ENGL 375JJ: Literature of the Great War
Dr. Scanlon
Fall 2014
Essay #1
Due: September 30, by midnight
Submission: upload in Canvas
Length: 750-1000 words
Your first essay will be comparative in nature and will consider the Remarque novel All Quiet on the
Western Front in relation to its companion novel by Helen Zenna Smith, Not So Quiet…
Because the paper is quite short, a fruitful comparison must be very focused. I suggest that you
narrow your comparison to a character, a scene, an event, an element of style or language usage, the
handling of one our Great War tropes, or a similar item so you can analyze the two texts with some
richness and nuance. Your essay should have an arguable, analytical thesis statement, and of
necessity, given its length, must avoid any extraneous or empty fillers. A meaningful comparison
doesn’t just explain how two texts are alike and/or different—it considers what that comparison
shows, what we get for looking at the two texts together.
Your discussion should be firmly rooted in textual evidence but may also draw on theory, historical
information, or other contextual/intellectual materials. Outside research is not expected for this
essay, but if you use it, you must cite it meticulously and provide a Works Cited in acceptable MLA
format. If you quote the course blog, please cite by author, title, and date.
See the categories below that map my expectations, which also inform the rubric in Canvas that I
will use to guide my grading.
Your essay should bear an honor pledge AND a word count.
Assessment
CONTENT: The paper
 represents the novels faithfully, demonstrating a strong understanding of the texts.
 has a well-chosen point of focus with the potential for productive comparison.
 has an appropriately sophisticated argument that is apparent in the thesis statement.
 provides a meaningful comparison through significant, well-developed analysis of the texts.
 uses and analyzes specific textual evidence meaningfully without falling into mere
paraphrase, overusing direct quotation, or leaving analysis of the evidence underdeveloped.
CORRECTNESS, FORMAT, and STYLE: The paper
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is organized effectively and clearly and uses paragraphs intentionally
honors traditional sentence boundaries and has complete sentences
quotes the texts appropriately and provides all necessary citations
has correct punctuation and spelling
uses words and sentences that effectively communicate the writer’s ideas
is the right length (750-1000 words) and on time