For Paper I (Short Fiction), you will be writing a typed (double-spaced) comparison/contrast essay on two stories (by two different authors) from our reading list. It will consist of 4-5 pages (exclusive of the Works Cited).
A model for the paper (in terms of form) may be found in Ch. 59 of The Simon and Shuster Handbook for Writers (11th edition). For additional information on writing about fiction and writing a comparison contrast paper, consult the handouts uploaded on Blackboard. Paper I is due in my hands and on Turnitin.com on Wednesday, Feb. 14.
Remember, the paper is to be written in MLA Documentation Style. This form should be familiar to you from ENGL 102. Please consult the addendum entitled “What’s New in the MLA Handbook, 8th ed., at the back of your reading packet.
Your paper must be accompanied by a Works Cited that includes citations for both the short stories that you choose to write on and two outside sources from an AUD library database such as JSTOR. These must be referenced in your Works Cited.
You are required to quote at least once from each of the stories that you intend to compare and contrast; one quote must be in block form (for a discussion on quotation form, see my handout on the Conventions of Writing about Literature).
Observe all the conventions of writing about literature. These include the proper treatment of titles and of author’s names, the use of present tense verbs (when discussing plot and author’s ideas), and a command of the vocabulary associated with short fiction (see Terms of Literary Analysis).
Introduce each story by author’s full name and title in your first paragraph. For subsequent references to authors, use last names only.
We shall discuss possible topics in class, but papers should focus on one or more of the “elements” of fiction (Theme, plot, character, point of view, setting, etc.).
Suggestion: develop ideas in a journal that you keep to respond to the short stories, poems, and plays that we read.
Do not simply retell the story, or stories. A summary of a work is called a précis; you are writing a thesis-driven essay, not a précis. Use summary and other plot details only as they serve to illustrate your thesis.
Assignments should be submitted in the form I have outlined in my handout on “Formatting Your Essays.” Title sheets are not necessary.
Finally, all papers must be vetted on Turnitin.com. Below you are given a class identification number and a password to access this site:
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