Comparative Analysis

Guidelines

Length: 6-8 pages, Times New Roman, 12-point font, double-spaced.

Topic: You are required to comparatively analyze at least 2 (but no more than 3) literary texts from our syllabus. One must be a text that you did not write about for your close analysis paper and at least one must also be from the last half of the semester (post-Fall Break). While the topic for this paper is relatively open, you are required to develop a  thesis statement in relation to our course theme (national bonds: family, friendship and community) and/or related issues of diversity, representations of women, and/or gender. You will then need to support this thesis with close readings and comparative analysis of your chosen texts; textual evidence in the form of quotes; and research. You will need to expand your focus beyond the topics covered in your analysis papers and cannot include previously submitted writing.

Your paper should have a creative title, thesis statement, well-developed body paragraphs, introduction, conclusion, textual evidence, literary analysis, and well-integrated scholarly research. You are required to make connections between your selected texts and comparatively analyze them in support of your thesis. You are also required to incorporate at least 3 peer-reviewed, academic sources, one of which must be a work of literary criticism. I’d encourage you to give yourself plenty of time to revise and polish your writing.

Documentation: Provide MLA-style citations for all primary and secondary sources. You are required to submit original work for this paper; you may not submit material that you have already written for this course or another course (in some cases, doing so may constitute a form of plagiarism).

Research and Tips for Getting Started: Drake Memorial Library’s online databases are a great place to start your research for this project. In particular, you might log-in to Project Muse and JSTOR. Consider contacting a reference librarian at Drake for additional research advice.