I'll try to get this as a proper GoogleDrive doc later--I'm running out of time now. But here is the assignment. You will get a hard copy tomorrow. Be sure to bring Perrine!!
An Etude for Two Brains and Four Hands: Comparison/Contrast Short Story “Essay”
1) The content for this essay
goes back to earlier material; it is the nature of AP English to be “recursive”
in the sense that you should keep all material in mind through the exam, think
about ways to emphasize further elements in previous work as our focus changes,
and be able to be working on one set of things outside class and different
works on a daily basis. So the
comparison/contrast prompt is based on two of the following works:
Steinbeck’s
“The Chrysanthemums”
Mansfield’s “Miss Brill”
Lawrence’s “The Rocking-Horse Winner”
Joyce’s “Araby”
Updike’s “A & P”
Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues”
Kafka’s “Metamorphosis”
[“Granny Weatherall” is omitted on purpose; do NOT
write on this story.]
The Prompt:
Write an essay in which you compare and contrast the
protagonists [or central characters] of two of the stories in terms of their loneliness,
isolation or alienation; degree and accuracy of self-perception; and their
respective views of the world around them.
Length:
750-1000 words (original length, for full essay)
This is the most forumlaic
paper we will do all year; you must follow the prompt above, which spells out
the criteria on which you will compare the selected characters. The point (or purpose, or nature) of the
comparison/contrast, however, is absolutely up to you. Therein lies the challenge.
2) In some ways, this should
be an “easy” paper; however, do not underestimate the task.
Major grading weight will
rest upon the richness and complexity of
the thesis, often simply referred to as “depth.” Lightweight, overly simple and obvious
comments are not worthy of college-level writing. Everyone has read the same texts; everyone
should be able to discuss the obvious.
Your job is to ILLUMINATE by probing more deeply and thoughtfully. The
fact that you are working in pairs is meant in part to serve as a cross-check
here. If you think your partner is
suggesting ideas that remain too superficial, then your job is to speak up and
suggest something more illuminating and insightful.
3) An additional major focus
of this paper is organization. Of course, this relates to content; the
strength and power of your main thesis is derived from the depth of your
analysis. However, this is an excellent
essay topic for making sure that you can reliably handle the relationship of
each body thesis both to the central idea and to the textual evidence and
commentary provided in each paragraph. For
a comparison/contrast paper such as this one, that means that each body thesis
must make an evaluative (comparative) claim that acknowledges BOTH characters but
provides additional richness (“value added”) to whatever the main thesis might
have asserted.
Note: It is possible for you to break a single “body
thesis” section into two paragraphs if the development seems to warrant doing
so. Then you need only a minor
transitional phrase to begin a topic sentence pertaining to the second
character.
Procedure
You are going to set up a
complete MLA-style essay, do everything that such a format requires, EXCEPT
that the support within the body paragraphs will be given as “chunks” of
textual evidence and bullet-style commentary.
The Purdue OWL remains the best source for all things
MLA, but here is a run-down of essential MLA formatting:
- 12-point Times New Roman font
- 1 inch margins
- Complete MLA heading (your name, my name, course
title, date: 13 February 2015)
- Running header
- Creative, relevant title
- Double-space throughout. (Consistently. All parts. Remember to “remove space
after paragraphs.”)
- Include a Works Cited that provides separate
entries for each work, even if both of them are in the same textbook.
- Then your parenthetical citations will be (author
+ page) regardless of which works you have selected.
Introductory paragraph: Write out in full as a polished, complete
introduction.
Ø
Hook (just a
strong opening sentence that pulls the reader into your subject; avoid strained,
artificial-sounding hooks)
Ø
2-3 sentences of
directing (“funneling”) reader’s attention
Ø
Include
author/titles within those sentences, together with other selected information
that prepares the reader for the significance of the thesis itself.
Ø
A ONE SENTENCE thesis
Body paragraphs: Complete topic sentence/BT, with
essential bulleted or outlined support
You will write out each body
thesis (BT) in full sentence form as well, with appropriate transitional
phrases. How many? Three—because your essay needs to respond
EXACTLY to the prompt. (But remember
that though there must be three body sections, you might have more than
one paragraph within a section.) Each BT must be an appropriate
“umbrella” for that which the paragraph will contain as well as making a link
back to the main thesis. You will be making some sort of evaluative claim
concerning the particular element as it pertains to each character.
Under each BT, you will
provide “chunks” of supporting material—at least 3, more if necessary.
A “chunk” consists of textual evidence (which may be a direct
quotation or a careful paraphrase) PLUS the “so what” elements: what is
significant here? why does it matter? how does it support the claim? (Yes, in the terms of the late Jane Schaffer,
this means CD’s and CM’s). You may find
it more appropriate to indicate the commentary-the point—first, and follow up
with the supporting evidence. You don’t
need to worry about lead-ins vs commentary, and quotations will not have to be
embedded.
Conclusion: Make it a separate paragraph, but nothing
elaborate needed here.
Your conclusion should also
be a complete paragraph. Reinforce your
claim without repeating verbatim.
“Global insight” is not an essential component of every piece of
analysis—don’t overstress about that on this assignment.
