EN 205 Final Analysis Essay: Critical Comparison with Close Reading
EN 205 Final Analysis Essay: Critical Comparison with Close Reading
EN 205 Final Analysis Essay: Critical Comparison with Close Reading
You are welcome to submit this essay any time before the due date; early submission is encouraged.
Submission instructions: Turn this essay in on Turnitin, preferably as a Word or PDF file. Do not e-mail it to me.
Assignment: Explore the similarities and differences in how two literary works treat a common theme.
You may choose from among any of the texts we have read this semester. Please write about only two texts. Your goal, in discussing how the two texts you select represent the shared theme, is to use close reading to support an argument about what the authors’ similar and/or different treatments of the theme help us to understand about the theme.
Criteria for Evaluation
· A thesis statement which explains how the way in which the two texts treat a shared theme says something about the ways the theme can be represented in fiction.
· A strategic close reading of specific passages—at least two passages per text—which provides key quotations in support of the thesis. Use the Close Reading Guide in the class folder to help you think of close reading strategies to use.
· Clear transitions which explain the relationship (similarities or differences) between how the two works treat the shared theme. How you use transitions depends in part on how you choose to organize your paper. What you should not do under any circumstances is to organize your paper into two blocks that deal with the two texts separately without ever explaining how they may connect with each other.
· Interpretive statements in your own words explaining how the evidence from the texts supports your claims.
· Minimal plot summary (i.e., the writer spends only a few words on telling us what is happening, and devotes most of their space to explaining why it matters).
Grading
The Final Analysis Essay is worth 100 points.
Format
The Final Analysis Essay should be 5-6 pages in length. Please type your papers in 12-point Times New Roman font; use 1-inch margins.
