Analytical Essay for English 11-5
- PROMPT: Write an essay analyzing how radical ideologies are demonstrated as dangerous in at least two different pieces we read.
- You must use The Crucible play by Arthur Miller, and then select at least one of the other pieces: “The Trial of Arthur Miller” letter by Steinbeck or one of the articles (pages 213-216) you annotated. Avoid summary, but instead focus most of your analysis on the literary techniques and historical examples each author uses to make his point. Make sure you provide cited examples from each text.
- Organization of paper: 12 point font, MLA format regarding header, title, citations, and works cited page.
- 2-3 pages in length (no longer) and the last page will be a works cited page.
- You must integrate three quotes as support for your claims.You must cite these correctly. *For the play, just include act and line number in parentheses for parenthetical citations, i.e., (I, 88-90).
- Citing the articles: you must practice using parenthetical citations.
- Include two different ways of usingcommas correctly and highlight.
- Italicize the play title and put quotes around the article titles.
- Peer edit is required.
- Dates: pre-writing Wednesday, draft writing Thursday/Friday, draft due and peer edit Monday, final copy due Tuesday (hard copy due in class). You must also submit your essay to by Tuesday, 12/10 or face up to a 20 point deduction.
Some things to think about:Arthur Miller and John Steinbeck are two well-known 20th century writers who commented on contemporary social issues through the literature that they wrote. With Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck described the plight of the migrant workers during Oklahoma’s Dust Bowl and urged the government to help. With The Crucible, Miller described the failings of Salem’s Puritan theocracy and urged his own government to consider its own similar deficiencies.
Read and annotate Steinbeck’s “The Trial of Arthur Miller,” published in Esquire in June 1957. Why does Steinbeck criticize Congress? Why does he defend Miller? How does he reveal that radical ideas are dangerous? Think about techniques such as syntax, diction, rhetorical questions, allusions, figurative language, parallelism, etc. used to show radical ideas are dangerous.
Now consider Miller’s The Crucible, published in 1953. Why does Miller criticize the courts of Salem? How is he also criticizing his own government? How does he show that a theocracy is dangerous? What historical event did Miller use for his allegory? Why? What experiences shaped Miller’s plot? How was McCarthy radical? What happened in Hollywood that triggered hysteria? Use your notes here!
Assessment Evaluation
5 THESIS STATEMENT (strong, well worded and addresses topics in paper)
54321
30Content: Analysis should be thorough and convincing. Examples of plot, history, or effective techniques that show radical ideas are dangerous should be included.
30252015105
10 Quote integration: Introduce, insert, and explain three unique quotes to support your claims well.
108642
10 Citations and a Works Cited Page /MLA (use parenthetical citations)
1050
10 Organization: Each paragraph in the body of the essay should have its own topic. The paragraphs must be arranged in a logical order with transitions between them.
10850
10 Word Choice/Diction: Word choice should be precise. No slang. No contractions.
10850
10 Sentence Fluency/Effective syntax: Essay should contain a variety of sentence types.
10850
5 Presentation (MLA format with left and right headers, title, page numbers, etc.)
15Conventions: Essay should be free of mechanical errors, usage errors, verb tense errors, spelling errors. No run-ons. No fragments. ONE point off for each error.
-
10 Comma usagedone correctly and highlighted (2 examples 5 points each)
1050
______/115 points