NOTE: Revision of this essay requires prior permission from…

NOTE: Revisiоn оf this essаy requires priоr permission from the instructor, which is grаnted only rаrely for emergency circumstances/extreme hardships. If a student writes a revision for this essay without my express permission, it will not be read or graded.  Literary Analysis Argument Essay   THE WRITING ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES Use MLA style. Canvas quizzes cannot set up formatting, but you still need MLA in-text citations and MLA Works Cited entries for any sources used. MLA in-text citations for quoted, paraphrased, or summarized material are required. Review MLA resources from Module 4. To “indent” paragraphs, hit the space bar five times at the start of each paragraph. The literary analysis should consist of 600-850 words in a minimum of five paragraphs SOURCES: You must use the primary source you’re writing about. However, use of scholarly secondary sources is also allowed and even encouraged. You may NOT use information or analyses from study websites. If you decide to use secondary sources, only scholarly sources from peer-reviewed journals or scholarly books are allowed! You also must include Works Cited entries that for all sources (primary and, if relevant, secondary) used in the essay. Use “hanging indent” by hitting the space bar five times for second and subsequent lines of citations. NOTE: In addition to the work you’re writing about in the essay (your primary source), you are allowed (but not required) to use up to two other secondary sources. These sources are required to be scholarly (from a peer-reviewed journal article or a scholarly book). No other source types are allowed.   WRITING PROMPT Consider any of the works from this module, but choose only one of the three:   Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” Katherine Anne Porter’s “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”   Create an argumentative analysis of an integral aspect of that work. An argumentative analysis includes a debatable claim that you support through thoughtful analysis of textual and (optional) scholarly evidence. You’re arguing for an interpretation of some aspect of the text. NOTE: Your thesis should be contestable. “Coleridge’s ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ is about an old man who uses supernatural powers to tell his story” is not contestable: it’s simply a true statement about the poem. However, “Hamlet’s failure to act is a moral failure that stems from his inability to accept ambiguity” is contestable and needs to be supported with textual evidence. NOTE: Many students are not accustomed to making contestable claims about works of literature. They may have written analyses of characters, symbols, themes, or motifs, but they have often not been asked to go out on a limb and create a contestable argument. However, scholarly, college-level literary analysis is generally focused on making arguments, so this assignment will help you learn to study literature in a scholarly manner. NOTE: Use all conventions of academic writing. Use the objective third-person perspective only (no first- or second-person perspective). Use formal diction and tone. Spell out contractions. Review the Conventions of Academic Writing. These conventions apply to all academic writing, not just composition courses. ESSAY WRITING INSTRUCTIONS:  Introduction: The introduction must introduce the literary work you’re writing about, its author, and its initial publication year. What are some of the relevant contexts for the work? (During what literary era or historical period was this written?) Move to the general premise of the work: what is this story or poem about? (When and where is this work set? Identify and briefly describe the protagonist. DO NOT WRITE A FULL SUMMARY. Just explain that it’s about (main protagonist’s name), who (experiences or does _____________________.) Then, provide information about the text that the audience needs to know before they can understand the argumentative thesis. The final sentence of the introduction should be the thesis, which must be clear, direct, specific, and contestable: it must make a contestable interpretive claim about the work that affects readers’ understanding of the text’s meaning or significance. It needs a significant payoff. (What do readers gain by adopting your argument?) Body Paragraphs (minimum of three) DO NOT ANALYZE IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER OF THE PLOT. Argumentative essays do not analyze an entire work. You only analyze aspects of the work that are relevant to your argumentative thesis. The supporting information you use in the essay should not be organized linearly by plot progression. If it does, your essay probably lacks an academic argument, and your final score will be no higher than 50% Remember that the structure of a literary argument is no different from that of any other type of argumentative essay, including the research essay you wrote this semester. Body paragraphs should consist of 9-19 typed lines of text. Use PIE or PIETIE to develop excellent body paragraphs. Establish the POINT (an aspect of your argument expressed in the thesis) in the topic sentence. ILLUSTRATE the point by contextualizing and then showing textual evidence (by quoting from your primary source—the work you are analyzing). You must include at least one quote per body paragraph, but two quotes/examples is much more common and is highly recommended. Quotes should not consist of more than three typed lines of text in a short essay such as this one. Make sure you learn to paraphrase/summarize what you can from a text and leave quoting for the essential wording. EXPLAIN your textual evidence by interpreting how and why it demonstrates the POINT you’re making. Why is it significant? How does it alter, enhance, or complicate the text? TRANSITION  (after providing necessary context) if you use more than one example. Then repeat the steps for  I and E (Illustration, Explanation).  NOTE FOR STUDENTS WHO CHOOSE TO USE SECONDARY SOURCES: You’ll likely use the scholarly evidence in your explanation. What does that scholar say that is relevant to your point? React to the material you use from the scholar. What does the scholar say that aligns with your argument? If your argument contrasts with the scholar’s claim, explain why and how your interpretation is more valid.      Conclusion: The conclusion should consist of 6-12 typed lines of text. The conclusion sums up the claims made in your analysis and shows how they add up to demonstrating the validity of your thesis Always leave the audience with something more to think about at the end of the essay. Why is your perspective meaningful? What insights does your argument offer that produce a more complete understanding of the text?