Objective:
In their college-level textbook Literature: The Human Experience, Abcarian et al. contend that “[t]he best literature helps us to understand ourselves, one another, and our world in new ways …” (3). Presupposing that there is truth to this claim, you will be exploring three short stories and three poems to clarify an aspect of the human behaviors conformity and/or rebellion. You MAY then expand your investigation TWO articles from reputable newspapers or reputable magazines. In addition, you may use the Abcarian et al. overview in Course Documents.You may also look for credible sources on the authors and poets (NOT Wikipedia); however, you should NOT bring in this kind of information unless it is relevant to your argument. Otherwise, I will view it as a kind of content filler, and your grade will be quite a lot lower. Do NOT use other sources, including websites (with simplistic ideas), YouTube videos, and podcasts.
For Essay 3, Final Draft, you must narrow your focus to a thesis, a complex statement, which is not vague, not a list, and not a question. Your writing should be limited to evidence (details from short stories and poems, facts and ideas from your scholarly article and reputable newspaper or reputable magazine articles), logical interpretation and reflection to support claims relating to your thesis. Personal reflection (where you talk about yourself) can be included, but this should be limited so that you are not viewed by the reader as the central subject of focus.
I will be looking for you to move beyond treating each source separately. I will expect you to see connections between sources and explicitly develop these in your writing (synthesis).
Your argument should be credible and interesting. Do not ignore counterevidence in the sources; instead, address it to add credibility and complexity to your argument.
Rehash of plot details (the sequence of what happens in the short story) is not relevant to the argument and should be avoided.
A minimum of 1,200 words, not counting works cited, if you have one, and quotes.