topic I choose:
Individualism and Community in the Bottom:
Delve into the tension between
individualism and community within the African-American neighborhood known as “the
Bottom.” How do characters like Shadrack and Sula embody individualistic tendencies?
Contrast this with the communal bonds formed by other residents. Investigate historical
contexts and sociocultural influences on individualism in African-American communities
during the early 20th century. Use scholarly articles or critical essays to support your
analysis.
Your literary analysis essay must be between 2 ½ and 3 pages (600 to 750
words), not including the Works Cited page, and should be double-spaced in
Times New Roman 12-point font. Use the MLA Template provided to help
you format your work correctly.
Your literary analysis essay will be on Sula by Toni Morrison. You must
choose ONE of the topics below.
Your essay must meet the following criteria:
• A clearly articulated thesis that states, somewhere in your introduction, the
assertion (position, interpretation) that your paper will prove and addresses
one of the topics below.
• An introduction, a minimum of three (3) body paragraphs, and a
conclusion (five paragraphs, total)
• At least two quotes from the novel itself that are integrated into your
discussion
• At least two citations of outside sources (such as literary criticism on the novel).
At least one source should come from the MDC databases. All sources must
be academic.
• Topic sentences that focus the discussion of the body paragraphs
• Quoted and correctly cited examples, details, and explanations in the body
paragraphs that clearly support your thesis
• Clear connections between ideas from paragraph to paragraph and within
paragraphs (strong transitions)
• Proper MLA style format in the heading, in the in-text citations, and in the
Works Cited page (see the template for the heading and margins in this lesson)
• Works Cited page includes articles from two sources and from the novel for a
minimum of three total listed sources.
• Standard usage, grammar, and mechanics that do not affect readability
GRADING: Your essay will be graded pass/fail on the above criteria; a rubric is available
in the assignment on Canvas.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
You will submit your final draft on Canvas in the assignment designated for this
purpose. The essay will go through TurnItIn, which checks for both plagiarism and
AI usage. Please be aware, that although Turn-it-in does allow for similarities for
quotations up to 24% of your paper, any similarity above 24% is considered too
high for an original paper and will be flagged as plagiarism.
You must submit an AI Disclosure at the end of the essay, after your
References page. Should you choose NOT to submit the disclosure, and over 15% AI
usage is detected, your paper will be given a zero for academic dishonesty.
