ESSAY ASSIGNMENT #1—AN ANALYSIS OF MAUS
Proposal due April 18
Introduction and Outline due April 20
Rough Draft due April 25
Final Draft due May 1
Expectations: The paper should be 4-5 pages, double-spaced, typed in Times New Roman with 1”
margins. Please type both the rough draft and final copy. You will submit the final draft to the Essay 1
Dropbox by 7:30 a.m. on May 1.
Assignment: Art Spiegelman’s Maus I and II uses the graphic novel format to address the conditions
that the author’s family faced in the Holocaust. Spiegelman* uses the comic book panel form to relate
the experiences narrated by his father, Vladek. The narrative shifts in both time and location
throughout, moving from present day Rego Park, N.Y. to pre-World War II Poland to the Catskill
Mountains to Auschwitz.
For this paper, you will analyze how Spiegelman chose to write this story and why he made these
decisions. As you’ll see, this book contains many different kinds of authorial decisions, so you will
need to focus in on one. Therefore, your thesis might answer the question, “Why did Spiegelman
_____________ when he wrote his family’s story?” or “Why is Spiegelman’s use of ___________ so
significant?” Your goal is to create a non-obvious and argumentative thesis about one element
of the text’s design. Therefore, I recommend that you begin small, focusing in on a few pages of the
text or a few significant panels, before you begin addressing the larger questions of the text. After all,
the “broader” questions of this text are pretty huge – questions about the Holocaust, family, history,
and memory.
You will write an analytical paper following these steps:
a) Use "The Method" to chart out patterns within the text, paying specific attention to how Art
chose to compose the story. You will compose clear and vivid descriptions of the textual
evidence that you will use.
b) Move from evidence to claims, answering the question, "So what?" for each piece of
evidence that you use.
c) Organize your strongest claims and evidence to produce a thesis.
Though we will follow very specific steps towards analysis and argument, the argument of the final
paper is finally up to you. Your goal for this paper will be to say something interesting about how
Maus is composed—to have a strong, non-obvious idea and to develop that idea throughout the
paper.
Source Requirement: You will also incorporate one additional source into your essay. This source
can be used to add factual evidence or context or to address another point of view. The source does
not need to be central to your paper or argument, but it should be incorporated smoothly and
effectively into the rest of your essay—it should not be “tacked on.”
As you think about using the source, I recommend one of the following two strategies:
 Using the source in your introduction to help to frame your argument OR
 Using the source in the second half of the essay to deepen or complicate your argument.
You can use any of the following sources as an your secondary source:
 Marianne Hirsch’s “Generation of Memory”


Interview with Art Spiegelman (class handout)
Excerpt from Understanding Comics
*For the sake of clarity, I will use “Art” when talking about the character in the book Maus and
Spiegelman when talking about the author and artist. You may consider adopting this method in your
own essay.
Analytical Essay Assignment Rubric
Excellent—4.0-3.5
High—3.4-2.5
Average—2.4-1.9
Analysis
Thoroughly analyzes the source
material by answering the "so
what?" question for every piece
of evidence that she provides. All
claims are specific, arguable and
supported by evidence from the
source text. Explores the ideas
presented in full. 18-20 pts.
Analyzes the source material,
answering the "so what?" question
for most pieces of evidence that
she provides. Most claims are
specific, arguable and supported
by evidence from the source text.
Explores most of the ideas
presented, but some of the ideas
remain underdeveloped. 16-17
pts.
Begins to analyze the source
material by answering the "so
what?" question for some pieces
of evidence, but some significant
evidence remains unanalyzed.
Some claims are specific,
arguable and supported by
evidence, but others remain
unsupported. Many of the ideas
remain underdeveloped. 14-15
pts.
The source material is not
adequately analyzed; the text
fails to answer the "so what?"
question for crucial pieces of
evidence. Most of the claims
are not specific, arguable or
supported by evidence. The
essay does not adequately
develop the ideas presented.
0-13 pts.
