Essay Prompt
Throughout the semester we have discussed the various techniques used to present arguments about topics that really matter to us. We have learned that in order to be persuasive, we need to present facts (logos), appeal to our audience’s emotions (pathos), and gain the trust of our readers (ethos). We have also discussed literary devices/techniques used by authors to craft their work. For your last essay assignment, I would like for you to pick two stories/essays from the book One World and compare and contrast them.
The thesis should come up with a compelling argument as to why one author’s story is better than the other based on a literary technique and examine a relationship between the two stories. The comparisons should focus on something like:
Discuss the relationship between the two stories/characters and what the reader is meant to learn from the characters/stories. Then discuss which author’s story is better than the other based on a literary technique (like imagery (Links to an external site.), allegory (Links to an external site.), foreshadowing (Links to an external site.), bildungsroman (Links to an external site.) (conflicts related to coming of age) or irony (Links to an external site.) [you may also pick your own literary device/technique as well].
A character comparison that discusses the similarities and differences between two characters and what this comparison means to us as a society (what can we learn from it?).
For the essay, you may choose two stories on your own, or you can pick ONE of the following to compare:
1. Explore the issues of abandonment in Lauri Kubuitsile’s “The Rich People’s School” and Vanessa Gebbie’s “The Kettle on the Boat”
2. Female identity and gender roles in Molara Wood’s “Kelemo’s Woman” and Chika Unigwe “Growing My Hair Again”.
3. Male identity and coming of age in Martin A. Ramos’ “The Way of the Machete” and Shabnam Nadiya’s “Ishwari’s Children”.
Please note that you may use the point-by-point or block comparison methods to structure your essay.
A. Purpose:
To write a comparison (compare and contrast) essay that clearly communicates a main point or thesis that supports the point(s) and connects the support.
B. Format:
Please be sure to use the MLA 8 Essay Template download to create your essay. Your essay should include:
1. Introduction – one or two sentences that take the reader from the big picture to the specific topic. Discuss why it is important to read stories written by people in other cultures.
2. Thesis statement (multi-part). Tell the reader what the relationship is between the stories and which author’s technique is better and why. PLEASE UNDERLINE THE THESIS.
3. At least six quotations and examples for each of the terms that support the thesis.
4. Transitional techniques between thoughts and paragraphs to make the essay flow.
5. Conclusion – restate the thesis and recap the support.
6. Works Cited page – lists all the sources that were quoted/cited in the essay, alphabetically by author’s last name. Note that the entry will depend on the format you used (video/article).
The essay should be at least six paragraphs long, and each paragraph should contain 8- 10 sentences. In each of the paragraphs, one of the sentences should be a topic sentence.
