Study: Explore Essay Writing: Argumentative
This study sheet will help you to write a rough draft of the writing assignment that you will revise later on. Answer the following questions as you work through your study to build a strong and successful essay.
Your Assignment
Write an essay comparing two magical realist stories, one of which you found by researching.
You will . . .
- Conduct research to find a magical realist story
- Identify key details in each story that identify them as magical realism
- Make judicious decisions about whether to quote or paraphrase
- Write an essay comparing the two stories
Finding Sources for Your Paper
For this assignment, your first task is to find a magical realist story to write about, in addition to Nikolai Gogol’s “The Nose.”
Do at least one of the following:
a) Look for story titles in the lesson. Use the space below to write down names of magical realist stories mentioned in this course that interest you.
b) Search a library catalog or the Internet. Use the space below to write down keywords for an Internet or library catalog search for magical realist stories.
c) Ask a librarian. Use the space below to write down questions to ask.
Reading and Evaluating Your Sources
You’re going to write an essay stating that both of the stories you’ve read use a magical realist tone. As you read your sources, fill in the blanks below to keep track of the evidence you’ll use in your essay.
Source 1
Title: “The Nose”
Author: Nikolai Gogol
One or two pieces of evidence of a magical realist tone:
Why do you think these words have a magical realist tone?
Source 2
Title:
Author:
One or two pieces of evidence of a magical realist tone:
Why do you think these words have a magical realist tone?
Writing Your Essay
1. Your introduction should include the following:
a) A catchy sentence or two to grab the reader’s attention and introduce the topic you’re writing about.
b) The titles and authors of the two stories you’re writing about.
c) A thesis that shows how these two stories use a magical realist tone. If you like, you may finish writing this sample thesis from your assignment sheet:
Gogol and Márquez both use a(n) tone to make the unreal seem ordinary.
2. Now try tying all this together into an introduction paragraph:
3. Your first body paragraph will discuss Nikolai Gogol’s “The Nose.” Use the prompts below to get started.
a) Gogol uses a(n) tone when .
b) Evidence from the story:
c) This makes the unreal seem ordinary because .
4. Now tie it all together into a paragraph.
5. You may use the prompts below to shape your discussion of the next story:
a) uses a(n) tone when .
b) Evidence from the story:
c) This makes the unreal seem ordinary because .
6. Now tie it all together into a paragraph.
7. Your conclusion should give a short recap of the information. Remind your reader how everything you have said relates to the thesis.
8. Now put all of your paragraphs together into a four-paragraph essay. As you do so, be sure to pay attention to transitions and to add in connecting information so that everything fits together.
