GW 2850: Spring 2017

Professor Chelsea Largent

 

Paper One: A Comparative Analysis

 

 

For this assignment, you will pick a theme that we have discussed this semester in class and create an argument based on your analysis of said theme.

 

How you choose to construct the analysis is up to you. In terms of structure, you have two choices:

 

  1. You can choose to use two texts that we have read in class and analyze them through a theme we have discussed in class.

 

  1. Or you can choose to do a comparative analysis of a text we have read in class and another contemporary ‘text’ or subject that you wish to investigate.

 

In BOTH cases I must approve of your thesis statement before you move forward with your first draft.

 

IF you choose option 2- you need to make sure that you consider the scope of the paper in your analysis and that your thesis is not too broad. We are NOT trying to solve all of the world’s problems or make a particular moral claim, rather we are trying to zoom in and create a nuanced argument that applies to very concrete textual examples in the world.

 

Your analysis will include:

 

  • A thesis: a central idea that controls the development of the essay. This thesis will be thematic and will form an argument you are making about the text. It will be the foundation for your analysis of both texts.
  • Textual Evidence: this will prove your argument or thesis and will be in the form of CLOSE READINGS taken from each text. You will be quoting from and referring to the text in your paper. These texts are your only sources. In other words, secondary sources are unnecessary; all of your research will come from the texts. Your citations will be in MLA format.
  • A conclusion to your analysis: This conclusion will synthesize your evidence and your thesis and will link together the texts. You will extend your argument here and answer the questions that you have posed to the reader throughout your analysis.

 

Purpose

There are two main goals that I have for us as a class in accomplishing this particular assignment:

The first purpose of this assignment is to practice writing in an analytical way and to work on crafting an argument based on textual evidence. You will also be working on referencing a text, citing a text, and structuring your argument into an essay. I strongly suggest you pick a thesis statement that interests you. Think about the following questions: What kind of thematic connections have you noticed throughout the semester as we are reading these texts? What kind of conflicts or differences have you noticed? Can you build a thesis that is detailed, specific, and debatable?

 

The second purpose is to see how you as a reader engage with the texts we have worked on in class. How can you integrate our classroom discussions into the text? What have you learned about these texts? How can you critically interpret these texts in your own way?

 

Paper Specs

  • 2,000 words/ 6-7 pages double-spaced
  • 25% of course grade

Your paper should have a title, a heading in MLA format, and pagination in MLA format.

 

 

Important Dates:

First Draft Due: March 27th  2,000 words; Electronic Copy BEFORE class time

(any drafts turned in after the due date will not be graded)

 

Final Draft Due: April 19th ; 2,000 words; Hard copy IN CLASS

 

Sources:

You are required to use all of these sources when writing your paper. Please also consider the writing situation as discussed in class and consider this to be an example of academic writing.

 

http://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/how-write-comparative-analysis

 

http://www.bucks.edu/media/bcccmedialibrary/pdf/HOWTOWRITEALITERARYANALYSISESSAY_10.15.07_001.pdf

 

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/618/01/

 

MLA FORMAT:

 

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

 

 

 

 

Texts you may use for your analysis:

(You will obviously need to cite these texts, when using them in your paper, in MLA format)

 

“What is Enlightenment?” Immanuel Kant

The Discourse on Method Descartes

“A Vindication of the Rights of Women” Mary Wollstonecraft

Tartuffe Moliere

Bewitched Akinari

Candide Voltaire

Life of a Sensuous Woman Ihara Saikaku

The Sufferings of Young Werther Goethe

Bartleby, the Scrivener Herman Melville

Confessions Jean-Jacques Rousseau

“Ode on Intimations of Immortality” Wordsworth

“Kubla Khan” Coleridge

“Conversation Between Me and the Women” Bunina

“A Defense of Poetry” Shelley

“Ode on a Grecian Urn” Keats

 

 

Should you choose an outside text or theme for option two be sure to consult me! J