Essay: “The Man He Killed” – Hardy

Format:

The essay should contain the following elements: 

A brief introduction offering a brief biography of the poet, the title of the poem, and the poem’s main idea (40-50 words):  Begin with general statements and move to more specific ones and end with the thesis statement. 

Body paragraphs that explain the poem line-by-line (300-400 words):  Divide the poem by stanzas or lines. Discuss the poem in your own words.  Discuss the content of the poem in chronological order.  Address all lines and all information in the poem. The content should relate your understanding of the content and provide commentary from a secondary source.  Document paraphrased information, summarized information, direct quotations, and block quotations.  Include in-text citations in the essay to reflect support from three secondary sources.

A concluding paragraph that reiterates the poem’s main idea and offers a personal response/reaction to the poem (40-50 words):  Restate the thesis statement using different words and then respond to the poem.  Explain what the poem means to you, why you chose it, or why you agree or disagree with the speaker.

A Works Cited page with the publication information of three sources (the poem, the biographical information of the poet, and critical commentary about the poem) formatted in MLA style:  Place the works cited entries on the last page of the essay.  Center the title (Works Cited).  Double-space all lines.  Include the publication information of the three sources used in the essay. Format each entry using MLA guidelines.  Do not include websites in the essay or works cited entries.  Refer to the following website to review MLA-style works cited models.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

Format:

4 pages (including the Works Cited page) – MLA-style, typed, double-spaced, size 12 print, Times New Roman font (or a similar one)

A four-part heading in the top left corner of the first page (not a separate title page)

A running header to contain your last name and the page number in the top right corner of each page

An original title-more than five words and not simply the title of the poem

 No bold print, italics, underlining, or quotation marks for emphasis 

Essay format (introduction, body, and conclusion)

Paragraph format and complete sentences

Support from three or more scholarly sources (no Wikipedia or similar sources)

Paraphrased information, summarized information, and quotations properly documented with in-texts citations that correspond to works cited entries

A works cited page with three or more entries (to reflect the source of the poem, the biographical information of the poet, and critical commentary)