Essay 2 rewrite

If you plan to rewrite Essay 2, it is due in one week. In other words, hand it in on or before Tuesday, March 3rd. Hand in the rewrite with the original draft and also submit an electronic copy to Turnitin.

Here are some general comments on Essay 2:

• Weak thesis statements. Some of the papers had thesis statements that were more factual than analytical. For instance, many papers were about how characters in the two stories being written about change themselves by the ends of the stories. This is more of a plot point than an analysis. If you look at the actual prompt, it asks you to look at why this happens. How or why questions tend to create deeper thesis statements. If your thesis merely states what happened, it's probably not very analytical. Having a weak thesis tends to lead to many other problems.
• Plot summary. Some papers lost sight of their own thesis statements and devolved into plot summary. This may be due to the point above, not having a very strong thesis. Keep in mind that the goal is not to describe both stories, but to explore a pattern in both stories.
• Organize around your points. Again, I think this problem is due to not having a strong thesis. Anyway, you should organize your paper around the points you wish to make. Don't simply organize your paper around the texts. As a teacher, I can tell that students aren't really analyzing if they can only talk about a story in the order the plot is presented. Analysis requires the breaking apart of the original structure.
• Incorrect MLA. Proper MLA is one of the requirements of this class. There are many resources that can help you, such as our book and the Owl.