Length: 4 pages (plus additional Works Cited page) Sources: Use 1-2 primary sour

Length: 4 pages (plus additional Works Cited page)
Sources: Use 1-2 primary sources of fiction AND 2 or more secondary sources of literary criticism as described below
Documentation: Correct MLA documentation is expected, including in-text citations and a Works Cited page. If you include any source material without giving proper credit, you risk either earning a zero on the assignment or an F as your final grade in the course.
Purpose:
This assignment will help you practice literary analysis and research skills that are essential to your success in this course:
Skills:
Create an interpretation based on close reading of 1-2 fictional texts.
Find at least two relevant and credible secondary sources of literary criticism.
Provide evidence from the 1-2 fictional texts and the secondary sources to support your interpretation.
Use MLA documentation, including correct source integration, in-text citations, and Works Cited page.
Connect your analysis to a larger context, such as the time period when the story or stories were written or set.
Practice the writing process by planning, drafting, revising, and editing your essay.
Knowledge:
Vocabulary terms about elements of fiction from Modules 1-5
Vocabulary terms about research (such as primary source, secondary source, and literary criticism).
Assignment:
Create a literary analysis essay built on close readings of 1-2 fictional texts. Consider the elements of fiction and vocabulary terms you have learned this semester, and then choose one specific aspect of the text(s) to analyze, such as plot, point-of-view, characterization, setting, style, theme, tone, symbolism, irony, or use of a specific figurative language device.
After you have selected one aspect of the text(s), reread the text(s), looking for patterns. Think about how and why the author uses the elements of fiction to create meaning. Try to be specific. A statement like “Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Lottery’ uses foreshadowing” is a fact, not a thesis. You will have to think about how and why she uses foreshadowing. Then you have an interpretation that will need proof, which is much better.
If you select two fictional texts, you should choose ones that have a significant similarity in the element you wish to discuss. For example, if you wish to discuss how Tessie Hutchinson serves as a scapegoat for her community in Jackson’s “The Lottery,” you could connect that to another story with a scapegoat character, like the child in LeGuin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” or if you wish to examine symbols of isolation in Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” you could pair that with another story with significant symbols of isolation, like Glaspell’s “A Jury of Her Peers” or Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily.” Then you can compare and contrast the texts to find patterns and come up with your thesis.
You may wish to consider a topic that you have already thought about or something mentioned on the course Content. If you need inspiration, the Analysis and Commentary sections in Modules 1-6 provide many different possible topics and questions for you to consider.
Tasks:
A strong essay will:
Open with an introduction paragraph that catches the reader’s attention, includes relevant background information, and ends with your thesis statement. Your thesis should include your interpretation of the story or stories. For more information how to create a good thesis for this essay, be sure to review Module 5 – New Skills, Concepts, and Vocabulary.
Include approximately 5-7 well-developed body paragraphs. You should incorporate quotations, paraphrase, and/or summary from the story or stories to support your points. You will also need to integrate evidence from your secondary sources within body paragraphs.
End with a conclusion that briefly sums up your main ideas and connects your discussion of this story or stories to the culture and values of the time and place.
Use an academic voice with third-person point of view (no “you” or “I” except within direct quotations), and use formal grammar and spelling.
Follow MLA paper formatting guidelines and MLA documentation style (correct source integration, in-text citations, and Works Cited page).
Your essay should avoid:
Biography – you should not use background information on the author or text (from the course Content or the textbook) within body paragraphs. Body paragraphs should discuss evidence from the short story only. You may use background information on the author or text in the introduction or conclusion if it is relevant.
Plot summary – assume your reader is familiar with the story; avoid summarizing it or providing an overview; use only the relevant evidence to prove your thesis.
Large copied passages – quote sparingly; use ellipsis as necessary; avoid block quotations
Sources:
You must use and cite 1-2 primary sources of fiction AND 2 or more secondary sources of literary criticism.
A primary source is a text by the original author. You may choose any 1-2 short stories on our course schedule (Modules 1-6). If you want to write about a different story or novel by one of the authors on our course schedule, or if you want to write about an author of fiction who is not on our course schedule, you must get your text(s) approved by the instructor before you begin.
A secondary source is a work that explains or analyzes a primary source (such as a journal article).
For example, Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” is a primary source, and a literature scholar’s article about the symbolism of Emily’s house would be a secondary source.
Your secondary source should be literary criticism from a scholarly book or an article from a peer-reviewed journal. I suggest using the databases, eBooks, and books provided by the NSCC library. You should avoid biographies, plot summaries, and all sources written for a general audience (such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, newspapers, magazines, and most websites). If you have questions about whether a source is appropriate, ask.
Your argument does not have to match a secondary source’s argument exactly; instead, your goal is to find something from each secondary source to strengthen your own argument – perhaps illustrate a key point, make a connection you had not thought of, or add new perspective to your interpretation. Try to find research that will help you support the main idea of a body paragraph; avoid using a source if it is only helpful in the introduction or conclusion.
Information from our textbook and course Content may be used if it is directly relevant and cited correctly, but these count as extra sources only: you will still need 1-2 primary sources of fiction AND 2 or more secondary sources of literary criticism.
If you would like to review how to find credible and relevant sources of literary criticism, please see Module 3 – New Skills, Concepts, and Vocabulary.
You may NOT list any sources on your Works Cited page that you do not use in your paper. Also, you may NOT use (through quotation, paraphrase, or summary) any sources that you do not cite in the text and on the Works Cited page – this is plagiarism and grounds for failing the assignment.
Submission:
Do not email your essay; submit it through the Assignment Dropbox. Your document must be in .doc, .docx, or .rtf format.Late work is not typically accepted. Please review the relevant guidelines for late work in the syllabus.
Criteria:
Grading: Your essay will be graded using the course Literary Analysis Essay rubric. Please review the rubric before you begin. Your essay can earn up to 40 points for Content, 30 points for Organization, 25 points for Editing, and 30 points for Documentation.
Example: An example graded literary analysis essay is provided in Module 5 – Additional Resources.