. Paper 2 Assignment Format ?
9001100 words, doublespaced, Times 12point font, oneinch margins; include a title, your name, date, etc. ?
Due Dates
Draft due: by 11:55 pm Sunday, week 7 Last Reviewed: OES Team
Paper due: by 11:55 pm Sunday, week 9
Instructions
For this assignment you will again write a focused textual analysis, but this time you will work with only one text. You may choose which work you’d like to examine:
. ? one chapter from Toomer, Jean. Cane. New York: Liveright, 1993. ?
. ? one chapter from Anderson, Sherwood. Winesburg, Ohio. Mineola, NY: Dover Thrift editions, 1995. ?
. ?
. ? the Dreiser story Dreiser, The Lost Phoebe (From the book called “Great American Short Stories” (Negri, Paul, ed. Great American Short Stories. Mineola, NY: Dover Thrift editions, 2002. ?):
?
. ? the Freeman story ? Freeman, A New England Nun (From the book called “Great American Short Stories” (Negri, Paul, ed. Great American Short Stories. Mineola, NY: Dover Thrift editions, 2002. ?))
Although the text you investigate is your choice, your essay needs to address the following prompt:
?In the Study Notes for Week 4, you were provided with one definition of literary “realism” from The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. While this definition primarily focused on realism in terms of a work’s subject matter, Paper 2 asks you to analyze your chosen author’s style: what role does your author’s style play in achieving and disrupting realism? That is, how does the author use specific literary devices (imagery, characterization, symbolism, etc.) to both create and disrupt realism? What are the purposes and effects of these choices? There are many definitions of realism; be sure to provide your own definition in your paper’s introduction. Does it mean that the narrator’s perspective is objective, like a camera? Or that the narration successfully mimics an individual’s subjective perspective? Does it mean that the language is direct and not embellished? Or does it mean that the author’s style mimics the way people think? As the final sentence of your introduction, a successful thesis will then indicate 1) which elements are used to achieve realism, 2) which elements serve to complicate/disrupt realism, and 3) how these elements work together to shape the meaning of the work.
?This paper should be grounded in analysis and interpretation of quoted material. Try to wrestle with a subtlety or a question you see being raised in the text. Because this is a short paper, you will need to immediately introduce your reader to what you will be writing about. You should narrow your argument and be careful to be very specific—generalizations and vague statements will weaken your thesis. Always ground your assertions in quoted evidence. At the end of your paper you should briefly review your main points (in a sentence or two) and conclude your essay, but you don’t need to have an entire conclusion paragraph. ?
Be sure to proofread your paper for grammatical and stylistic errors. If your instructor can’t understand your sentences or ideas because the grammar or logic is confusing, she will have to lower your grade. The most important part of your paper is clear presentation of thoughtful ideas—but ideas can’t come across if they aren’t written in a way that makes sense to your reader. You should attach a Works Cited page with the citation information in MLA format (just information about the particular version of the text you’re using—no need to do any outside ?research). If you are having trouble or feeling frustrated with the process of focusing and developing your thesis, please consult your instructor and/or visit Student Writing Support. Your instructor will look over your draft and return it to you during week 8.