Hoe To Use

Directions: Pick one of the essays you read in Weeks 3 or 4, and write a critical analysis in which you examine how the author uses form and/or description in the essay.
This paper is based on yourown ideas about the topic you have chosen; consequently, you want to do a close reading of the text to obtain a richer understanding of the essay. As you read, write notes in the margin to yourself tohelp spark ideas and interpret the piece.
This is an interpretative paper; you will not be conducting any research. You will, however, use any relevant information provided in Weeks 3 and 4, yourtextbook,Creating Nonfiction, and the actual essay.
You will want to 'prewrite' to collect and to sort your ideas about the story and the topic. (See literature paper checklist below) Create atrial thesis from the general ideas in your prewriting. Ask yourself a question about the ideas; then, briefly answer the question. The combination of the answer and the question becomes the trial thesis.·         The paper must have a thesis (main idea) statement. This is a statement of your idea (s), theory or claim about the story. The thesis is usually the last one or two sentences at the end of theintroduction paragraph. Remember that a thesis is never a question.
·         The paper needs to have several specific references to and quotations from the essay that work as evidence to substantiate/prove your thesis. The evidence from the essay functions as your support--your explanation of why. You may also want to use the information in chapters 3 and 4 in Creating Nonfiction to offer supportfor your statements.
·         The paper must include at least one of each: summary, paraphrase, and direct quotation.
·         The paper must also include a works cited page.
·         The papershould be 500-750 words, excluding the works cited page, and should follow MLA format.
·         How you respond to the work is up to you. Since this is a short paper, you may choose to analyze...