Purpose: to persuade the reader to adopt your viewpoint
Audience: general
Length
requirement:
800—1,000 words
Format: Double space and use 12 pt.
Times New Roman font.
Follow MLA style for heading
and margins.
Point of view: Use third person. Do NOT
use first person (“I,” “me,” or “my”) or
second person “you.”
Instructions: Read all four
stories listed below and select ONE
of the short stories for
your essay.
Then address the
topic that corresponds to the story you selected and argue
your position on that topic.
Simply retelling the story will result in a 20 point penalty. You may find the discussion on “Literary Works”
in the Inventing Arguments textbook
helpful in developing your approach to your argument.
Requirements: Include a claim (statement of position).
Place the claim as the last
sentence in your
introductory paragraph.
Your essay should include at
least four quotations from the
story you
selected to read and
write about.
You must cite the page
number(s) for each quotation and follow MLA
format for
parenthetical (in-text) citations.
For example:
“It was at the theatre and at Carnegie Hall that Paul
really lived; the
rest was but a sleep and a forgetting” (Cather 115).
Include a works cited
page that includes the publishing information on
the story You must follow MLA format throughout your essay and
works
cited.
The story
selections are located under “Course Documents.” The topics are listed below.
“Shopping”
“The
Destructors”
“Ines in the
Kitchen”
“A&P”
Topic
for “Shopping”
Joyce Carol
Oates’s story illustrates the complications of mother-daughter relationships
and centers on an annual shopping trip. Consider
the differences between Mrs. Dietrich and Nola and write an essay of argument
in which you assert your position on Nola’s and Mrs. Dietrich’s different responses
to the plight of the bag lady following them and how these conflicting reactions
highlight the complications of their relationship.
Topic
for “The Destructors”
In Graham
Greene’s story “The Destructors,” the boys seem to derive some kind of pleasure
in spending time and expending effort to demolish Old Misery’s house. Some people believe there can be a certain
kind of creativity in destroying something, Write an essay of argument in which
you defend the boys’ behavior in tearing down Old Misery’s house as
demonstrating creativity rather than destruction.
Topic
for “Ines in the Kitchen”
Cristina Garcia
depicts Ines as being trapped in two worlds, and unhappily so. Write an analytical essay in which you argue
what it will take for Ines to define a new world / life to feel comfortable in.
Topic
for “A&P”
Adolescence is a
difficult time of life for both males and females. In their struggle to find and define personal
identity, individuals in this group strive to separate themselves from their
parents and other influential forces. In
this story John Updike captures the essence of an adolescent male in
Sammy. Analyzing Sammy’s search for
identity, write an essay of argument in which you take one of the following
positions:
Defend Sammy’s
behavior and explain the logic of his decision to walk out on his job.
OR
Oppose Sammy’s
behavior and explain how he might have managed his situation more
appropriately.
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