This 1200 Word Essay Applies Literary Criticism To Sherida

This 1200 Word Essay Applies A Literary Criticism To Sheridan Le Fan

This 1,200+ word essay applies a literary criticism to Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla in order to arrive at an analytical/interpretive thesis statement. Three properly cited secondary sources and a primary source (Carmilla itself) must be used in the essay. This is an MLA essay which will require a works cited page. The sources must be academic. I recommend JSTOR or Academic Search Complete, both available by going to the Courses tab on your Atlas page and clicking "Search the Library." From there, click "Databases A-Z," and then scroll down until you see Academic Search Complete and JSTOR.

A list of available literary criticisms can be found here: and in the Week 6 link. As a heads up, the following sources are banned: Wikipedia, The Purdue Owl (the website linked above), SparkNotes, CliffNotes, Shmoop. Outline : How to find reliable sources for your essay? Google Scholar (scholar.google.com) can also be a great way to find reliable sources. If everything else fails, then consider DuckDuckGo or Google; however, these search engines include a variety of unreliable sources.

As a note, .org is not a surefire extension. The only extensions which can almost always be considered reliable are .edu and .gov. If they are .com, org, .net, or anything else, then consider the author. Are they an English professor, historian, psychiatrist, or some other specialist in their field? If so, it might be a reliable source.

Alright, for this discussion, create an outline for your Argumentative Literary Research Essay and include two outside sources. Example Thesis Statements and Mini-Outlines for guidance (these are not to be copied as the student's own thesis statement, although they may be similar):

Feminist Criticism: Thesis: While Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla shows the strength of a relationship free from masculine influence, it ultimately concludes that the destructive nature of the patriarchy will eventually crush any attempt at female agency.

• Discuss the blossoming of Laura and Carmilla's relationship along with its successes.
• Note how male roles are introduced to quash the female-centric bond (doctor, general, etc.).
• Mention how the story is concluded as a success--from the perspective of the narrator--when the female bond is destroyed by the men killing Carmilla.

Gender/Queer Theory Thesis: Because Carmilla shows masculine traits, therefore stepping outside of gender normativeness, Sheridan Le Fanu's work casts her in a villainous light, ultimately punishing her while celebrating and rewarding Laura, who presents traditionally feminine attributes considered appropriate in that time period.

• Provide examples of how Carmilla defies traditional gender roles. Include a secondary source on gender/queer theory explaining gender binaries.
• Explain how she's eventually seen as an outcast and punished for her acting outside of expectation. Include a secondary source on how those which go outside of their designated gender roles in literature are punished.
• Show how Laura embodies the acceptable gender role of the time.
• Show how she is rewarded for this by the work.

Monomyth Thesis: In Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla, Laura successfully embarks on the hero's journey as represented by the Monomyth by being called to adventure with Carmilla's arrival, beginning her own transformation via vampirism, approaching the abyss of death and rebirth, and ultimately returning to her original status.

• Show the change in Laura's life as she moves into the unknown. Briefly explain the beginning of the hero's journey. Quote Hero with a Thousand Faces.
• Illustrate how Laura enters challenges and temptations, providing examples from the book about how Carmilla attempts to seduce her.
• Show how Laura enters the death and rebirth phase of her journey along with her return, providing examples from the text and explaining how they relate back to the hero's journey.

Bring in another source on the Monomyth. MLA Essay Rubric and Checklist Professor Tullis Organization – 20 points: One of the major strengths in MLA is that it organizes your thoughts into clear positions and sections which will allow the reader to easily follow along. When someone reads an essay, they begin with preconceived notions of what to expect in the flow of the work. Having an essay out of order is a lot like telling a joke punch line first. Organization Checklist: __ – Is the thesis statement the last sentence of the first paragraph? Does it show up again (reworded) as the first sentence of the conclusion? __ – Is your evidence always followed by an explanation about its relevance to the argument or interpretation? __ – Do the body paragraphs contain topic sentences which let the reader know what each paragraph will be about? These usually appear as the first or second sentence. __ – Does the essay contain an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion? __ – Does the essay contain proper MLA formatting at the top of the page? If you're not sure, please check the template, which was uploaded at the beginning of the semester on Blackboard, to make sure everything looks right. __ – Does the essay include parenthetical citation and a works cited page if needed?

Tone and Audience – 20 points: Whether one is writing a text to a friend or a cover letter for a job interview, understanding the audience could mean the difference between fitting in or making a complete fool of oneself. For example, showing up to a buddy's house for a late night gaming binge dressed in a tuxedo shows a misunderstanding of the mood. Similarly, appearing at a job interview in a tuxedo t-shirt probably isn't going to impress the hiring committee. Academic essays are formal, analytical, and often argumentative. The writing must be professional and confident to achieve these goals.

Tone and Audience Checklist: __ – Does the essay avoid first person (e.g. I, we, our)? __ – Does the essay avoid second person language like “you”? __ – Does the essay make sure to avoid contractions (e.g. isn't, don't, ain't)? __ – Does the writing omit weak words like “stuff,” “things,” and so on? __ – Does the essay read confidently by avoiding unsure phrases such as “it seems” and “it appears” unless the language must be used due to the demands of logic? __ – Does the title hook the reader's interest while providing an idea of what the essay will be about?

Writing Mechanics – 30 points: Grammar is extremely important. As a pianist, I like to compare grammar to music theory. Most people passively enjoy the benefits of music theory and grammar in their lives because both function as the building blocks of music and literature. For example, it's easy for one to tell when a friend is singing out of key even if he or she doesn't know how music is constructed. Fortunately, most of us can go our whole lives without ever having to compose a song—that's not the case with writing. Writing Mechanics Checklist: __ – Does the work effectively use commas? __ – Does the writing avoid sentence fragments? __ – Does the essay correctly separate complete thoughts in order to avoid run-on sentences and comma splices? __ – Do the subjects agree with the verbs? (e.g. “My dog like food!” contains a subject-verb disagreement.) __ – Are sentences and words varied and not repetitive? (For example, I went to the bank. I then went to the store. I bought a toy at the store. I like the toy. I like toys.) __ – Do the sentences read organically? __ – Are in-text citations properly provided and secondary sources quoted? __ – Does the essay use active language and limit passive voice?

Analysis, Argument, and Logic – 30 points: Essays have a single purpose: support their thesis. All of the essays in this course are built around interpretations (argumentative) and arguments (definitely argumentative). Much of our lives are built around thesis statements and defending them. For a car salesman, the thesis statement is, whether stated or not, “You want to buy this car.” In a job interview, the thesis statement of the candidate is “You should hire me.” What decides whether the car is sold or the job is offered boils down to how the evidence is presented and logically explained in support of the argument. Analysis, Argument, and Logic Checklist: __ – Does the essay present sound and relevant evidence to support the thesis? __ – Does the writing explain how the evidence supports the thesis? __ – Does the argument avoid logical fallacies? __ – Is an opposing viewpoint presented in a fair light and addressed by the essay? __ – Does the essay integrate primary and/or secondary sources to successfully support the argument? __ – Is the thesis statement assertive and argumentative? __ – Do the introduction and conclusion paragraphs successfully bring the reader toward the thesis and then guide him or her back out again at the end of the essay?