American Literature 251 Midterm …
American Literature 251 Midterm Payne/SU/2025 Grade Weight: 20% of overall course grade Assignment: Write a literary analysis essay using one of the prompts listed below. A literary analysis looks at the literary text and analyzes it based on the specific writing prompt. Type this heading on the top left of your essay; follow MLA formatting guidelines listed below (note: you may or may not be able to adjust your essay to double-spacing; if you are unable to do this, leave the document single-spaced.) Your Name Dr. Mary Payne ENG 251 xx Month Year Meet a minimum paper length of 500-700 words. You may use first person (I) or third (he, she, it). Do not use you, your, we, us, our, ours, etc. Creatively title your paper. End the introductory paragraph with your thesis statement, which is one sentence stating the main argument of your essay. Each body paragraph of the essay should advance one main point, and ideally that point should be mentioned in the topic sentence of the paragraph; topic sentences function to support the thesis statement of the essay. You may not simply summarize the entire content of the text (in other words, avoid plot summary). You may not use outside sources in your paper. The only source you should include is the primary source, which is the literary text you are analyzing. Use the source text to support the points you make in the paper (remember: analysis involves you making a point, supporting it with evidence from the text, and then analyzing/explaining how the text proves the point). Discuss textual features in the present tense even if quotations from the text are in another tense. Describe the historical context of the setting in the past tense. (Rowlandson suggests… -or- Crevecoeur argues…) When quoting or paraphrasing, be sure to introduce the quote/ paraphrase with a signal phrase (e.g., Rowlandson writes, “that night…”) and place quoted words in quotation marks with the page number parenthetically listed at the end of the sentence or passage quoted (e.g., Rowlandson 286). Quotes should not exceed 10% of the total paper. Signal phrases help the reader distinguish between your words/ideas and those of the text you’re analyzing; without them or without parenthetical citations at the end of quoted passages, you run the risk of plagiarism. Prompts (select one): 1. Using Jonathan Edwards’s “Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God–Application” (394), write an essay that discusses, describes, and characterizes the God that Edwards worships. Use passages from the text to support your essay’s thesis. 2. Using William Bradford’s “Of Plymouth Plantation” (127), write an essay that characterizes the early American. Use passages from the text to support your essay’s thesis. 3. Analyze John Winthrop’s “A Model of Christian Charity” (173) by discussing how certain aspects of the writing might have had an impact on the development of American values and identity. Use passages from the text to support your essay’s thesis.
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