The Rhetorical Elements of Fiction
In this unit, you will practice applying the skills of analysis to the literary texts assigned. When reading the stories, keep in mind the rhetorical elements of fiction: point of view characterization setting symbolism elements of plot (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution) language, tone, and style theme All of these aspects help to create meaning for the reader. Which rhetorical element creates the greatest meaning? That is the element that you will want to address in your analysis essay. The analysis essay does not require outside research. As a matter of fact, please avoid using outside sources (these usually cause issues with plagiarism in the essays). The analysis essay is merely a “reader response” essay. State your claims about the text using only evidence from the story to support your points. The essay only needs to be about two pages in length. *All essays must be formal, so do not use 1st or 2nd person or contractions. And, the essay should have a Work Cited page with only the short story listed. The author’s full name and the title of the short story should be in the introductory paragraph. (Titles of short stories should be in quotation marks, not italics.) Write an essay of 500-750 words on the use of a single literary device (from the list of terms in the Learning Activities folder) used within one of the short stories you read for this lesson. Be sure to: Include an alphanumeric outline. Use MLA format. Include a Works Cited page. Create the essay with the understanding that this is not a book report. Don’t summarize the story, as that is only appropriate for a sentence or two in the introduction. Tell me how a literary device was used in the story. Cite examples from the story in support of your argument using proper MLA format (quotations for direct citations, as well as parenthetical references for both these and paraphrases). Check the syllabus for the due date. The short story I Used was The Necklace.
