Length: 5 pages Sources required: 5 Assignment: Choose an author and identify a

Length: 5 pages
Sources required: 5
Assignment: Choose an author and identify a theme (or multiple themes) in his/her work. Then
find critical sources who have written about this topic. Form a thesis based on your research.
Compose a paper that defends your thesis based on what your sources are saying.
Your paper should have a clear thesis statement, and paragraphs that elaborate on the thesis. A
good thesis statement will make a claim that can be backed up with critical sources and the
primary text. Find sources that back up what you are saying. The main paragraphs of your paper
will cite your various sources.
Recognize the difference between summary and analysis. Avoid summary as much as possible.
You may need to describe specific examples in order to illustrate a point, but don’t “sum up” the
stories for me.
Make sure you have a clear thesis. Make an outline before you start. See me if you need help
with this!
Allow your sources to influence your thesis. Don’t commit yourself to a specific idea, only to
discover there aren’t enough sources to back it up.
Document your sources in my version of MLA format. This includes parenthetical citations and
a Works Cited page. (The Works Cited page does NOT count toward your length requirement.)
And, as always: staple, double-space, number the pages