Order Description
Your essay should primarily focus on at least one element of fiction, whether that element is setting, structure, characterization, figurative language, point of view, etc., unless you can make a clear connection between two or three elements. You may absolutely discuss other elements, but you must connect them to the primary element that should be the focus of your essay.
1. Your argument should be that these elements work together in order to create a specific impact on the story or its characters or its theme.
2. Your organization pattern should be logical and clear.
3. Length: 3-5 pages, plus a Works Cited page (not a separate document?WC page should follow the essay).
a. The minimum is three FULL pages?not 2.75 pages.
b. Please do not go over the limit; edit and revise until it is within the page limit.
c. Do not finagle margins/spacing, etc., to meet the minimum page limit?follow MLA formatting!
4. Typed in MLA format?see previous handouts and look at links on Blackboard Learn for help.
5. You are taking a stance, but you should not be ranting. Stay calm in your essay. Do NOT use sarcasm.
6. Be careful of fallacies! Your reasoning should be solid and should consider multiple angles.
7. You may NOT use 1st or 2nd person in the Fiction essay?only the Academic 3rd?unless your source is using 1st or 2nd person, and you?re directly quoting the source.
8. You may not use contractions unless you are quoting the story and the story uses contractions.
9. You must use present tense when discussing the story and when presenting your argument.
10. You may NOT use any sources in your essay. You must base your argument on your analysis.
11. You are doing a close reading of the text, which means you should focus on the text of the story and the logical inferences you make from the text.
a. You must include direct quotes from the text to support your argument.
b. Your quotes are the seasoning of your essay–not the meat. Only 10-15% of your paper should be made up of quotes (1-3 quotes per body paragraph).
c. You must include a parenthetical citation each time you quote from the story (in-text citations), including paraphrases and summaries. Ex. Gina explains, ?He brought his hand down, and I was released? (Min 251). Ex. Gina demonstrates the balance of power between herself and Micah: ?He brought his hand down, and I was released? (Min 251).
d. Do not drop/float quotes in your essay. You must introduce it with an attribution tag (Gina explains) or with an idea/analysis (Gina demonstrates the balance?).
e. You must cite these quotes/paraphrases appropriately!
f. You will need a Works Cited page to cite the story that you write about in your essay. Cite it as a ?Selection from an Anthology,? according to MLA style.
12. Your title should be something that reflects the nature of your essay, and it should be provocative and/or entertaining.
a. You must include the author and title in your title. However, your whole title cannot be the title of the work.
b. Don?t do this: Shirley Jackson?s ?The Lottery?
c. Do this: The Dangers of Tradition in Shirley Jackson?s ?The Lottery?
d. Short stories have quotes around them?they are NOT bolded, italicized, or underlined!!!
13. You should provide an intriguing introduction that draws in your reader. Don?t just summarize or generalize the argument. Your introduction should be a minimum of 5-7 sentences, including your thesis.
a. Do not spend your whole introduction (or your essay, for that matter) summarizing the story. You should assume that the reader has read the story. Plot summary throughout the essay will result in a failing grade!
b. You may spend no more than three sentences summarizing the story in your introduction if you must, but no more than that.
c. Your thesis should come at the end of your whole introduction.
14. Your thesis should be one sentence at the end of your introduction and should include two to three things: 1. Your concession (if you have one), 2. Your argument, and 3. Your reasons for your argument. Your thesis should resemble the following example:
a. The setting in Ron Rash?s ?The Ascent? allows the characters to remain isolated, and therefore lonely, and the changing weather represents Jared?s internal battle about his life situation.
15. Your body paragraphs should include strong topic sentences that represent the main ideas that you?ll cover in each paragraph and should include the element that you?re focusing on. Never begin a body paragraph with a quote and/or just jump right into analysis without a topic sentence; remember: ?This is this because of this.?
16. Your essay should have at least three body paragraphs and include a possible Con/Ref paragraph (only if you included a concession in your thesis)?unless you can make a strong argument to use only two body paragraphs.
17. Each reason should include 1-3 specific examples (i.e., quotes) that back up your reason.
a. You should use quotes to back up your argument, as long as you cite them correctly.
b. You cannot use personal examples to compare to the story.
c. You should explain in detail why these examples support your reason.
18. Use a concluding/transition sentence at the end of each body paragraph that summarizes that paragraph and points towards significance. Do not move on to the next paragraph without summarizing the previous paragraph in the concluding sentence.
a. Never end a body paragraph with a quote!
19. Your concession and refutation should be one paragraph (unless you?re doing the minority pattern), and it should be directly after the introduction or directly before the conclusion?do not put it in the middle of your body!
a. You are not required to have a Con/Ref paragraph, but you might decide to incorporate a counterargument in your essay.
20. Your conclusion should discuss the significance of your argument of the essay to the overall conversation. Why might your argument be important? Why should people read your essay and care? What are the implications of your argument (both short-term and long-term)?
a. How might your argument affect how other readers understand the story?
b. A restatement of thesis should not be copied and pasted into the conclusion, nor should it be thesaurusized simply switching out words/phrases for similar ones.
c. Your conclusion should be a minimum of 5-7 sentences for this fiction essay.
d. You should begin with a restatement and summary of your argument and then move into significance so that you end with the most important part of your essay/argument.
d. Significance should be given more weight and attention in your conclusion than summary
21. Remember, the narrator tells the story, not the author, so refer to the author if you?re discussing the actual construction of the story, and refer to the narrator when you?re discussing the story itself.
22. Read back over these pages in our Norton textbook for more in-depth information: 1229-42, 1246-7, 1253-4, 1265-8, 1270-1, 1273-90).
23. Some Common Issues:
a. Language is too informal or conversational
b. Illogical interpretation of story/aspect of story
c. Drawing incorrect/incomplete conclusions from a quote. Don?t manipulate the author?s argument/story.
d. Shift in Quotation (direct to indirect/paraphrase, etc.)
e. Too dependent upon source material (story)
