Essay 3 Prompt
Essay 3 – Research Essay on God Help the Child
Prompt: Write a 1,800-2,000-word essay on the novel, God Help the Child, using 2 peer reviewed, scholarly sources to further your understanding and critical thinking about the novel.
Your essay should focus on one or two of the major elements of fiction as discussed in your literature textbook: plot, characters, symbolism, setting, narration/point of view and how that element helps to support a major theme in the novel.
You must use two outside scholarly/peer-reviewed articles from Luria Library (our campus library).
Search for resources with one of the following databases: Academic Search Complete, JSTOR, or Gale Literary Sources. Do NOT use websites or literary reviews typically found on Google/Internet.
Google Scholar also has useful peer reviewed articles but make sure those articles are coming from credible academic sources and publications.
Keep the research focused on the novel only and not book reviews. Additionally, look for scholars who are writing about this specific novel and NOT articles on the general theme ideas such as child trauma, etc. or articles about the author.
Using the key search terms: “Morrison and “god help the child” are good places to start depending upon your focus.
You should find several sources written from a scholarly viewpoint specifically on the novel.
General Criteria:
Your thesis statement should reflect what you will be arguing about in your essay. It should be specific and narrow in focus and clearly tell the reader the purpose of your essay as well as include a central/unifying element, which you will argue throughout your essay. Do not announce your thesis or include the theory in the thesis.
You should use specific textual references and provide commentary and analysis of the ideas you present in support of your thesis argument.
Be careful to avoid summary. Assume the reader has read the novel, so you do not need to summarize plot points.
Do set up your quotes with a brief phrase that sets up the context of the quote.
Do provide insightful analysis as to how the author expresses his ideas/theme through one of the elements of fiction listed above.
Provide analysis of the outside research you are incorporating into the text and its importance to the ideas you are presenting in order to help the reader better understand your argument.
Avoid large block quotes – use paraphrase and summary and then use only direct quotes for the most relevant ideas from the author.
Minimum Criteria (to earn a C or higher):
Minimum word count: 1,800 words (about 5-6 pages). Essays not meeting the word count will automatically receive a D or lower.
Thesis statement. This should be a statement that clearly offers some argument regarding specifically what literary element you will address (theme, character, symbolism, etc. and how that element is used to convey the theme. Your thesis should come at the end of the introductory paragraph. Make sure to move beyond the “list thesis” (the listing of topics that will be discussed) with this essay.
Relevant outside research incorporated into most paragraphs
Well organized argument with . . .
Clear and logical paragraphing. This includes how the ideas are divided into paragraphs, the order of the ideas, the correct use of topic sentences and transitions. Each paragraph should focus on just one idea, and the line of thought should be easy for a reader to follow.
Clearly focused topic sentences that are argumentative, clearly identify the main point of the paragraph, and in some way argue the thesis.
Supporting quotes from the novel.
Correct MLA in-text citation
Correct MLA works cited page
MLA Style document formatting. See any of the sample essays in our text for how the heading, title, line spacing, and page numbering should be set up. Please use 12-pt font, Times New Roman, 1” margins and double space.
Error Free sentences. At this stage in your writing, your sentences should be free from errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Make sure you leave enough time to proofread for typos as well.
Your essay must be submitted to Turnitin on Canvas on the due date.
