character study

Overview: The purpose of this project is to get you think critically about how to assemble a thesis, outline, and individual arguments for a lengthier essay (say 5-6 pages) on a literary topic. You will be practicing how to write a solid thesis, how to outline your argument with multiple examples, how to find quotes to support your examples, and be writing one portion of this actually argument in essay form. Think of it as the prep work for a full length research paper, but you will only be writing one portion of the essay.
Directions: Complete the following steps to get full credit for this assignment. Each question below must be clearly numbered and labeled. Do not do all of it as if it is an actual essay. Show me the individual numbers for the questions and your answers. All of your questions will be based on the prompt I give below–do not stray from this prompt, or you will not get credit for the piece.
Prompt: The critical method you will practice for this project is a character study. In this type of character study, you will pick one character from one of the short stories we’ve read for this week, and you’ll do a deep dig on the character. First off, establish simple things such as whether the character is static, dynamic, the antagonist or protagonist of the tale (see this week’s literary terms). Second, and more importantly, write a thesis that critically examines a character and the growth or lack of growth they undergo. Be sure your thesis and the structure you put together is one that would give you a lot of chance for critical thought and deep discussion.
1) Thesis: Write a one sentence thesis that shows your interpretation of this character and their growth or lack of growth through the story. It must be one sentence long and be argumentative (not a simple statement of a fact). It should be something you have to prove through evidence and deep thought, not something that a single quote could prove as true.
Bad Sample Thesis: “In the movie The Matrix, Neo learns how to fight.” First, it is a bad thesis because it isn’t one of our short stories. Second, it is a bad thesis because there is nothing to argue here. You point to one scene where he learns kung fu, and you’ve done your job. You need dig deeper and be more sophisticated.
Better Sample Thesis: “In The Matrix, Neo goes from an innocent and bored every man to the savior of the world; his mentor Morpheus, his trials and tribulations, his love of Trinity, and his computer hacks, all help to get him there, but eventually his faith (and Morpheus’s faith in him) are what make him a true savior.” This is a much better thesis because I see all the elements of the paper unfold here, and I get a unique argument about faith that other students may not have had.
2) 3 Arguments: Next, using bullet points, write out three clear arguments you plan to make to prove your thesis. For the good thesis about The Matrix above, these could be his mentor, his trials, and his faith. Give a couple well written sentences to each argument you plan to make on your own character.
3) Quotes and Evidence: For each argument you detail in #2 above, find two direct quotes that support what you plan to say. These quotes much include a parenthetical MLA citation.
4) Essay: The final part is the essay itself. This needs to be one of the arguments you detail in #2 above, and it must contain the quotes you identify in #3 above. It should be between 100-150 words, and it must include a word count. Pretend this is just one part of a longer paper where you are focusing on just ONE element of your overall thesis and arguments. Don’t try to do everything in this portion. Simply write one thorough essay response to fulfill one part of your overall paper’s plans. Then, that’s it. You’re done!
Requirements:
This project must be submitted as an PDF document, and it must be in full and proper MLA format. You must have all the elements of an MLA document layout and all elements of parenthetical citations here as well as a full MLA works cited page.
I will be grading closely based on grammar, punctuation, syntax, and mechanics. Take your time and proofread each step.
As stated on the syllabus, you must submit this project or you cannot get a passing grade in this class. For this class to meet state standards, you must write a certain word count and must write about a variety of different literary genres. If you fail to submit this, you will fail to meet those requirements and cannot get a passing grade.
You must adhere to all the elements found on the How to Write About Literature Handout.

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