Charlie Bondhus
Out-of-Class Essay #1
Below is the daily schedule with assignments related only to Essay #1. You still need to refer to the
syllabus for additional assignments.
Wed. Feb. 9th
Mon. Feb. 14th
Wed. Feb. 16th
Mon. Feb. 21st
Wed. Feb. 23rd
 Author Charts
 Generative writing in class
 Outline essay in class
 1st draft of essay due for peer and teacher response
 If you do not bring your first draft or if you skip the peer workshop, your essay
grade will be lowered.
 Receive teacher feedback on OC Essay #1
 Final Draft of Out-of-Class Essay #1 due
 Complete Final Reflection in class
 When you submit OC Essay #1, it should be in a folder with several other
documents/assignments which I will identify beforehand.
 Please mark your final draft “FINAL” so I know which version to grade.
 The final draft should meet the following criteria: 4-5 pages, double-spaced,
word-processed, proofread, spell-checked, 1 inch margins, Times New Roman font,
12 font size, page numbers, in-text citation MLA style, with a Works Cited page
(this page does not count toward the page requirement).
 For every class period that you hand your paper in late, the essay’s grade will
drop a third of a letter grade.
Choose two essays. Identify an important point from the first essay and determine whether the second
essay’s author would agree, disagree, or both agree and disagree with the first essay’s point.
Essays
“Letter from Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King Jr.
“A More Perfect Union” Barack Obama
“Regarding the Pain of Others” Susan Sontag
“Hiroshima” John Berger
“Soldiers’ Stories” Various Authors
Specs
Your essay must be at least 4 pages long, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point font, 1” margins
all the way around. Failure to meet these specifications will cause your grade to be lowered!
Tips
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Your reader has read the two essays you are discussing, but your reader has not analyzed them
in the depth that you have.
Your thesis should be an argument; someone else should hypothetically be able to disagree with
it. Do not state the obvious.
Don’t forget the basics: clear thesis that states your argument and areas of support; thorough
introduction and conclusion; logical organization with topic sentences and transitions, and
detailed and well analyzed support.
It is probably to your advantage to discuss three areas of support. Two supports are probably
not enough, and four is probably too many.
Create clear topic sentences and fluid transitions that will help your reader follow your logic.
Your topic sentences should introduce your specific area of support and link it to your argument
(thesis statement). If your topic sentence simply states a fact, then it is easy to fall into the trap
of summarizing throughout the whole paragraph, rather than analyzing.
You may weave in personal experience if you feel that it would support your argument.
However, the focus of your essay should be on analyzing a relationship between the two texts.
Make sure you are bringing in quotes from the essays and analyzing those quotes in depth.
Feel free to use “I.”
Use proper MLA style for in-text citation and your Works Cited page. In-text citation requires
that every time you quote from the book, put the author’s name and page number in
parentheses.
For example: “A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all
the more completely because he drinks” (Orwell 97).
Or: Orwell writes, “A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then
fail all the more completely because he drinks” (97).
If you include the author’s name in the beginning of the quote, you only need the page number
at the end.
You should include a Works Cited page at the end of your paper (does not count towards your
final page count) that lists the two essays you are using.
Suggested Layout
Paragraphs 1+2—Introduction
Introduce essay 1
Identify and explain the point from essay 1 that you will be focusing on
Introduce essay 2
Thesis statement—State whether you think author 2 would agree, disagree, or both agree and
disagree with the point from essay 1.
Provide three areas of support (three specific reasons why you believe author 2 would agree,
disagree, or both agree and disagree with the point from essay 1).
Paragraph 3—Elaborate on first area of support
Transition/Topic sentence
Provide more detail about area of support 1, using quotes and paraphrases.
Explain how area of support 1 helps to prove your argument
Paragraph 4—Elaborate on second area of support
Transition/Topic sentence
Provide more detail about area of support 2, using quotes and paraphrases.
Explain how area of support 2 helps to prove your argument
Paragraph 5—Elaborate on third area of support
Transition/Topic sentence
Provide more detail about area of support 3, using quotes and paraphrases.
Explain how area of support 3 helps to prove your argument
Paragraph 6—(OPTIONAL) Respond to a Naysayer
Transition
Topic sentence which introduces a potential objection to your argument
Respond to the objection, bringing in evidence from the essays to support your response
Paragraph 7—Conclusion
Transition
Move from the specific (the relationship between the essays) to the general (what this relationship
tells us about the world more broadly—what greater truth is being revealed here)
Answer the question “What now?”
Wrap up