Comparison And Contrast Essay
For this exam, the student will n Use the writing process to plan and organize a comparison and contrast essay n Write an effective thesis statement n Identify, define, and analyze literary elements n Develop critical reading skills n Use responsible research methods to locate appropriate secondary sources n Use Modern Language Association (MLA) citation and documentation style to reference secondary source material correctly and appropriately.
Topic
Have you ever read a book and then been excited to see the movie—only to find the movie a huge disappointment? Or perhaps you found the movie version enlightened the book? For this exam, you’ll write your literary analysis concentrating on the differences between a novel and the movie based on that novel. You’ll write your essay using comparison and contrast patterns of development. Your analysis should focus primarily on the significance these changes have on the plot development, characters, and themes of the story. This essay requires you to use secondary sources to support your claims, so you’ll begin your research and create a bibliography of relevant articles and reviews that you might include in your essay. Your bibliography should include a minimum of six sources. Please note that if you use any secondary source material in your graphic organizer, you should follow MLA format and provide the appropriate parenthetical citations.
Purpose
To prepare an outline/graphic organizer and bibliography for an 1,800–2,000 word comparison and contrast essay The essay will analyze the differences in the plot and character development between a novel and a movie based on the novel to draw conclusions about the significance of these changes on the plot and characters.
Audience
Distance-education students enrolled at Penn Foster College
Process
Brainstorm
1. Watch the “Using Compare and Contrast: Analyzing a Novel” video.
2. Choose a novel and a movie based on that novel. Scan through the novel and watch the movie. Take notes focusing on the similarities and differences you notice both in the story, character development, and themes.
3. Work through the “Generating Ideas” exercises on page 386–387 to help you brainstorm. Pay close attention to how the changes you’re discussing alter the story and its characters.
Research
1. Begin the research process by searching for critical reviews of both the novel and movie to help enhance your understanding of the differences between them. Consider what critics have to say about the adaptations. You’ll need at least six sources for your bibliography.
2. Prepare a bibliography of the potential sources you’ll use for your paper (see page 600 in your textbook).
Organize
1. You’re now ready to create your outline/graphic organizer (see pages 148–152 and 416 in your textbook). Write an organizational plan for your essay incorporating some of your sources. Remember that all sources must be appropriately incorporated into the outline with MLA intext citation.
2. Review your textbook as needed to apply the appropriate writing skills as you brainstorm, research, and write your outline/graphic organizer. In addition, ensure that your work displays good writing traits and represents the characteristics described on the course rubric (see Appendix)
3. Include all your required work in the same document, beginning a new page for each part the graphic organizer and your bibliography. For this examination, submit the require work as instructed to Penn Foster College.
