ENG 251

Literary Analysis Essay Without Sources Assignment Sheet

100 points (20% of class grade)

Assigned Date:

Monday, September 5th

Due Date:

Wednesday, October 4th

Outline, Rough Draft, and Hard copy of the Final Draft due at the beginning of class and a digital copy of the Final Draft due to Turnitin.com via Canvas before class begins.

Task Summary:

Choose one of the literary works from our anthology and then write an analytical essay in which you prove a thesis about how the author uses a literary device or literary devices in order to convey and/or deepen a theme in the work. Alternately, you may write a rhetorical analysis of one of the works of non-fiction in the anthology in which you analyze how the author uses rhetorical devices in order to persuade his or her audience.

Length, Formatting, and Style Requirements:

The essay should be two to three pages typed (600-900 words) and be written in MLA Style and Format. This includes 12-point Times New Roman font, double spaced pages, 1-inch margins, a proper heading, and a running head that includes your last name and page number. This also includes MLA in-text citation for the literary work you choose to write on as well as a Works Cited page that cites this literary work.

The essay should also be written in third-person point-of-view and in present tense.

The essay should have an interesting title and introduction, and the final sentence of the introduction should be your thesis statement and essay map (an essay map is a brief statement of the main points you are going to use in the paper to develop your thesis).

The essay should also include a satisfying concluding paragraph that not only restates your thesis and essay map in different words, but that also leaves your reader with something to think about after he or she has finished your paper.

NO OUTSIDE SOURCES may be used or consulted; this should be solely your analysis of the work. The work you choose MUST be one from the anthology unless you get explicit written permission from me to write on a different work.

Suggested Writing Process:
1.Choose one of the literary works from our anthology that you find compelling and/or troubling and/or interesting, and without the help of any outside sources, and only your brain and pen, determine the tone and theme(s) of the work. Then, annotate the literary work for a particular literary device or particular literary devices that the author uses to convey or deepen a theme or persuade an audience if you are taking the rhetorical analysis approach. Carefully note HOW particular examples of this device or these devices work to convey the themes or purpose. Ask yourself WHY the author uses a particular literary or rhetorical device. You will need to use quotations and some brief paraphrases from the literary work that will serve as your specific examples of the literary device or devices you have chosen to analyze.

2.Finally, develop a thesis (main idea clearly and effectively stated in one sentence) and essay map (main points to develop the thesis) that you will then prove through specific examples of the devices you have chosen and explanation and analysis of those examples

3.Fill out the outline template provided with your thesis, essay map, and specific examples, and then write the rough draft.

4.Finally, revise this draft and write a final draft. Edit and proofread the final.

5.Remember, you must carefully choose specific examples from the poem that demonstrate your thesis AND then explain how those examples demonstrate your thesis. DO NOT MERELY SUMMARIZE OR PARAPHRASE THE WORK. ASSUME THAT YOUR AUDIENCE FOR THE ESSAY HAS ALREADY READ AND UNDERSTOOD THE WORK. Your job is to deepen the reader’s understanding.

Assessment:

Assessed According to the English Department Rubric for Essays

In order to do well on this paper, it is imperative that you do the following:
•Do your own work. Do not collaborate with anyone else on this assignment
•Do not do any outside research for this assignment. Ideas and analysis must be your own, and essays will be checked for plagiarism using Turnitin.com
•Have a strong, specific thesis and an essay map
•Use MLA Format and Documentation Style (includes heading the essay correctly and providing a title, citing specifics from the work within the paper with appropriate in-text citations, and including a Works Cited Page that cites the work correctly at the end of your paper)
•Write the essay in third person
•Write the essay in present tense
•Effectively organize your body paragraphs
•Begin each body paragraph with a topic sentence and end each with a concluding sentence
•Practice the effective writing strategies learned in English 101 and 102
•Review the Rubric for Essays, being sure your paper meets its criteria
•Use Times New Roman font, 12 point, and double space