Write a compare/contrast essay due Tuesday, 10/6. The word count of the essay must be between 700-750 words. This does not include header, title, Works Cited page, etc. Please upload to Canvas and bring a hard copy to class; please attach a rubric to it. Essays that fail to be uploaded by deadline will not be accepted. Poetry Essay: Comparison/Contrast Assignment Details
1. Choose one of the themes we have covered: Love and Lust
2. Choose two (2) poems from our class readings that focus on your theme pairing of choice (see bullets above). Which two poems do you gravitate towards most? Which do you feel you “digested” well enough, have a strong handle of, and can write a thorough analysis on?
3. Find two elements for each poem that you thought were not only special and effective but also conveyed the poem’s theme. In other words, how did you know the poem was about conformity and rebellion? Based on what devices? You will either have two to four devices, depending on your organization (see Plan A and Plan B below)
. 4. You are to explain how both poems compare and contrast.
5. Find one source to back up any claim you made in your paper (we will cover this more in depth in class next week.)
6. Do not forget your Works Cited page. You will either be citing poems from the internet; most poems are sourced from Poetry.org. Additionally, you should cite your secondary source you used in your writing process.
7. When finished you should feel as if you have given the reader of your paper a good understanding of the poems.
8. Include advanced vocabulary.
9. You must create an interesting title for your essay. “Essay #1” or “Compare and Contrast Essay” do not suffice.
10. You must correctly site all textual evidence. See your notes from class when for how to format this. The Academic Center can also help check for this. 11. Vary sentences: simple, compound, complex.
12. Use transitions.
13. Proofread/revise.
14. Go to the Academic Center if you would like some help.
15. Remember – you have many chances to make this paper better (have a friend read it, make proactive revisions, Academic Center).
16. Good Luck! About the Comparison/Contrast Essay A comparison/contrast essay weighs the differences and sometimes similarities between two distinct things: two boyfriends, high school vs. college courses, your first car with the car you have now, two of your children or a brother and sister, etc. As always it is important to do some pre-writing to be sure you have enough “ammunition” to write a complete essay. There are two formats for a comparison/contrast essay. You are going to pick one. Plan A has an introduction, one large paragraph (body paragraph) about one of your choices, one large paragraph (body paragraph) about your other choice, and then a conclusion. Plan B finds three areas you could discuss and then does an introduction, a paragraph (body paragraph) for each choice, discussing both poems in each body paragraph, and a conclusion.
Plan A 1. Introduction – get the reader interested with a hook – perhaps provide a historical angle or brief biographies of poets only if it contributes to your thesis. Random facts just ramble
2. What you want to say about your first poem (details)
3. What you want to say about your second poem (details)
4. How do they compare and contrast?
5. Conclusion