Essay 3 guidelines
10) This MLA exercise counts as one of your Writing Assignments. Due at the end of the week-end.
Begin thinking of essay 3. The topic is to choose two of these articles on the story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” to write an essay in which you argue your interpretation of the story. You may support one of the critics you’ve read — O’Connor, herself; Stephens; Bandy; or Desmond — then argue how your interpretation differs from another critic’s interpretation. For instance, say your own interpretation of the story closely follows Martha Stephens’ article, “From The Question of Flannery O’Connor.” Write your essay using the points Stephens’ makes in her essay, using paraphrases and quotations from Stephens along with your own words. Then argue that another critic’s point-of-view is wrong; for example, write that you don’t agree with O’Connor’s own interpretation, once again using paraphrases and quotations from O’Connor’s own article on her story.
This essay should be 4 pages long with a Works Cited page citing the story and the two articles that you discuss
Structure Guidelines:
Revised: 4.30, 2018
Heading
_____Is Heading Correct? (See the example below to pattern your heading.)
For example (Upper left corner of p. 1)
Jane Doe (your name)
Professor Andrade
English 1302 (Section number WS 1, WS 4, WS 7)
13 Feb. 2015 (The correct date)
Introduction
____Title appropriate to the subject of the essay? The title should be attention-getting but it should also relate to the thesis statement.
____Correct type of title: (do not bold, underline or change the size of the font)
____Introductory quotation? Optional
____Adequate transitional sentence linking introductory quotation to the
introduction?
____Author’s name and the play’s/stories’/poems’ names mentioned in the introduction?
____Essay is in proper format: introduction, 2 or 3 body paragraphs, and conclusion
____Thesis is analytical ; it argues an interpretive position based on the assigned topic of the play/story/poem (s).
____Thesis is also clearly and grammatically written and reflects student’s interpretive position.
First Body Paragraph
____Topic sentence develops, supports the idea of the thesis?
____At least three quotations that support the argument of the topic sentence?
____Choice of quotations needs improvement. Quotations must really support (prove) your assertion.
____Quotations appropriately punctuated and with page numbers in parentheses ( )?
____Quotations have adequate transition: see TR in Grading
____Writer analyzes thesis and does not rely on plot summary
Second Body Paragraph
____ Topic sentence develops, supports the argument of the thesis?
____At least three quotations that support the argument of the topic sentence?
____Choice of quotations needs improvement. Quotations must really support (prove) your assertion.
____Quotations appropriately punctuated and with page numbers in ( )
____Quotations have adequate transition: see TR in Grading
____Writer analyzes thesis and does not rely on plot summary
Third Body Paragraph:
____ Topic sentence develops, supports the argument of the thesis?
____At least three quotations that support the argument of the topic sentence?
____Choice of quotations needs improvement. Quotations must really support (prove) your assertion.
____Quotations appropriately punctuated and with page numbers in ( )?
____Quotations have adequate transition: see TR in Grading
____Writer analyzes thesis and does not rely on plot summary
Conclusion
____Conclusion connects the stories to contemporary life or the student writer’s own life. It is not a summing up of the essay or a repetition of the thesis. See explanation of Reader-Response in textbook in Contemporary Schools of Criticism.
Grammar
_____Good grammar
_____Needs minor improvement: See Help on the website for information on the Writing Center.
_____Needs a great deal of improvement: See “Grading” for Grammar skills. Also, see Help on the website for information on the Writing Center.
_____Good diction (word choice) and sophisticated syntax (sentence structure: skillful combination of clauses, use of complex sentences).
_____ Needs minor improvement: Diction (word choice) and syntax (sentence structure: skillful combination of clauses) See “Grading” for examples of poor diction: D.
_____Needs a great deal of improvement: Diction: see Help on the Website for information on the Writing Center
_____Essay is well developed. Each body paragraph has as much information and support (quotations) as possible.
_____Essay has is adequately develped, but body paragraphs need more examples and support (quotations).
_____Essay has some development, but the quotations do not adequately support the thesis.
_____Needs improvement: You need to explain your ideas more fully and give more examples, quotations, paraphrases.
_____Essay rambles, strays from thesis. The essay needs to be tighter in organization, more concise.
Paper must be 4 pages long with a work cited page. Below are MLA guidelines.
Please complete the following exercises and turn them in on the date I’ve indicated on the Calendar.
Exercise 1
Answers to this exercise, available after due date
You can use Knightcite to write your answers. Make sure that you click on MLA at the top of the left hand side of the screen and click on “Website Document” at the bottom of the left hand screen. Fill in the blocks with the information in each citation in Exercise 1 and Knightcite will put everything in the right order with the right punctuation. All you have to do is make the font a bit bigger.
Exercise 2: Make sure you understand the difference in quoting and paraphrasing. This is not something you have to turn in.
Practice paraphrasing
Answers to this exercise
Citing Electronic Sources Snapshot
Name of author (if given)
Title of article or document (in quotation marks)
Title of the journal, newsletter, project, database, or conference; example, JStore
Date of publication; for example, 5 Jan. 2017
Name of the computer network
Date of access: that is, when you saw the article; example, 4 Feb. 2017
http address;
If you cannot find some of this information, cite what is available.
