The paper is a 3-4 page thesis-driven essay in MLA format that compares and contrasts any two of our readings. You can compare them on any theme, stylistic quality, rhetorical strategy, or ideological position. The best essays will make meaningful comparisons that also take account of significant differences. You will want to avoid using simple themes and strive for complex analyses. Therefore, a thesis that reads “These two women writers discuss equality” should be expanded to say “____ and ____ both discuss educational disparities, but they write for very different audiences, which is reflected in their style.” This complex thesis gives you more to prove and more to say.
II. You should use at least one source in your paper. The readings for this week can be used as sources, and I am asking you to help each other incorporate information from one of them into your essays. I am not asking you to read these two essays as though you are going to be tested on them. You aren’t. I would like you to skim both of them, and then reread one more carefully to see if there are any points made that can help you formulate one of the main points of your paper or someone else’s. The trick is to have one solid takeaway from one of these essays.
III. Alternatively, you can use a source from JSTOR that is more directly related to your selected reading. You can, of course, include biographical material from tertiary sources, but at least one academic journal article or theoretical essay should make its way into your reference list. You are also encouraged to cite lecture material. If you do so, cite it this way in text: (Lecture)– do not make a Works Cited list entry for lectures.