These four paper assignments ask you to write short analyses of one, perhaps two, of our assigned readings from the concluding unit. Thus, you will write one response paper per unit. In your analysis, you will identify a specific theme, and then proceed to explain how that theme is expressed and developed throughout the text. You may also compare and contrast related themes found in two (but no more than two) texts. The only primary texts available to you for a response paper are the readings that we covered in the unit for which you are writing the paper.
You must support your explanation with strong and relevant evidence from the text. Evidence should come exclusively from primary text(s): examples of supporting evidence include literary techniques such as characterization, metaphor, tone, rhythm, dialogue, symbolism, among others. You will not use any secondary sources, scholarly or otherwise. Rather, this paper asks you to give a close reading of the text itself, demonstrating your ability to give a sophisticated and nuanced interpretation. The paper should be approximately 3-4 pages in length, plus a Works Cited page.
A response paper can be an expansion of a topic addressed by you and/or classmates during class discussions or on the Blackboard discussion board. However, the paper cannot simply repeat or summarize those discussions; it must develop the conversation and continue where it left off.
