Paper Topic: After you finish reading the play, I’d like you to compose a character analysis of one of the major characters in the play. That is, in a paper of 2-3 pages, offer a close analysis of your sense of that character’s personality. Look carefully at what the character says and does, what the tone of his language is, and any other clues you can think of to discover what makes that character tick. In a well-argued analytic essay, discuss how the evidence you present adds up to the conclusion you have reached about that character’s character.
<
<
What I’m especially looking for in the paper is for you to demonstrate your ability to read through the material and infer what it says indirectly. Critical thinking and analysis is about the ability to see beyond the surface of things to the implied message, so this paper asks that you deduce something about a character and then present the support for your deduction by discussing the carefully selected passages in the play that gave you your insights. Your deduction will be your THESIS STATEMENT. I urge you to review the section on composing and revising in Diana Hacker’s Writer’s Reference for useful information on developing an argumentative thesis.
<
<
Additional Support To help you with the complex business of thinking critically and constructing a well-founded argument, I have included a brief lesson on deduction and induction earlier in this module. If you have not yet visited it, I recommend that you do so now. This should provide you with some examples of solid reasoning as a sort of model for what you will be doing in the paper. Our discussions about deductive and inductive reasoning will continue all semester, so it would be a good idea to print out that page and keep it handy for easy reference.
<
<
Mechanics Structurally, your paper should have an introductory paragraph that concludes with a thesis statement – an assertion of the point your paper will argue along with a very brief outline of what elements of the play you will offer in support of your point. The body of your paper should consist of a few paragraphs that each offer a close, careful discussion of different passages or speeches from the play that you briefly quote and then analyze to show how they prove that your assertion is correct.
<
<
Though you are not required or even urged to use any outside sources for this paper, if you choose to use some, be sure to cite them properly. There is a link to the MLA documentation site in the Paper Help section, or you may refer to the appropriate pages in Hacker’s Writer’s Reference. And if you quote from the play, be sure to cite it by giving the line numbers (not the page number!) and including the text in your Works Cited list.
<
<
Papers should be double spaced and must include a header on the first page following the format of the model essay which is available in the Course Home module in the Paper Help section.
