English 123 – Rosichan Literary Analysis and Research Essay: Analysis of Two or Three Works of Literature Using a Single Literary Theory Value: 150…

English 123 – Rosichan Literary Analysis and Research Essay: Analysis of Two or Three Works of Literature Using a Single Literary Theory Value: 150…
English 123 – Rosichan Literary Analysis and Research Essay: Analysis of Two or Three Works of Literature Using a Single Literary Theory Value: 150 points Format: Typed, MLA style: essay + attached Works Cited on the last page of the essay (its own page but numbered consecutively) Length: 1,500 words or more and 8 or more paragraphs (quotations don’t count as your words) Due: Wednesday, May 24 at the beginning of class. The essay must be submitted to Turnitin.com. If you forget,15 points will be forfeit. Directions: In an essay of at least 1,500 words, write a claim-driven essay about two or three of the works we’ve read this cycle, “The Cuban Swimmer, by Milcha Sanchez Scott, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, and “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka. Your claim should present a unified argument that applies to all of the texts you choose to examine and identifies an overall argument or purpose of the texts based on a question or concern raised by one of the Literary Theories. Support your claim with evidence from the text(s) along with your discussion of that evidence, reason by reason (point by point). In addition, you will need to read and incorporate ideas from 3-5 different scholarly, reliable sources that cover one or more of the following: 1) Interpretation/analysis of the text or texts themselves (not a study guide, such as SparkNotes or Cliffnotes, etc.) 2) The context(s), such as information about the historical context, author, laws, culture,etc. 3) The literary theory (readings that weren’t in your textbook or provided by me). You may find sources that overlap (one article may discuss a literary theory as it applies to a particular text, for example). You will still need 3 different sources. Remember that the purpose of this essay is to present your analysis and interpretation of the texts, so these sources should help you support and deepen your examination rather than stand separate from that discussion or replace it. Also, there should be an 80/20 ratio: no less than 80% of your ideas and discussion, no more than 20% of outside sources, including quotations from the text. This limit does not necessarily mean you will have to remove quotations; it will require that you select quotations carefully and discuss them thoroughly. Note: Wikipedia, dictionaries, random quotations, and study aids, such as SparkNotes, do not count as scholarly research and should not be used; however, if used, except dictionaries, they do need to be cited correctly but will count against the critical thinking and research grade. Use the NVC Library database to conduct your research to arrive at reputable, credible, & reliable sources. As a final step, submit the final draft of your essay to Turnitin.com. Be sure to edit and proofread your essay before turning it in. Remember, every time you cite someone else’s ideas (even in your own words), you must cite the source, or it’s plagiarism. Also, remember the one-to-one rule: every source you use must be cited both with a parenthetical in-text citation and a corresponding complete citation on the Works Cited page, and every source on the Works Cited page must be used in the body of your essay. Consider the questions you and your classmates have been raising as avenues for exploration, narrowing finally to a single claim about the texts. For example: Marxist Theory: (just a sampling of questions, not an exhaustive list) How are characters oppressed by the work they’re required to do in order to survive in a capitalist society (in which survival depends upon the individual’s ability to earn money)? Note: You can narrow the above question to focus specifically on a particular type of character or type of work or type of response to work. To what extent are characters’ motivation and dreams shaped by the (capitalist) society they live in? And how do these dreams affect (expand or restrict) their choices and lives? What different classes do we see represented in the works and how are they portrayed/valued? What privileges are granted and to whom? What privileges are denied and to whom? Why?