Assignment

Instructions: Develop a compare/contrast essay of 750 to 1000 words minimum/maximum with an introduction, body, and conclusion. Include a works cited page, which does not count towards the minimum word requirement.

Be sure to argue a particular point of view in your essay (your thesis) and cite varied examples from the readings in MLA format in order to support your perspective. Please focus on the reading themselves, and do not use any outside secondary sources(particularly open-web sources such as Wikipedia). Whatever you do, DO NOT give me a biography of the author or retell a story. Using secondary sources will result in a much lower grade, and possibly a zero on the paper, if you use uncited, unoriginal sources in your paper.

Uncited, unoriginal work will receive a zero, and will be reported as plagiarism.

Use third person only--no first or second person is acceptable in this academic essay.

This assignment is due Sunday of Week 3.

Chose one of the following topics:

1. Compare and contrast a work with a movie adaptation. For example, compare the recent movie version of Beowulf to the Anglo-Saxon poem or the film Excalibur to Malory. Let me know what adaptation you'd like to write about if it isn't on this list, and we'll discuss options. Remember, this is meant to be a thesis-driven essay, not simply a description of the two versions of the story, or a movie review.

2. Compare and contrast two of the tales in the Canterbury Tales. Possible ideas would be to discuss different areas being satirized, tone, and characters. Do not retell two of the stories in this essay but lay out similarities and differences in topic, form, or something else that strikes you as important or relevant. Do not repeat a discussion we have seen in the forum. This means you cannot use your previous writing on the forum in your paper. This writing must be original for this assignment, and cannot use your writing from any forum.