Length: at least 750 words (not including Works Cited) in MLA format, 12-point font
Topic: You may choose any of the works we will read or have read up until the Essay #1 due date.
Source limitations: Primary source from the text only; no secondary outside research is allowed on this essay. You must include a “Works Cited” page and use correct MLA format for in-text (parenthetical) citations.
This essay is based upon an interpretive theme. This theme you choose will be your thesis statement and you may derive this thesis statement from the skills you have learned in analyzing literature. You will build your thesis with at least three body paragraphs, ensuring that you have textual evidence as support for each paragraph. Analysis should maintain argumentative focus and connect the textual evidence to your main ideas. Provide sentence-to-sentence and paragraph-to-paragraph transitions. End with a full conclusion. Refer to the grading rubric for more specifics.
A few examples of interpretive thesis themes are as follows:
J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye revolves around the struggle between social acceptance and exclusion.
Edna Pontellier, in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, “awakens” when she asserts her feminine independence.
Joyce Carol Oates’ Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? explores both the multiple facets and the consequences of psychological detachment.
