Write an analytical or argumentative paper in response to a source of your choice. I would suggest that
you choose a source that is not too large to examine in a four page paper. Appropriate sources in terms
of length would be a song, a short poem, a short story, a brief journal article, a brief newspaper article,
a television commercial, a magazine cover, a music video, or a similar source. Formulate your own topic
to ensure that your essay provides critical and/or interpretive analysis or argumentation about your
source. Attach a photocopy of your source to your paper if possible (i.e. song lyrics, copy of your article,
etc.) so that I may also read your source.
• Your paper must be a minimum of four full pages of text, not including the Works Cited
page. Make sure your writing continues at least to the bottom of the fourth page of your
paper. There is no penalty for going over four pages
• MLA format is required
• Use your textbook as a reference tool to format your paper in MLA
• Double space and type in 12 point font (Times New Roman is preferred). No bolding, no
colored fonts
• Italicize titles of books (and larger works)
• Put names of articles (and shorter works) in quotation marks
• Include a Works Cited page. Label it Works Cited, and not Bibliography. A
bibliography is something different
• There is no set rule for how much source material you should use in your paper, but many
experts suggest that no more than 20% of your paper should be other people’s material.
As a general rule of thumb, use two direct quotes or paraphrases per body paragraph.
You must include in-text citations each time you use source material. You must also include
these sources on your Works Cited page
• Only write in third person. This means, do not use words like: I, me, we, ours, us, you,
yours, etc. For example, instead of saying: I feel that the maternal character in Tu Pac
Shakur’s song, “Dear Mama,” represents our American matriarchic strength rather than a
literal depiction of Shakur’s mother. Simply say: The maternal character in Tu Pac Shakur’s
song, “Dear Mama,” represents American matriarchic strength rather than a literal depiction
of Shakur’s mother.
• Do not use contractions (can’t, don’t, won’t, shouldn’t, etc.). Instead, spell the contractions
out in full (cannot, do not, will not, should not, etc.).
• Avoid slang and informal language (i.e. use children instead of kids, use teenagers instead
of teens etc.)
• Avoid clichés (i.e. better safe than sorry, two heads are better than one, etc.)
• Give your paper a detailed title, which presents both the topic and the approach
• Do not write an informative paper. Do not write a “so-what” thesis
• Attach copies of all required documentation (proof of Writing Center/online appointment,
peer-edit checklist, and self-evaluation tool)