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 #3
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 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.
