Writing assignment due for English ll02

Essay 2 Explicating Literary Text.html

Essay 2, Explicating a Literary Text

For this essay, you will write one 3-4 page paper on "Cathedral," "The Man to Send Rain Clouds," or "The Things They Carried."

Instructions:

Before you begin this essay, please read pages 26-52 in your textbook. You will apply the concepts from the reading in your own essay.

The purpose of this essay is to explicate or analyze a reading that you choose from the assigned readings: "Cathedral," "The Man to Send Rain Clouds," or "The Things They Carried." You will learn about explication and analyzing in the assigned readings. In your textbook, each chapter on fiction contains sample essays you should review and model. Any questions that you have should be posted in the "Got Questions? We've Got Answers!" discussion board as soon as they come up.

Although you may use some material for your weekly assignments to help you explicate and analyze the literature, this essay should not include outside source material. The content should be derived from your own analysis, based on class discussions and your own observations.

Format:

Your paper should include

1. An introduction that ends with a thesis statement that makes an argument about the chosen work
   • You should build to your thesis, so your thesis/argument/point is the last thing the reader sees in your introduction
   • • Ways to build to your thesis include:
     • • Using a quote that relates to the topic/argument of your paper (Example: "One should not judge a book by its cover")
       • Using a quote from the text that you don't intend to use later in your paper
       • Telling a story that relates to the topic/argument of your paper
       • Offering a brief summary of the story before moving to the argument
   • To help you think about the argument, ask yourself these questions:
   • • What message is the author trying to convey?
     • What is the lesson the author wants his/her reader to learn?
     • Thesis Example: In "Facing It," Yusef Komunyakaa shows that the experiences in war change a person and stay with them long after the war is over; however, by confronting the past, one can begin to heal.
2. Body paragraphs (more than three - we are beyond writing five paragraph essays ☺)
   • Each body paragraph should begin with an argument that helps you prove your thesis. To be an argument, the topic sentence has to give you something to prove; it cannot be a plot fact.
   • • Topic Sentence that does not make an argument: The speaker in "Facing It" is at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
     • • This is not an argument because the footnote in the book tells us this, but also it is a fact evident from a cursory reading of the poem.
     • Topic Sentence that does make an argument: In "Facing It," Komunyakaa uses the reflective nature of the wall to reveal the speaker's emotional battle.
     • • This is an argument because it requires you to interpret speaker. You have to prove/show how you see that the mirror-like qualities of the wall uncover the speaker's emotional struggle.
   • Evidence from the text to support your point
   • • As a general rule, you should use two pieces of textual evidence per paragraph to support your points.
     • Remember what you learned from reading and watching "Annoying Ways People Use Sources"; you need to introduce the quotes and explain how they support your point.
     • Cite the author's name and page number for every quote (MLA format - see pp. 53-7 in textbook or resources located under Week Two in iCollege)
3. A conclusion that wraps up your argument in a creative way.
4. Write in present tense; remember, the great thing about literature is that it is always alive!

For this first paper, I simply want to see that you can make an argument about the text using your own resources (i.e. your brain) and rely solely on the text for your support. In other words, I do not want you to use any outside research. I want all the ideas to be your own; this means you should not be using the Internet or any library databases, though you can pull from information included with the primary text and any information provided on iCollege or in the discussion boards (just be sure to cite your peers or the book if the ideas are not your own!).

Reminder

Keep in mind that you will be developing either this essay or your next essay for your research project, so choose your topic carefully.

Draft Due Dates

• First Draft (for Peer Review): 11:59 p.m. Thursday, October 5
• Final Draft: 11:59 p.m. Monday, October 16

Length and Format

3-4 double-spaced pages and 12-point Times New Roman font. Your final draft should follow MLA format (1-inch margins, page numbers in upper right hand corner, etc.)

No outside sources should be used and/or consulted in the writing of this essay; I want to read an essay that reflects only your interpretation of the literature.

You must write your essay on one of the following short stories:

• "Cathedral"
• "The Man to Send Rain Clouds"
• "The Things They Carried"

Grading

Check the Rubric - Explicating a Literary Text under Content and Media, Essay Prompts for specifics.