D.Brown
ENGL 1020-LD-07
SHORT PAPER #2: COMPARE/ CONTRAST
Essay Proposal (see folder) DUE: Tuesday March 22nd by 11PM
First Draft: Saturday, March 26th via Blackboard by 11PM
Assignment Description: Compare and Contrast
Compare and /or contrast two different works from the assigned readings and or
films between Weeks 1-8. Students will have to decide what element will serve as
their main point, but consider characters, theme, setting, style, etc. The thesis
should make a larger point and not simply be a listing of similarities and difference.
Your goal is to ultimately, show how the two compared elements affect the story,
teach a lesson, show continuity of a problem or issue over time, dispel a long
accepted truth, etc.
Thesis Example: The protagonists from ?Cask of Amontillado? and ?Grief
Management? reveal how point of view can be used to create unreliable narrators
that force the reader to question the sanity or morals of the character/narrator
telling the story.
Essay content could show how both of these characters could be characterized as
such and how this affects the interpretation of the works, or what the reader has to
do to fully appreciate the effect of the narrators? states on the other characters.
Essay Format:
Heading Example (the upper left corner of page 1):
Student Name
ENGL 1020-LDXX
Date
Short Paper #2
Semester Year
-3-5 typed, double-spaced pages
-Create a title that describes the unique focus of your essay (centered at the top of page
1).
-Use MLA format for in-text parenthetical citations and include an MLA-style works cited
page. See Rules for Writers, Bedford Handbook or visit:
http://dianahacker.com/bedhandbook/ for more information.
-Third person objective point of view; no first (I/we/our) or second (you) person language.
Structural Suggestions
Introduction- The introduction to grab your reader?s attention; create a sense of
expectation that makes readers want to continue on to discover the insights of
your analysis. Offer a short summary of no more than two to three sentences. The
essay should clarify whatever issues are necessary so that readers who may have
not read the literary text will still find your essay to be intelligible. The introduction
should end with a thesis statement that identifies the main purpose of your
ENGL 1020: Essay 2-Compare/Contrast
essay. What two elements are you comparing and why?
Body- The body of the literary analysis should support the thesis in detail by
exploring three to four subtopics. Quotes from the literary text should be used to
support your claims in the body. However, be sure to avoid writing an essay that
strings together many quotations without establishing a context for what the
quoted passages are designed to illustrate. Also avoid retelling the story. Once
your thesis is established the essay?s job is to prove your thesis valid.
Conclusion- The conclusion should sum up the essay without being repetitious. In
the case where the body looks at the subjects of comparison separately, the
conclusion should bring the two together. . In the final paragraph of the essay, you
can draw some conclusions on the overall impact of the literary work, the intent of
the writer, or the larger message that work is trying to convey.
ENGL 1020: Essay 2-Compare/Contrast
- D.Brown
- ENGL 1020-LD-07
- SHORT PAPER #2: COMPARE/ CONTRAST
