Comparative Lit Essay: Langston Hughes
Planning the essay
1) Choose a theme, image, or concept that Hughes repeats in at
least two of the works you have read. Using your notes and text
materials, fill out the Claim Developer to determine how Hughes
develops that idea in each of your chosen texts.
2) Use the Information Organizer to evaluate the connotations and nuances displayed by
images or words in each work. How are they repeated or changed in each? Is the tone
different? Describe the similarities and/or differences. Will the concepts of archetypes or
stereotypes be useful?
The claim you develop should include
1)
2)
3)
4)
Hughes’ name
the titles of two of the works that you will compare
a statement of the themes shared by both works, and
a brief explanation of how they may be compared.
Claim Example: In the poem, “Mother to Son”2 and the essay, “The Negro Artist and the Racial
Mountain,”2 Langston Hughes1 uses the image of climbing3 to emphasize the struggle of
African-Americans to find their place in American society4 of the 1920s.
Note: This is my essay idea/plan…not the exact words I’ll use in the introduction.
Writing the essay:
Based on your reading, how does Hughes develop meaning through the use of an image or
concept repeated in multiple works? Underline your thesis. When you use a quote, make sure
you credit the work it came from. It will probably be easiest to simply mention the work in the
context of your essay, but you may also use parenthetical references (see note at end of
bibliography on reverse.)
Possible organizational system:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Introduction and claim. Include a short identification of Langston Hughes.
How the image of _________________ works in ____________
How the image of _________________ works in ____________
What differences do the two works have?
What do they have in common? Clarify your claim.
Use MLA citations when quoting in the essay, and include a correctly formatted, MLA style
Works Cited page. You may use the citations provided.
Works Cited
Hughes, Langston. “Cora Unashamed.” Humanities 3 course handout. 15 February 2012. Print.
---. “Harlem.” Elements of Literature. ed. Kathleen Daniel. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1997. 764.
Print.
---. “Heyday in Harlem.” Elements of Literature. ed. Kathleen Daniel. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston,
1997. 766-767. Print.
---. “I, Too.” Elements of Literature. ed. Kathleen Daniel. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1997. 733.
Print.
---. “Mother to Son.” Humanities 3 course handout. 15 Feb 2012. Print.
---. “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain.” (23 Jun 1926). The Nation Company. 4pp. Web. 8 Feb
2012. <http://www.thenation.com/article/negro-artist-and-racial-mountain>.
---. “Theme for English B.” Humanities 3 course handout. 15 February 2012. Print.
---. “The Weary Blues.” Elements of Literature. ed. Kathleen Daniel. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston,
1997. 761-762. Print.
“Langston Hughes.” Elements of Literature. ed. Kathleen Daniel. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston,
1997. 760. Print.
Using in-text citations:
To credit a source without mentioning it in your text, use a parenthetical citation: (“Theme for English
B”), (“Weary Blues”), (“The Negro Artist…”)
Easier (and generally more effective in this essay), is to note the work within the sentence: In Hughes’
poem, “Mother to Son,” the clear voice of an African-America mother encourages her son to keep
climbing, no matter how hard it becomes.
Always use quotation marks around the titlesof poems, articles and short stories.
USE COMMON CORE INFORMATIONAL RUBRIC—1-5 much easier
Name ______________________________
Rubric for Expository/Informative Essay: Langston Hughes
Organization
Introduction
 Introduces Hughes to reader
 Names at least two works to be discussed
 Makes a claim explaining how those works are
related
Conclusion
 Sums up main ideas
 Reminds reader of the claim and reinforces
author’s stance
Focus
 Body paragraphs discuss at least two works by
Hughes
 Stays focused on Hughes’ writing and point of view
 Does not drift into social awareness topics
Quotes
 Appropriately identified either in the text or a
citation
 Gracefully woven into the text with a lead-in
phrase and followed by an explanation
 Never used as the first or last sentence of a
paragraph
Diction
 Sentences accurately reflect author’s intent
 Uses a variety of sentence styles to increase
fluency
 Vocabulary and diction develop an academic tone
 Vocabulary and diction develop author’s personal
voice
 Avoids contractions, second person “you,” and
generic “how”
Editing




Spelling is accurate
Sentences are grammatically correct
Punctuation marks are used accurately
Avoids “typos”
Works Cited
 Includes at least two entries
 Both page format and entries reflect accurate MLA
style