Short Essay #1

Short Essay #1; Due Thursday, March 27

For the first short essay, you will write a 3-4 page critical paper on one of the short stories from either The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales or the online stories. You may choose any of the assigned stories on the syllabus, whether or not we have read it yet.

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. Your main goal is to create a literary argument that provides a framework for interpreting the text. 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. Make sure that your argument is grounded in the evidence from the text and incorporate a discussion of specific literary elements pertinent to your argument-- pay attention to the details of the story's construction. 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. Your essay is due as an email submission to me by 8 p.m. You will name your file in the following format: Last Name-SE1.docx. 

* The critical issue: A problem (ambiguity) your essay resolves through careful interpretation of the literary text. 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 or a theme); 
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.