Assignment:
Analytical Paper - Getting Started
This week, we will begin working on our analytical paper, which will be a comparative analysis of two of the literary works that we've read so far in class. This week's assignment is an outline for that paper, but here's a preview of the general requirements of the final paper so that you have a good idea of where you're headed:
- All papers must be six paragraphs long, including an introduction paragraph, four body paragraphs, and a conclusion paragraph.
- The introduction should provide basic background info on the author(s) and the story/stories and end with your thesis statement (the principal argument you're making about the literature in your analysis).
- The four body paragraphs should delve deeply into the inferential/interpretive level by analyzing specific passages from the story/stories.
- The paper must include a minimum of three references from reliable, academic sources, all of which are cited at least once in the paper, but we'll talk about this more in a future week. You won't need any research at all for the outline that's due this week.
- The conclusion is the place to address the literature on an evaluative level (zooming out of the story and looking at how the ideas are relevant in the real world). The first sentence of the conclusion, though, should be a restatement of the thesis (though expressed in different words).
- Formatting, citations, and references must all adhere to APA style.
Below are your two prompt options. Pick whichever one seems most interesting to you for your analytical paper.
Prompt Option 1:
You've read two short stories by Kate Chopin - Story of an Hour and Desiree's Baby. Identify four common elements - one for each body paragraph - that the two stories share, and demonstrate how they work similarly in both stories. These can be elements like themes, tone, and/or use of literary devices.
Provide multiple quotes from the stories in each body paragraph to support your points, make sure to analyze passages on an inferential/interpretive level, and don't forget to "read between the lines." Need Assignment Help?
Prompt Option 2:
You've read two short stories by Kate Chopin - Story of an Hour and Desiree's Baby. Compare and contrast the two main characters - Louise Mallard and Desiree. For this option, you will need to come up with four ways in which the characters are similar and/or different, so you can come up with two similarities and two differences between Louise Mallard and De´sire´e Aubigny for the four body paragraphs.
Provide multiple quotes from the stories in each body paragraph to support your points, make sure to analyze passages on an inferential/interpretive level, and don't forget to "read between the lines."