A thesis that presents both the main idea you see present in the text and the ways you’re comparing/contrasting the text to what we read in class
Instructions: Choose a major work of Edgar Allan Poe )besides his “Fall of the House of Usher” and “The Raven”) to read and explore in depth (could be another short story, but it also could be a poem, a short novel, a play or some other artistic work, like a film or an art piece). With that piece, I want you to write a 3-5 page essay in which you analyze the main idea/argument/theme of that piece and then compare/contrast it (in terms of style, mood, subject matter, theme, purpose, etc.) to what we read in class. When considering the purpose of your comparison, you should be using your comparison to clarify how this new piece affects the way we think about this author’s writing: if the two stories fit well together, does this establish a clear stylistic pattern for the author? If the stories are pretty different, what does that imply about the writer’s interests or goals?
You don’t need to conduct any outside research for this beyond finding the other text, but if you do use outside research, make sure to cite it in text and to include a Works Cited page (MLA format!).
Your essay will be graded on the following elements:
A brief introduction/summary of the text you’re analyzing
A thesis that presents both the main idea you see present in the text and the ways you’re comparing/contrasting the text to what we read in class
A body of the essay that doesn’t merely summarize the text but instead analyzes the significant elements of the story (style, narrative, character, setting, symbolism/imagery, etc.) and explains how they develop the main idea of the text and how those crucial ideas and elements compare/contrast to the text we read in class
A well-structured essay that has complete and well-organized paragraphs that are connected to each other through smooth transitions
Demonstration of proper English grammar, mechanics and usage
Adherence to MLA format
Answer preview A thesis that presents both the main idea you see present in the text and the ways you’re comparing/contrasting the text to what we read in class
APA
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