English 199
Paper 1

Timetable :

September 20. Thesis statement for Paper 1 due in class.
September 27. Typed draft of Paper 1 due in class.
September 29. Final draft of Paper 1 due in class, along with the draft version and comments from the editing workshop; electronic version must be sent to me by e-mail.

Your first paper assignment for English 199 will be a 4-5 page critical essay on short stories. This essay is not a research paper, although you may discuss some of the critical approaches we have mentioned in class if you wish. Rather, its purpose is to demonstrate your ability to investigate and support a thesis of your own devising; to analyze with skill and insight the evidence from specific literary works; and to present the whole in a clearly organized, well-written fashion.

Your paper should be typed and double-spaced with 1" margins on each side. Citations and bibliography should follow the MLA style of citing the author and page number for the works cited.

Here are some questions to think about when preparing to write your paper:

1. Subject. What theme or subject will your paper address? What works will you compare? What limits will you place upon the subject? What basis of comparison did you use to choose the stories?

2. Approach to the topic. Will you be writing a subject-by-subject comparison? A point-by-point comparison? Are you looking at the subject from a particular critical perspective? What will be new or unique about your approach? What do you want to tell the reader that probably isn't already known?

3. Thesis. What argument are you making in this paper? Remember, a thesis must be 1) limited to a single subject (but not too limited); 2) arguable; and 3) able to be developed in the amount of space you have available. What topics will you cover in the paper? If you know your thesis statement, include it here.

Topics

These topics are suggestions; you may choose another topic if you discuss it with me ahead of time. They are very broad; you will need to narrow them before writing your paper.

• The Idea of Time in ___ and ___ (Examples: "A Rose for Emily," "The Yellow Wallpaper")
• Women's Roles as Literal and Figurative Imprisonment in ___ (Examples: "The Story of an Hour," "The Prophecy," "The Chrysanthemums," "A Rose for Emily," "The Yellow Wallpaper," "Girl")
• Cultural (or generational) conflicts in __ (Examples: "Everyday Use," "The Prophecy," "Dead Men's Path," "The Man to Send Rain Clouds")
• Symbolic Journeys (or Journeys of Initiation) in ___ ("Araby," "Dead Men's Path," "To Build a Fire," "Young Goodman Brown," "A Good Man is Hard to Find")
• Society's Scapegoats or Society's Misfits (choose your own stories)

You might wish to look at topics on style, setting, structure, or character instead:

•  The Importance of Setting (or Setting as a Character) in ____

•  Natural and Supernatural Elements in ___

•  Father-Son Relationships (or Conflicts) in ____

•  Experimental Form (or Point of View) in ____