FICTION ESSAY INSTRUCTIONS
In Module/Week 3, you will write a 750-word (3–4 pages) essay that compares and contrasts 2 stories from the Fiction Unit. Before you begin writing the essay,. Gather all of your information, plan the direction of your essay, and organize your ideas by developing a 1-page thesis statement and outline for your essay. Format the thesis statement and the outline in a single Microsoft Word document using current APA..
The Fiction Essay is due must include a title page a thesis/outline page, and the essay itself,followed by a works cited/references/bibliography page of any primary and/or secondary texts cited in the essay.
Guidelines for Developing Your Paper Topic
Choose 2 of the following short stories to compare and contrast in your essay:
• “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson,
• “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne,
Also, make at least 1 of these elements of fiction the focus of your essay:
• Setting,
If you need help focusing your essay, ask yourself questions that correspond to your chosen
• ?
• What are their outstanding qualities? Does the author give any indication as to how or why the character developed these qualities?
• What are the characters’ emotions, attitudes, and behaviors? What do these indicate to the reader about the character?
• Can the characters’ motivations be determined from the text?
Setting
• Where and when do the stories take place (remember to include such details as geographic location, time of year, time period, if the setting is rural or urban, etc.)?
• Do the settings make the stories believable or credible? How does setting impact the plot of the story, and how would the plot be affected if the story took place in another setting?
• Are the characters influenced by their setting? How might they behave if they were in a different setting?
• What atmosphere or mood does the setting create (for example, darkness may create a mood of fear or unhappiness while light or bright colors may create one of happiness)?
• Is the setting or any aspect of it a symbol, or does the setting express particular ideas?
• Does setting create expectations that are the opposite of what occurs?