Comparative Essay Student Directions

Use what you have read this year to write an essay that provides an analysis of how the various
authors choices concerning how they structured specific parts of the text contributes to the
stories overall structure and aesthetic impact.
As a starting point, you may want to consider the various authors choices concerning how they
began the story, how they ended it, and what choices they made about the resolution of the plot.
Analyze how these choices contributed to the overall structure of the short stories and the
aesthetic impact on the reader.
Comparative Essay Student Friendly Directions
Use what you have read this year to write an essay that gives an understanding of:
1. The different writing styles of the many authors.
2. The beauty / artistic impact of the stories.
Choose two no more than three authors to write about.
Think about the beginning, middle, and end of each story. Think about the authors word
choice, imagery, figurative language etc. Think about how the author described the setting and
the characters. Think about what you can learn about the beauty or the ugliness of life in each
story.
Standard 5 paragraphs; use Claims/Evidence/Analysis-Reasoning format.
This essay is worth 50 points

Story Options:
* Evergreen Grass by J. California Cooper
* Through the Tunnel by Doris Lessing
* A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner
* The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe
* A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery
OConnor
*Death by Scrabble

*Evidence from TWO texts: 10 pts.

*Clear thesis; essay written in a way that
proves this thesis: 10 pts.
*Development (coherencydo your ideas
connect/link together; did you follow
CEA/R format?): 10 pts.
*Grammar/Spelling: 10 pts.
*5 full paragraphs: 10 pts.

Due: 12/2112/22. Submit earlier if you

are going to leave early for break.

Begin your paper with an opening

sentence or hook about your
topic that catches the readers
attention.
Include context: provide the
information the reader will need
to understand the topic.
(This is where you would include
a summary if you absolutely
needed toNOT throughout your
whole paper).
State your thesis/main claim, your
arguable position on the topic.
What side will you take? What
will you prove in your paper?
What are you going to explore?

Introduction Paragraph
Body Paragraph: EVERYTHING BELOW SHOULD BE FOUND IN EACH BODY PARAGRAPH
YOU MAKE!!!!
Write a claim that states the main idea of the paragraph for your first body paragraph.

What are you going to try and explain or prove in this paragraph (Claim)

EVERY PARAGRAPH SHOULD HAVE A CLAIM

Write down the specific textual evidence or evidence from other sources that you are using to
support your thesis.

Cited quotes or paraphrasing (NOT DIRECT COPYING) would be placed here. Include
page/paragraph/line numbers

THEN FOLLOW YOUR CLAIM UP WITH EVIDENCE FROM THE TEXT

Analyze your evidence: tell the reader what is significant or important about this evidence. How
does the piece of evidence support your thesis? Why did you choose to include it?

Dont assume your reader(s) will automatically understand why you chose the evidence you
chose. Explain how it proves your main claim or why its relevant to the topic.

THEN EXPLAIN HOW YOUR EVIDENCE PROVES YOUR CLAIM.

(ADDITIONALLY, MAKE SURE EVERYTHING CONNECTS TO YOUR THESIS STATEMENT IN YOUR

INTRODUCTION)

REPEAT FOR BODY PARAGRAPHS 2 AND 3

Example
C = claim:
State your belief; argue something is true
(What Do You Know?)
E = evidence
Quotes or explicit examples drawn from (a) the text, which are used to back up
(support) your claim.
(How Do You Know It?)
A= analysis/reasoning
Dig deeper! Explain how the evidence actually supports your claim.
(Why does E support C?)

Claim: Dogs make better pets than cats because dogs can actually make humans
healthierboth mentally and physically.
Evidence:
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania are currently training dogs to detect
certain cancers with their sense of smell.
Reasons:
Dogs can keep people physically healthy because they can detect certain illnesses.

Dogs are better pets than cats because their unique sense of smell can detect
illnesses like cancer and can save human lives.

CEA/R Paragraph
Dogs make better pets than cats because dogs can actually keep humans physically
healthy. One way dogs are able to keep humans physically healthy is through their
ability to detect certain illnesses. For example, researchers at the University of
Pennsylvania are currently training dogs to detect certain cancers with their sense of
smell. Therefore, dogs make better pets than cats because their unique sense of
smell can detect illnesses like cancer and can save human lives.