Write an essay of 4 to 5 pages, double-spaced (1200 to 1600 words) in length, in standard manuscript form. The essay should have a title, and the pages should be numbered in the upper right-hand corner. All references to the texts should follow the MLA in-text style of citation. Your essay should be argumentative in tenor; that is, it should state a definite thesis about the works in question and endeavor to demonstrate or prove that thesis with evidence drawn from the texts. You may write on one of the suggestions below, or on a topic of your own devising. In any case, be sure that your essay articulates and endeavors to prove a clear thesis. Cite passages from the primary texts whenever possible. The questions or statements following each topic are meant as suggestions to guide your thinking. You do not necessarily have to address each one, nor should you feel yourself limited only to those ideas. The important thing is to write a coherent essay that responds to the topic in a thorough and well thought out manner. Above all, do not treat the topic suggestion as a series of short-answer essay questions.
2. Compare the social system of the dystopian world in Ayn Rand’s Anthem with the social system in Ira Levin’s This Perfect Day. What sorts of family structures exist in each society? How are people’s mates and sex partners chosen, and how is it decided who is allowed to have children? How do those relationships affect people’s living arrangements? How similar or dissimilar are the social relations in each society to those of mid-century America? How does each novel represent self-chosen, pair-bonded families as a criticism of the social relations of the collectivized society?
MLA STYLE 1.
When quoting or paraphrasing from a work, include the author’s name and the page number in parentheses at the end of the sentence.
For example:
In criticizing Eliza's behavior, Selby writes to Boyer: "I am quite a convert to Pope's assertion, that `Every woman is, at heart, a rake'" (Rowson 53). Note the use of double and single quotation marks and the placement of final periods. (Periods and commas always go inside quotations marks, except before parenthetical documentation.)
2. You should append a Works Cited page to the end of your paper. The words "Works Cited" (no quotation marks) should appear at the top of the list. The list can appear on the last page of text or on a separate page. The entries should be double-spaced throughout and should follow the following format: Author's last name, first name. Title of work. Publisher, Year of publication. Please note the "hanging paragraph" style–first line flush left, all other lines indented 1/2-inch. Also note that titles of full-length works (novels, epics, plays, books of poems) should be italicized. Titles of shorter works (sermons, short stories, short poems, essays, one-act plays) should be enclosed in quotation marks. (Look at the way I have punctuated the titles on the syllabus if you have any doubts.)
TIPS ON PAPER WRITING
1. Your paper should have a main idea or thesis. The thesis should be broad enough to require some development or proof (i.e., it should not be so obvious as to require no discussion), but it should also be narrow enough to be covered in 4 to 5 pages. Since this paper asks you to compare two works, your thesis should make a general statement that applies to both works. Thus it should read something along the lines of, "Work A approaches the main idea of X in this way, while Work B approaches the main idea of X in that way." Try to make this comparison as specific and meaningful as possible.
2. Subsidiary points or minor ideas should all relate to and work to develop the thesis. Regarding any one thing you want to say, ask yourself: "How does this point relate to my main idea?" If it does not relate, it probably does not belong in your paper. Since you are writing a comparison, the subsidiary points you raise about one work should correspond to subsidiary points about the other.
3. Try to develop your thesis in some logical way. Prove what you are saying to someone who might not believe you. Don't just wander from point to point with no thought of overall structure. Ask yourself: "How does this point relate to the one before it and to the one to follow it?" All the works we are reading have observable structures, and your paper should, too.
4. Show me specific instances in the text. Don't make general statements without backing them up with examples. Analyze the text. Break it down and show how it works. When giving examples, make sure the reader knows what they are examples of.
5. Quote from the text wherever appropriate, and document those quotes in MLA form. Show me the words you are talking about, don't just assume I'll remember them. On the other hand, don't just load up the paper with quotes which you don't explain.
6. The length requirement is a guideline. If your paper is significantly shorter, maybe your topic is too narrow or you are not explaining your points fully enough. If it is longer, maybe your topic is too big or you are too wordy or are repeating yourself too much. But don't worry if you are a little under or a little over, as long as you feel you have explored your topic fully.
