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.