Length: 4-6 pages, double-spaced in MLA manuscriipt and documentation format
Your paper will be automatically submitted to Turnitin.com.
For this short critical essay, you will write four to six pages of critical analysis on any ONE text or a combination of TWO texts that we have read and discussed from Smohalla, Charlot, and Chief Joseph through Wells-Barnett’s Mob Rule in New Orleans.
In other words, any assigned primary text(s) from Modules 1-5.
TOPIC: Thematic or Interpretive Analysis
You may devise your own topic, BUT your topic/focus MUST strictly adhere to the described Types of Analysis delineated below. Papers that do not clearly fit into EITHER a Thematic Analysis OR an Interpretive Analysis may be considered off-topic and lose significant points during grading.
THEREFORE, it is MOST IMPORTANT to note that we are NOT writing a personal-subjective response about why you liked or disliked the text or texts.
INSTEAD, we MUST compose, revise, and edit a critical paper:
ALWAYS avoid plot summary.
You MUST HAVE a carefully crafted, specific thesis [argument] that you support with MLA documented primary textual information.
You SHOULD include and cite relevant secondary introductory-background material from our textbook, or from our class discussions/Online Assignments.
IN ADDITION, you may add scholarly, peer-reviewed secondary sources you research on your own. To find acceptable peer-reviewed, scholarly sources, please consult the Research Resources module.
General web search results should be avoided, and points may be deducted during grading for use of non-peer-reviewed works.
TYPES of ANALYSIS:
Thematic Analysis: Answers any one question or combination of the following questions:
What is the central or dominant idea of the text(s)?
What issues are considered in the text(s)?
What conflicts are presented in the text(s)?
How do textual elements of the text(s) contribute to the theme or dominant idea?
How do stylistic elements of the text(s) demonstrate the theme or dominant idea?
Interpretive Analysis: Answers any one question or combination of the following questions:
What are the historical concerns, problematizations, or contradictions of the text(s)?
What are the cultural concerns, problematizations, or contradictions of the text(s)?
What are the philosophic or ideological concerns, problematizations, or contradictions of the text(s)?
If dealing with TWO texts, how can you, in your own original way, resolve or synthesize their perspectives, concepts, or concerns?
How do the textual elements “make the text(s) work” in a particular way or for a particular effect on the reader?
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS and GRADING DETAILS
You MUST document direct quotations or paraphrased ideas, including plot action within primary text stories [On what page(s) does this event, situation, or expression occur?], with MLA parenthetical in-text citation for ALL sources or texts.
BE SURE to include a works cited page—AND REMEMBER that the works cited page NEVER counts toward a word or page count requirement. In this instance, your essay should be at the least four pages followed by a works cited page.
MLA
