ENG102 Assignment One - Fiction Paper

Length: 1000 words (4-5 pages)

Due Date: Tuesday, February 12

Write an essay in which you argue for your own interpretation of a short story selected from chapters seventeen or eighteen of The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature, supporting your argument with specific details from the text.

Your thesis might begin as simply as “the theme of this story is ____________.” However, you may find that your initial thesis grows more complex as you develop your argument. Be sure that the final draft of your essay (including your introduction) reflects your most fully developed interpretation of the story throughout.

You may use the questions on pages 1565-67 of The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature to generate ideas for your paper. You may choose to adopt a specific critical strategy for this paper or combine elements of several, but don’t allow contradictory assumptions to lead you to contradictory conclusions. Remember that you are arguing for your own interpretation of the story, not just describing a number of possible interpretations for the reader to choose from.

Your paper should be organized in such a way that each paragraph offers a specific piece of support for your overall thesis, and the argument flows logically from one paragraph to the next. Your grade will be based on the rubric for all Composition II papers.