Eng 101: Causal Claim Paper

Instructor DowlingEng 101: Character-driven Causal Claim Paper

Purpose: Complex Inductive Reasoning. This claim argues the causes of a particular incident. The basic thesis formula is: Understanding how a character deals with religious themes causes X, Y, and/or Z effects.

Assignment:Write a 5-page essay in which you argue for a cause-and-effect relationship between characters based on newly constructed knowledge. This entails creating a character-driven causal argument arguing how the analysis of one element, one secondary source, and one comparison/contrast of another character caused a deeper understanding of your paper’s one chosen character.

* Introduction: After your hook and intro, begin by acknowledging your position in paper part #1 that discussion of religion should/not be allowed in literature courses. Then create a general/initial claim about your chosen character that includes one of these words: mysterious force, troubled, fate, flawed, God, grace, imagination, perfection, alternative belief. For example, given your reading of the short stories and selected poems, you might assert a general and initial claim that “Parker, in Flannery O’Connor’s story “Parker’s Back” cannot achieve a religious state of grace because he lacks the humility to humble himself before God.”

Make sure your claim leads the reader in a particular direction toward an argumentative discovery, not merely a statement of the obvious themes of a piece.

* Elemental Cause: Isolate and analyze an element of fiction—point of view, theme, symbol, motif, setting, or plot structure, explicating how this element allows deeper understanding of your chosen character. Show a relationship between another character in a second work and discover their corresponding element. Then explain why the understanding the element is integral to understanding the chosen character.

* Critical Essay Cause: In another section show how a critical essay about your chosen work broadens or alters the understanding of your character. Include critic’s name, title of critical essay and at least two quoted passages from this source that show how the essay changed, underscored, or confused a notion about the chosen character.

* Comparison/Contrast Cause: In another section, identify a point of similarity between the chosen character and another character from a third work. Then provide quotes from both works that show the differences within that similarity. For example, the two characters might have similar personality issues (fear, wonder, illusions, evil, saintliness, martyrdom, selfishness, purity) BUT you need to define a point of difference in that issue, whether it is motive, choice, or coincidence. Your quotes here show the DIFFERENCES. Then explain how the comparison/contrast analysis furthers the understanding of your chosen character.

* Conclusion: End the argument with your final assessment of the chosen character, gathering and summarizing their flaws and weaknesses uncovered in the body of the essay—the causal section. This conclusion will serve as the "effect" of your causal claim. This is where your final complete thesis should be. Thesis format: After considering all the above details, one can see that religion in literature (encapsulates / reveals / aggravates / culminates in / forces one to understand) X about the chosen character. For example: After considering the above details, one can see that Parker’s obsession with the face of God without understanding the ramifications shows his ignorance in the futile endeavor to please his religiously literal wife.

TBSW: Shows how your original proposal (the first two pages of your essay) plays into the eventual discovery made about your character.

This paper should be no less than 5 pages in length (not including the Works Cited page) and submitted according to syllabus MLA guidelines.

*Must use a character from The Handmaid’s Tale.

Instructor Evaluation / Essay #2 part 2/ Causal Claim

Writer ______Score______