Compare/Contrast Essay
Peer Edit
The Great Gatsby
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MLA Format
• Times Font 12 pt.; double space ENTIRE document
• Proper heading– Last name and page number in header.
• Heading
• Title (centered)
Example
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Introduction Paragraph
1) Is your lead catchy?
Share it with the person
next to you. Revise it for
your rough draft, if
needed.
3) Is the thesis in the correct
format? (See slides 5 and
6 ). Underline it in your
draft.
2) In the exposition, have
you made sure to include
the authors’ names and
titles of the works? (The
Great Gatsby; F. Scott
Fitzgerald, etc.)
3
Thesis Statement (Essay # 3)
Dunbar’s poem “We Wear the Mask”
identifies struggles that racially discriminated
people must fight on a daily basis in order to
achieve the American dream—likewise, the
socially upper class in society must also
weather disappointments of a certain sort in
the quest for their American dreams.
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Thesis Statement Example
(Essay #4)
According to modern literature, the
achievement of the American dream
remains as much elusive, and
sometimes even harder to attain for
many Americans today, as it was in the
early 20th century because of the
conditions of society.
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Body Paragraphs
1) Make sure topic sentences
(TS) are aligned with your
thesis statement. Begin
sentences with a variety of
different words. (Watch for
repetitive words or phrases).
3) Avoid repetitive
analysis—make sure to
add more than the
obvious (see slide 9)
2) Make sure you add
context to your evidence
(see slide 8) and that the
evidence is smoothly
integrated. Cite quotes
correctly.
4) Your concluding
sentence should sum up
your main points from the
paragraph.
6
Context in Italics
Dunbar emphasizes the suffering of
African Americans in the following
excerpt, “This debt we pay to human
guile;/With torn and bleeding hearts we
smile” (3-4).
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Example Analysis
The pain of racism in the early 20th century
is apparent in the previous lines because
Dunbar uses the image of the torn and
bleeding heart to show the ongoing
damage of prejudice. Also, he illuminates
how that through the suffering, African
Americans still have to “grin and bear it” in
order to survive.
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Language Enhancement
1) Replace dead verbs
with powerful verbs
(refer to your
handout, or go to my
website).
2) Add transitions when
needed (refer to
handout or go to
website)
3) Refer to your vocabulary
lists and employ words
that will enrich the
reading of your essay.
4)Use words of
compare/contrast
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December 16th:
Final essay due!!!
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For next time…OR Friday…put your papers
in this order…TOP(#1)…and so on…
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
Rubric (blue) with your name on it
CLEAN final draft—ALL corrections made—underline thesis
statement , highlight semicolons, words of compare/contrast
Peer edited draft & peer edit sheet
Outline
Typed an stamped drafts—nothing handwritten--there
should be a total of 3
All readings (poems and articles) look at order on Website
Study guide answers
SUBMIT FINAL DRAFT of essay TO TURNITIN.COM by
midnight December 16th. If you are submitting for extra
credit—turnitin.com needs to be completed by the time you
get to class Wednesday!!
**DO NOT SUBMIT YOUR PACKET IF IT IS MISSING
SOMETHING—I WILL GIVE IT BACK TO YOU!! NOT IN MLA
FORMAT?? IT WILL BE RETURNED TO YOU!
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