Points
?? / 20
Comments
Thesis and
Topic
Sentences
The thesis statement and topic
sentences are specific and
arguable, answering the question,
“So what?”
18-20 pts.
Most versions of the thesis
statement and topic sentences are
specific and arguable. The
argument is effective most of the
time, but it is unclear or underdeveloped in a few places.
16-17 pts.
The thesis and topic sentences
are specific and arguable at some
points but unclear at other, or
they represent a statement of
fact rather than an argument.
Some topic sentences are
repetitive or unclear. 14-15 pts.
The thesis and topic sentences
are difficult to identify
throughout the paper. The
thesis fails to answer the
question, “So what?” Topic
sentences are misleading or
unclear. 0-13 pts.
Points
?? / 20
Organization
Comments
Ideas are organized in a clear and
logical fashion in relationship to
each other (local, within
paragraphs) and to the thesis
(the paper as a whole). Includes a
vivid, engaging, and informative
introduction and an inventive
and thorough, conclusion. 18-20
pts.
Ideas are organized in a clear and
logical fashion in relationship to
each other (local, within
paragraphs) and to the thesis (the
paper as a whole). Includes an
informative, appropriate
introduction and a thorough
conclusion.
16-17 pts.
Although ideas are generally
organized in a logical fashion,
some sentences or paragraphs
are unorganized or unrelated
to the thesis or paragraph.
Transitions are often lacking,
leaving the reader lost.
Includes an adequate intro.
and/or conclusion. 14-15 pts.
Style
and
Mechanics
Ideas are expressed in clear,
engaging prose. The writer uses
specific and vivid language. The
sentence lengths and types vary,
and word choice is appropriate
throughout. Demonstrates
attention to audience and
purpose. Full variety of sentence
structures used with no sentence
level errors. No grammatical,
proofreading, or mechanics
errors. 27-30 pts.
Most of the ideas are expressed in
clear, readable prose, but a few
sentences are awkward or difficult
to understand. The writer uses a
variety of sentence types, but
some sentences could be more
effective. Most word choice is
appropriate. Demonstrates
attention to audience and purpose.
Some noticeable variety of
sentences with correct sentence
structure. Infrequent grammatical,
proofreading, or mechanics errors.
(Errors do not disrupt the flow or
clarity of the text.) 24-26 pts.
Some of the ideas are expressed
in clear, readable prose, but
there are many sentences that
are awkward or difficult to
understand. The writer uses the
same sentence type throughout.
Many word choices seem
inappropriate. The relationship
to audience or purpose is
sometimes unclear. Though
there are some strong sentences,
there are more than 2-4 sentence
structure problems.
Grammatical, proofreading, and
mechanical errors sometimes
impede flow or clarity. 21-23
pts.
Most of the prose is difficult to
read. The stylistic problems
impede the reader’s ability to
understand the analysis and
argument. Does not
demonstrate an understanding
of audience and purpose.
Frequent sentence structure
problems. Sentence level,
grammatical, and mechanics
problems seriously impede the
clarity of the text
0-20 pts.
Points
?? / 30
Quotations
and citations
Comments
The paper incorporates at least
one quotation from a reliable
outside source. Most quotations
from both texts are cited
correctly. Quotations are
incorporated correctly into the
text, but some transitions are
awkward or unclear. 8 pts.
The paper incorporates at least
one quotation from a reliable
outside source. Quotations are
cited, but some citations are
incorrect. At times the
relationship between the
quotation and the rest of the
essay is unclear. 7 pts.
The paper does not include a
quotation from an outside
source or the source is
unreliable. Some quotations
are not cited, and they are not
well-integrated into the text.
0-6 points pts.
Criteria
Minimum—1.8-0
Discernible organization is
minimal or nonexistent.
Underdeveloped or missing
introduction and/or
conclusion. Minimal or no
transitions between
paragraphs. 0-13
Points
??/20
Points
??/10
The paper incorporates at least
one quotation from a reliable
outside source. All quotations
from both texts (Maus and the
outside source) are cited
correctly. Quotations are
incorporated seamlessly into the
text of the essay. 9-10 pts.