Does the introduction present and describe the materials under analysis? Does the introduction point to the specific elements or approach to that analysis? Is there a clearly articulated thesis that states precisely what the essay’s argument is? Is the paper structured along the lines of that argument, taking the reader through each aspect of the thesis?

“Blacks” Gwendolyn Brooks -MLA style 7th-8th edition_

Regarding Gwendolyn Brooks,the poet, Your final assignment is an eight- to ten-page conference-style essay based on Formal Writing Assignment 2: Abstract and Formal Writing Assignment 3: Annotated Bibliography. You can use this to help you format your paper correctly: Format template.docx Download Format template.docx

The primary methodology for the final paper is CLOSE READING, just like you did for Formal Writing Assignment 1: Close Reading Essay, so make sure to review my comments on that assignment and the Formal Writing Assignments Instructions (1).pptx Download Formal Writing Assignments Instructions (1).pptx. For this essay, you will enhance close reading with deeper analysis and with THREE (updated from the original FIVE) external sources from your Formal Writing Assignment 3: Annotated Bibliography that will help you make your argument about the text or texts you plan to examine.

You can write about any texts that we have read this semester. You can analyze any formal aspects and connect those aspects to the larger themes or meanings. You might focus on just one text or several. You can write about the ways texts relate to and inform each other, examining the similarities and the points of departure between them as long as you are making an argument about the text or texts, closely reading passages from the text or texts, and using outside sources to help you communicate your reading of it.

Here are questions to ask yourself about the structural aspects of your paper:

Does the introduction present and describe the materials under analysis?

Does the introduction point to the specific elements or approach to that analysis?

Is there a clearly articulated thesis that states precisely what the essay’s argument is?

Is the paper structured along the lines of that argument, taking the reader through each aspect of the thesis?

Does the paper introduce and contextualize outside sources that are appealed to in order to support the argument (and this can be by agreement or disagreement, by connection, expansion, or departure)?

Are complex concepts, ideas, arguments, and theories explained clearly and succinctly without oversimplifying or overcomplicating them?

Are textual passages introduced and contextualized?

Are textual passages analyzed forcefully and clearly with careful close readings that support some aspect of the thesis?

Is there a careful conclusion that brings us back through the essay’s overall line of reasoning now that the case has been made?