Last Name 1
Student Name
Mr. Calhoun
English I – 1
21 October 2011
“The Scarlet Ibis” Interpretive Analysis Essay
Your next major writing assignment will involve an in-depth analysis of “The Scarlet Ibis”. In writing your essay, you will respond to the following prompt:
Interpret the meaning of “The Scarlet Ibis.” Select one theme of the story and analyze howliterary elements like foreshadowing, symbolism, personification, simile, metaphor, and/or imagery contribute to that theme.Your essay should be well-developed and well-structured. Everything in your essay should be purposeful and should work to prove your thesis. The thesis statement itself should answerthe prompt, addressing what the theme is and what literary elements contribute to that theme. If it does not, the chances of your doing well on this essay are substantially lowered. Be sure to address the specific literary elements that you will be analyzing. Remember to follow all thesis rules presented and discussed in class.
You must have a full introductory paragraph that ends with the thesis. Each body paragraph should then contain a topic sentence that directly links back to your thesis. I cannot belabor the point that everything in your essay must work to prove your thesis statement enough. Each body paragraph must contain twoembeddedconcrete details (quotes) that support your topic sentence, and each concrete detail must contain a bare minimum of two or three sentences of commentary/analysis. In your analysis, BE SPECIFIC. I am not looking for summary or generalities. You must very closely examine and analyze your concrete details in relation to your topic sentence and, ultimately, your thesis. Each body paragraph should end with a concluding sentence that effectively draws the paragraph to a close. The essay must contain a substantial conclusion that echoes your thesis without repeating it and explains how your essay topic relates to the story as a whole. As always, your paper must adhere to all MLA formatting guidelines, or major deductions will be taken from your final essay grade.
This essay is a multi-step process. Your working thesis will be due on Tuesday, October 11. We will spend the week of October 11-14 working on body paragraphs in class, and each day, you will be responsible for producing a paragraph of your essay using your shaping sheet. The shaping sheet will be due Monday, October 17, and atyped rough draft will be due on Tuesday, October 18forrevising and editing. The final due date for this SUMMATIVE essay grade will be Friday, October 21. You will need to submit a hard copy in class by the beginning of the class period on that dateAND an electronic copy to later than 11:59 PM Thursday, October 20. Failure to do both will result in a late grade, and your essay will not be graded at all if not submitted to turnitin. As this is a major essay with several checkpoints along the way, the late work policy will be strictly enforced.
Remember to focus very carefully on effectively structuring your essay in such a way that it proves your thesis. If at any time you have questions or concerns, ASK! I look forward to reading your essays!