Essay

Text: Short story selected for presentation

Assignment: Choose one of the elements of fiction from the list below:

Characterization

Setting -- time and space, which includes cultural norms and values as well as political ideologies

Plot and structure

Theme(s) – always plural in any text, so you must choose the theme you are most interested in exploring and/or theme most dominant in the text

Symbolism

Language

Analyze its significance or development in your “presentation story.” What about the element interests or puzzles you? What would you like to claim/argue about it in your essay?

Essays must include:

Title – your own, not the title of the story

Thesis statement – argument you are making and supporting throughout essay

Textual evidence – quotations and references to events in the text: these are your evidence

Quotations must be introduced into the body of the essay, not just dropped. To do so, use a

sandwich format:

signal phrase – indicates who the speaker is;

quotation itself – followed by citation (Lalami, p. 35)

commentary on language and content of quotation/close reading

References – besides the story itself, include any secondary sources used