Write an essay in response to one of the three essay options. You may use your text; however, be careful that you don’t lose track of time. You are to respond in a formal comparison-contrast essay. Keep in mind, I will still be looking at your thesis statement and your topic sentences, as well as how you compare and contrast various aspects.
You want to demonstrate your ability to produce an essay which has the following:
An introduction that orients the reader to the essay option that you will be addressing and that tells the reader what you will prove in the essay (thesis). This thesis needs to clearly address one of the essay options.
Solid, organized body paragraphs that help prove your thesis. The organization must be one of the three comparison-contrast formats: block, point-by-point, mixed.
Each body paragraph has:
A Point (a topic sentence that gives the topic of the paragraph and what you will prove about that topic)
Information (a specific detailed example from the play, short story, or poem. Maybe even a quote within a quote sandwich. This is particularly important if you are responding to essay option #1)
Explanation (an analysis of the the information and how it proves your point. Perhaps you will even analyze how your example helps prove the thesis.)
A conclusion
Minimal grammar or spelling errors
Sentence variety (appositives, subordinators, verbal phrases, transitional expressions, adjective clauses)
1) Robert Browning’s poem, “My Last Duchess” does not come right out and tell us things about either character presented in the poem. Instead, Browning lets the speaker present himself in his own words. As readers, we are left to make our own evaluation of the Duke and his last duchess. In a comparison-contrast essay please reveal your evaluation of the Duke and his last duchess.
2) Write a well written essay describing the ways in which the speakers of “My Last Duchess” and “The Cask of Amontillado” inadvertently reveal themselves. In a comparison-contrast essay, be sure to analyze how these revelations work on the audience.
3) In this module we have examine Trifles, “My Last Duchess” and “The Cask of Amontillado” whose authors have used irony to great effect. In an essay compare and contrast the use of irony in two of the aforementioned works.
