1000 word paper

Length: 1,000 words (3-4 pages)

Format standard MLA college paper layout 

double-spaced with 1" margins

name and page number at upper right of each page

MLA-style parenthetical citations and works cited page

no outside sources; brief citations from the text.

Topic: Analysis of a short story covered in class*

Due Dates: Rough draft in class 2/12; final draft to Pilot drop box by 11:59 p.m. 2/16; optional revision to Pilot drop box by 11:59 p.m. 4/27.

*Cinderella is excluded. I strongly suggest you select fiction for this first paper, but if you want to write about a poem from the anthology, please discuss the option with me.

General Considerations:

For formatting help, refer to the MLA Book and posted materials.

A general writing grade rubric is posted. Both papers will be measured by these criteria in addition to the specific requirements of each assignment. Writing and MLA usage will be 20% of each paper’s grade.

Write a clear, well-developed analytical essay that presents your interpretation of one of the stories we discussed in class, using the particulars of the text as your evidence. In a brief paper, you cannot cover every aspect of a text, so select elements that allow you to write a focused and well-developed analysis.

A literary analysis essay argues an interpretation that focuses upon specific features of the text in question and explains how those features are a cause of one of the text's significant effects.

A strong analysis essay has the following features:

· it has a tightly focused thesis, which concentrates upon a) defined features of the text, b) an important effect to which these features contribute, and c) the relationship between a and b (i.e., how the cause leads to the effect);

· it clearly states this thesis at the end of the opening paragraph;

· it maintains its focus upon this thesis throughout, with each paragraph making a specific assertion, supporting it with analysis of evidence quoted directly from the text, and explaining how the paragraph's local argument (its supported assertion) supports the essay's central thesis;

· it reaches a conclusion that answers the "so what" question--that is to say, that explains not only that the thesis is true, but how its truth might matter to the reader.

How to use the elements of fiction

They will help you focus, especially at the brainstorming stage, and a consideration of how two or more work in combination (or in tension) to create the effect you are discussing is a viable way to build a paper; however, while it is certainly acceptable to write a paper that focuses primarily on setting, character development, or point of view, you are not required to structure your paper around a particular element of fiction. If such a focus is key to the point you are making, then certainly structure your paper around an element!

For poetry, you would use the text’s prosody in a similar way. For example, you would show how features such as sound imagery, metaphors, or a repeated word lead to results such as a joyful tone, a sense that all pleasures are fleeting, or the suggestion that there is life after death.

Other Content Guidelines :

When analyzing a work of literature, you may assume that your reader is familiar with the basic surface content of the work you are discussing; therefore, you do not need to summarize the story at length. However, you do need to provide your reader with some narrative context before discussing detailed particulars of the story. Organizing your essay around the chronology of a story is not necessarily the best strategy. You should let the structure of your argument take priority over the structure of the story; otherwise, it may seem as if you are retelling the story rather than analyzing it. It is customary to write about literature in the present tense. Therefore, “Hamlet says,” not “Hamlet said.”

·

Make sure your analysis is adequately supported by telling details from the work you discuss. While your interpretation should fit the facts of the story, you must also go beyond those details to speculate about what they imply. Be certain that there are clear connections between the claims you make and the evidence you select from the text. It is the mark of a poor essay to pile on quotations without showing how they apply to your argument.

Your overall objective is to persuade your reader to read a story from your unique perspective. If your focus is consistently on the obvious—that which is easily grasped after a first reading—neither you nor your reader will acquire significant insight (or enjoyment). Therefore, do not be afraid to take interpretive risks; just be sure to provide ample textual support for your interpretive analysis.

See the Writing about Literature Tips handout for more.

If you do select the poetry option, perform a literary analysis of one poem from the anthology focusing upon one of the specific elements of the poem from the bulleted list below, and explain how this element leads to a specific effect. Focus on using the terms we have covered so far in the class. Diction can be included in all papers.

· sound

· visual imagery

· metaphors and/or similes

· other figurative language use (paradox, synecdoche, metonymy apostrophe, oxymoron, hyperbole)