Assignment: Essay 2 Fiction (Non-research)
Analysis of “Cora Unashamed” by Langston Hughes, a story from his collection of short stories called The Ways of White Folks. It is not in your textbook but is linked to MODULE: THE CRAFT OF RESEARCH: LANGSTON HUGHES. You will have citation information.
Format: MLA –This includes an original title for your essay; do NOT use quotation marks for your title; do NOT put your title in Italics; do NOT make your title font larger than the rest of the font; do NOT make the title bold when the rest of the font is not bold.
Length: 5-7 paragraphs, not including introductory and concluding paragraphs, with each at least 5-7 sentences long. This is a general directive. A solidly developed topic, derived from a solid thesis, is the goal. It is possible that your paper may be slightly longer but it should not be much shorter than the prescribed length. You do not want to submit a paper that is three sentences long, one with no real direction because there is no thesis to support, and subsequently no detailed examples and no meaningful content.NOTE: This essay is NOT your research assignment. Although your rubric has a research component this consists of the short story you will be analyzing. It is called your primary source. IF YOU CUT AND PASTE PHRASES FROM A SOURCE OTHER THAN THE STORY OR USE OTHER SECONDARY SOURCES THIS WILL BE CONSIDERED PLAGIARISM. Use just your own faculties of critical thinking. You will have a Works Cited page, however, in MLA format. This means that your paper will have the following:
- The standard MLA heading
- A Works Cited page
- Throughout the paper, you will use evidence from the story to support your thesis. You might use one or two direct quotations (short ones if possible) but most of your support will use paraphrases.
- You must include a Works Cited page. Do NOT use the word page in that designation.
- Avoid references to yourself, such as “ I think”, “I feel”, “I believe” , etc.
Materials Needed:
Textbook: Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Writing, Chapter 42, “Writing About a Story”, pp. 1908-1931—this chapter reviews some of the techniques you may have learned in English Composition I, such as brainstorming and the need for a strong thesis statement. You can look at the sample essays as models.
ASSIGNMENT: In an essay 5-7 paragraphs long, answer the following questions. Make sure that you begin your essay with a specific thesis statement that you can develop with clear examples from the story to support it. After each question, there are some prompts to help you think about an answer. You might also refer to the terms on the “FICTION: KEY TERMS” sheet and the study questions from The University of Iowa. As you will see, some of the questions overlap. Some of the critical approaches also overlap.
Question: What is the significance of the title of “Cora Unashamed?” How does the story reflect the concept of shame and why is Cora “unashamed?”
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