—blend it in with your own writing.
Do not select quotes are too long—if you want part of one quote, and then part of another…use ellipses (the three periods) to signify that you have left out some words.
Work Cited
Author’s last name, first name. “Title of story.” Title of Book. Eds. Kirszner and Mandell.
Publishing City: Publishing Company, Publishing Year. First Page- Last Page. (I can do this part)
