Discussing two stories we have read in which you find a basis for comparison, write an essay that examines the two texts for shared themes and meanings as well as any important differences in the messages they convey. Explain what the stories together suggest about human beings as individuals or in groups as a society, about human nature or the human condition. How do the stories relate to real life? Be sure to develop a well-defined central argument articulated in a clear, comprehensive thesis statement and maintain correspondence between the points of comparison in your supporting paragraphs.
Choose two stories that share a strong thematic connection warranting further analysis
Complete 4 to 5 pages, not counting the works cited page.
Format your essay according to 9th edition MLA guidelines, including headers, heading, margins, indents, spacing, and mechanics. Use 12-point font, Times New Roman.
Include the formal elements of thesis-and-support structure and be sure to stay focused on the stories. Remember you’re writing an analysis of the text of the stories: The stories are your subjects:
Give your essay a title that is creative and relevant to the stories and to your comparison of them.
Develop a formal introduction paragraph with a hook, orientation, and thesis all focused on your subject. IMPORTANT: DO NOT announce what you’re going to do at any point in your essay.
Develop a thesis statement that is comprehensive and complete with all the required parts: subject, opinion, and logic. (The two stories are your subjects, your interpretation of your comparison of the stories is your opinion, and what you see happening in the stories that leads you to your opinion is your logic.)
State your thesis at the end of your introduction paragraph, and then make certain that every supporting paragraph that follows relates to and supports that thesis.
Provide a sufficient number of supporting paragraphs that are complete with a topic sentence, a sufficient number of evidence sentences that support the topic sentence, and a summary statement all unified by your thesis.
Use your own words and ideas for all your topic sentences. Topic sentences are to be analytical. (DO NOT use any quotes or plot summary for a topic sentence.)
Quotations are to be used in your evidence sentences of supporting paragraphs only. (DO NOT use any quotes from primary or secondary sources in topic sentences or in your introduction paragraph or conclusion paragraph.)
Quotations cannot stand alone: every quote needs to be integrated and made part of your own sentence in a way that maintains the grammatical integrity of your sentence. Otherwise, it’s free floating. For a long quote that needs to be set off from the rest of the text of the paragraph, use a colon to introduce it.
Support your thesis with evidence, examples, and quotes from the stories. In every supporting paragraph, include at least one quote from at least one of the stories as effective support for your topic sentence. All of your points should be founded in the texts themselves, and you should quote enough in your evidence sentences to make the connections clear.
Assume that your reader knows the stories but has to be reminded about certain specifics and details that have bearing on the argument you are making in your paper. In other words, summarize no more than necessary. You may summarize briefly for the sake of supporting a point but not for filler.
Support your thesis with research. In every supporting paragraph, include at least one quotation from a peer-reviewed article about your short story as effective support for your argument.
Cite all quotations and sources according to 9th edition MLA guidelines, including parenthetical documentation that corresponds to your list of works cited.
Bring your essay to a fitting close with a conclusion paragraph that gives your essay resonance and a sense of completion and reaffirms your main point in retrospect of the analysis you’ve just presented
Finally, your works cited page should have at least six listings: two for your primary sources (one for each of the two stories you’
