Short Essay #2 and Short Assignment #3

Short Essay #2: Due Tuesday, April 22nd (electronic copy)

For the second short essay, you will write a 3-4 page critical paper on one of the full length texts- Beloved by Toni Morrison, Dracula by Bram Stoker, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or The Shinning by Stephen King. 

This short essay will focus specifically on a critical issue*, will be organized around your topic, and will include an introduction that clearly sets up your intention for the paper. Create a literary argument that provides a framework for interpreting the text and explains one of the novel's larger themes. In this argument, you are advocating a specific and non-obvious “reading of the text”- an argument about how the story can be read and understood. You will select one to two literary elements and discuss their significance for a larger theme or issue within the novel.  Your discussion of the literary elements will not be an end unto itself, but will ultimately prove their significance to the critical issue you identify. Your essay should also incorporate textual evidence and a discussion of this evidence, including integrated direct quotations to support your claims (in MLA format).

Additional guidelines: Use MLA style for paper formatting, works cited, and direct citations. An electronic copy of your paper is due via email by 2 p.m. for section -030 and 3.30 p.m. for section -033. For this assignment, you will name the file: Last Name-SE2.docx.

* The critical issue: A problem your essay resolves through careful interpretation of the novel. The more focused your problem, the better your chance of writing a successful essay.

Three stage process for defining the critical issue:

1. Organize your general response notes into an area of investigation (such as point of view, style, imagery, etc.); 
2.  Find a specific topic within that area, such as how point of view, imagery, etc. contribute to your interpretation of the story; and 
3.  Decide on a thesis- what you intend to prove by exploring your topic.

Short Assignment #3: Due Tuesday, May 6th (Electronic Copy)

Create a 250-350 word proposal defining your plans for the final essay. A proposal is a persuasive document that provides a concise and clear idea of the literary argument you will pursue in your final longer essay. This short assignment will ensure that you are thinking about your final essay early on, and can receive feedback on your ideas early enough to make changes if necessary. Your proposal should provide answers to the following questions:

1. What is your working thesis?
2. What is your thematic focus within the text/s you are analyzing?
3. Which parts of the text/s will be your key focus points and why?

If you decide to revisit one of your previous essays, you should include ways that you will expand upon your argument, address problems in your original essay, or provide a short plan for revision (considering the feedback you have received from me). 

The argument you will take in your final paper should be clear in this assignment; however, this document is not binding. As you write, you may find that the argument you initially thought you were pursuing takes a different course. This is perfectly acceptable and part of the writing process.

Additional Guidelines: Use MLA style for paper formatting. An electronic copy of your paper is due via email by 2 p.m. for section -030 and 3.30 p.m. for section -033. For this assignment, you will name the file: Last Name-SA3.docx.