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Essay #2 Assignment
ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION
• Literary Analysis of at least two related pieces of literature
• 3-4 pages (1000-1250 words) in MLA format
• Works Cited required (not counted toward page count)
INTRODUCTION
The second essay for this class is a literary analysis in which you will be using at
least two pieces of literature to defend your thesis. You may select from any of the
short stories or poems from Chapters 4, 5, 6 or 7 of Literature for Composition,
11th Edition for this assignment.
What do the stories in question say about love, courtship, and/or marriage? Taken
together, what message is being sent about the nature of love and marriage?
Things to consider as you read and develop your thoughts on this prompt may
include:
• The stereotypical notion of love as presented in popular culture versus what
these stories seem to illustrate
• The concept of love and/or marriage as it is presented in BOTH stories you
are writing about. Read both stories for commonalities and connective
threads that can help you form one coherent thesis in response to the prompt.
• A good thesis for this assignment will be simple and straightforward: “These
stories, when taken together, suggest that love is ________________________.”
• Strive for an original, thoughtful, argumentative thesis. Don’t focus on the
obvious.
• Your thesis must be argumentative. Don’t argue an obvious and “weak” point
of view (such as “love is complicated”). Be interesting and challenging.
• Each body paragraph of the essay should give the reader a specific example
from the text proving that your thesis is true. A quote or paraphrased
passage from the text itself should be used to support each example.
• You MUST cite the literature from our course text.
• For this essay you should not include any outside sources. The only cited
source should be the stories from our text.
• The conclusion should restate the thesis and remind the reader what the
examples were that proved the thesis.
• Do NOT use personal pronouns “I”, “we” or “you” (referring to yourself as the
writer or the audience as the reader. See “Know Your Audience” in Module One.
• Edit and revise very carefully. This is a college essay and it is relatively short.
There is no reason for it to not be closely edited given the amount of time you
have to work on it.
SUBMISSION DETAILS
The process elements of this assignment are required. Please pay special attention
to the due dates and modes of submission! The Literature Selection assignment is
due to the Discussion Board. The essay draft is due to the Essay #2 Draft Assignment
link.
Literature Selection
By the due date listed above and on the Literature Selection discussion forum, you
will write a paragraph or two in which you explain to the class your final literature
selections. This must include a rational for your choice. Explain not only which
pieces of literature you have chosen but why you have chosen them. The more work
you do on this element of the assignment the easier your draft will be.
INSTRUCTOR FEEDBACK
You will receive your essay grade and comments in Canvas when all final essays are
assessed. For additional feedback and revision help please see me during office
hours. You will receive your essay grade and comments in Canvas when all final
essays are assessed. For additional feedback and revision help please see me during
office hours. Essays are graded holistically. There is a grading rubric for this
assignment, and I will be focusing on the following areas of emphasis: