The Death of Ivan Ilyich Assignment
general article writing
Description
Final Paper – This will be an argumentative essay of at least 4 full pages. Use the same rules as the
short essay. I have provided a prompt with three options (below). You must respond to one of the works
assigned between the due date for the short essay and the end of the course. As in the case of the short
essay, try to avoid sections of works that we have worked on a good deal in class. You may find it helpful
to meet with me in office hours to discuss the option and approach you have chosen. Turn the essay in
via the Turnitin link for the final essay.
You have a choice of three options:
Option one: Choose one detail from your chosen a text and do a close reading (in-depth analysis) of this
single aspect of the text, seeking to examine how this detail exemplifies a particular development in the
whole text. Use this detail (micro) to cast light on the entire work (macro), seeking to analyze for your
reader how that character/object/ interaction/setting/style choice contributes to the text’s theme(s), style,
characterization, point of view, and setting as a whole. The detail that you choose could be:
A single character or an object (how the character/object drives the text)
A single interaction between two or more characters (how this moment of interaction drives the text)
or an interaction between a character and some aspect of his/her self.
A single location (setting) (how this drives the work as a whole)
A single example of the writer’s style (a particular word choice; particular punctuation choice; particular
rhythm established through short lines/long lines/etc.)
Option two: You can do another paper in the same vein as the short essay and choose a short section of
the work to examine in light of the entire text.
Option three: Come up with your own prompt. You must prepare a copy of this prompt and your
response to it and make sure you have discussed it with me before you begin work on your final project.
This can be a creative project (i.e. create a poem, play, film, or other work that addresses one of the texts
covered during the latter part of the term, i.e. since the short essay), but it must include at least two full
pages of written analysis of the original text in addition to the creative work.
