Introduction:
As we have continued our conversation around the theme of “crime and murder,” we have begun to introduce literary texts that speak
to a variety of issues that might fall under this umbrella. So far, these texts have raised concerns around how difference is policed, how
laws are not always just, and how one’s environment might promote criminal activity—just to name a few. Throughout this ongoing
discussion, literary study has offered a vehicle for providing different perspectives on given topics as well as a way to ground abstract
categories (e.g. ideology, jurisprudence, and governance) in human experience, even if accounts of this experience have been
fictionalized. As poet Marianne Moore once famously wrote, poetry should provide “imaginary gardens with real toads in them”; and
I think that we have seen that fiction, it too falling under the aesthetic category of poetics, can perform similar feats. It is now your job
to continue the practice we have started in the classroom and bring your analyses to the page, using pen, pencil, and/or cursor to dig
deep and to uncover the “real” within the fictive, and not-so-fictive, representations of reality we have been exploring.
Directions:
Please choose one of the following prompt options and respond to it in the form of a thesis-driven argumentative essay that
performs an analysis of at least one of the literary texts we have read so far this semester. Requirements:
12pt Times New Roman font
1” page margins
MLA formatting and documentation style
Minimum 3 pages, double spaced Literary Analysis: Close Reading Holistic Rubric for Evaluating Essay The essay presented a strong, cogent thesis, maintained a clear central focus, effectively
defined any potentially unclear terms, and demonstrated a skillful close reading of the
text, providing sufficient textual evidence to support any claims made about the poem,
the short story, or the piece of creative nonfiction the essay is discussing. The essay
exhibited a clear beginning, middle, and end, staying on topic and focused throughout.
Body paragraphs were well organized, developing and substantiating strong points and
presenting detailed analyses of chosen quotes/passages from the text. The essay
exhibited effective and appropriate use of tone, word choice, and sentence variety. The
writing was clear and written with a “broad” audience in mind, and it showed little to no
issues with grammar and punctuation. The essay followed MLA format eighth edition and
documentation style (only in-text citation; no works cited page necessary)