Write a 3-4-page paper comparing or contrasting any two works that we have read in the past weeks. The two works must be analyzed using one literary criticism of their choice. Literary criticism should be used to highlight a “big picture” meaning that both texts explore, however similarly or differently. The two work will be Kate Chopin’s Story of an Hour & Nadine Gordimer’s Once Upon a Time.
Use “the skills of a literary critic” to evaluate, challenge, or argue a point (Dobie 2).
“They are the skills of a literary critic, a person who examines how a piece of writing works, what it has to say about the culture or author that produced it or about human nature in general, why it was written, in what ways it is similar to other works, and how it ranks in comparison with them” (Dobie 2).
Use signal verbs in their writing to introduce a quotation or idea directly related to a source.
Demonstrate an ability to interpret any given work from multiple critical approaches. that is, grow proficient at evaluating a text from the perspective of more than a single school of literary analysis.
Offer a meaningful conclusion that answers the “so what?” question to the prompt, and functions as the guiding idea for the entire paper. Refer to our class discussions for an understanding of what is meant by meaningful ideas: arguable, applicable, and actionable. See Three Point Thesis instructions here. Use the Meaningful Main Idea Map.
Use a minimum of two strong academic sources. No magazines or newspaper articles are acceptable. Do not make the mistake of misunderstanding the term: academic/scholarly sources.
Write a compelling thesis statement that reveals their main idea and uses three controls in a meaningful way.
Write a meaningful thesis that is arguable, applicable, and if possible actionable.
Use one or more outside sources to support their thesis and comparisons
Employ creative and effective transitions and body paragraph topic sentences
Use evidence from the text to support their “big picture” or thesis. Use evidence from your academic source to support your position on the interpretation of the text.
Provide commentary on the evidence used to support their ideas
Write a compelling conclusion with an overarching idea
Use the HATMAT outline to structure their ideas
Read the sample Literary Analysis Essay
Invent a compelling title
Support their ideas with reason
Create an effective, ethical, and efficient Works Cited page
