Instructor: Coleman
English 1A
Spring 2013
Essay # 1
Negotiations: Comparative Analysis
Due Date: March 12, 2013
Requirements:
 900-1100 Words in length (word count must be indicated after the conclusion—not
including the Works Cited page)
 12 pt. Times New Roman font
 Left-justified, 1 inch margins all around, double-spaced, single-sided printing
 MLA documentation and format (Works Cited page and in text citation)
Choose Two of the Following Essays:
King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
Hughes’ “Salvation”
Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant”
Vowell’s “Shooting Dad”
Assignment: In the aforementioned four essays, the authors discuss how inclusion in a social group may lead to
compromising one’s personal ethics. For this paper, pick two of the listed essays that deal with a similar theme:
politics, religion, race, or culture. In a thesis driven essay, analyze how the authors' inclusion in a social group—
political, religious, racial, or cultural—conflicts with their personal ethics. Identify connections between the two
essays on a thematic level, explain how the authors negotiate between group and individual ethics and what
factors may influence their negotiations, compare the way social circumstances vary between the two stories,
and consider how/if these variances impact the way the authors negotiate. Be sure to use a variety of textual
evidence to support your claims. Also, only choose one theme that is present in both texts and explore it
thoroughly, taking care to be specific and stay on topic.
The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate your ability to make thematic connections between texts, to explore
these connections thoroughly, and to construct a thesis-driven, organized essay while incorporating multiple
sources. While comparison is part of this analytic essay, you should move beyond merely comparing the two
texts, establishing why and how the author’s circumstances affect their negotiations.
Breakdown of Grading Rubric (see syllabus for specific criteria for each section):
Content/Focus: 25 Points
Organization: 30 Points
Development/Support: 30 Points
Mechanics/Citation: 15 Points
Total Points Possible: 100
Instructor: Coleman
English 1A
Spring 2013
Essay # 1
The successful paper will do the following:
 Demonstrate critical thinking, reading and writing skills by making connections between texts in an
organized and logical manner
 Present an arguable, specific, relevant, and clear thesis statement in the introduction paragraph
 Include a preview sentence (essay map) in the introduction
 Introduce the texts, authors, and theme being discussed in the introduction paragraph
 Stay on topic and be specific
 Have well organized paragraphs with clear topic sentences that relate to the thesis
 Effectively use transitions between paragraphs and ideas
 Move beyond summary in the conclusion, indicating the larger social, cultural, or political implications
of the paper’s argument
 Support the thesis statement and other claims with textual evidence
 Effectively synthesize textual material via quotation, paraphrase, and (very limited) summary
 Present ideas in a clear and logical order
 Properly accredit the chosen sources using MLA format
The successful paper will NOT do the following:
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Use first or second person personal pronouns (you, I, my, us, we, our, your, mine, etc.). First and
second person personal pronouns are unacceptable in this essay. You must use third person.
Use any outside sources to inform or support your argument. The paper must be completely original
and cannot include any external sources
Use generalities, offensive language, or emotional outbursts in the essay
Use contractions (shouldn’t, isn’t, wouldn’t, etc)
Overly rely on summary. Limiting summary to the to a few sentences in the introduction is a good
idea.