Essay 2: Comparative Literary Analysis ENGL 2327: Survey of American Literature I Overview For this assignment you will write a comparative analysis of three or more works by different authors (from the list below) and develop a narrowly-defined argumentative thesis that reflects an analysis of the literary devices employed in each piece. You will want to build paragraphs around specific points you would like to explore that require a critical synthesis of the works and support a larger thesis related to the prompt. As you develop your analysis, make sure to support your critical assertions with specific evidence from the texts. Avoid unnecessary plot summary; plot summary is not a substitute for critical analysis. The most important thing about this paper, in addition to having a critical analytical synthesis and an arguable thesis statement for the prompt and literary works you have selected, is to make sure that you ground your analysis in a CLOSE reading of the literary works, including concrete details and explanation to engage the audience. No matter which elements you choose to explore (and you have free reign to develop any critical analysis you like that is appropriate to the literary works; there are no “right” or “wrong” interpretations in this course, only stronger and more weakly developed ones), just be sure to connect your main observations and ideas to each other and support them with textual evidence. Move beyond summary and interpretation and into analysis to critically examine your selected literary texts. Important Note: One of the pitfalls of the comparative analysis is that students will sometimes write a paper in which the essay simply compares “similar” and “dissimilar” aspects of a work. An example of this might be a paper that compares and contrasts “A Young Housewife” and “Marriage” as examples of a feminine perspective of a relationship (pointing out how they are similar, and how they are also different in certain ways), or that describes all the ways in which mythological allusions are "important" in both “Venus Transiens” and “Leda” in similar and different ways. This is what we call a straight "compare and contrast"-type essay, but it does not necessarily have anything interesting to say beyond listing certain obvious features of both works. The important thing to remember is to have a debatable (and hopefully creative and interesting) point you want to argue (and this requires judgment and analysis on your part--you have to have some sort of critical edge in which you are adopting a particular opinion that requires persuading your reader to understand your point of view, even if they don't ultimately agree with it). Your thesis should be a point you want to make that could be contested; it should also pass the "why does it matter?" test. In other words, what is ultimately interesting about the point you want to make, and how does it go beyond just a literal reading of the surface details of the poetry itself ...

1. Essay 2: Comparative Literary Analysis
ENGL 2327: Survey of American Literature I
Overview
For this assignment you will write a comparative analysis of
three or more works by different authors (from the list below)
and develop a narrowly-defined argumentative thesis that
reflects an analysis of the literary devices employed in each
piece. You will want to build paragraphs around specific points
you would like to explore that require a critical synthesis of the
works and support a larger thesis related to the prompt. As you
develop your analysis, make sure to support your critical
assertions with specific evidence from the texts. Avoid
unnecessary plot summary; plot summary is not a substitute for
critical analysis.
The most important thing about this paper, in addition to having
a critical analytical synthesis and an arguable thesis statement
for the prompt and literary works you have selected, is to make
sure that you ground your analysis in a CLOSE reading of the
literary works, including concrete details and explanation to
engage the audience. No matter which elements you choose to
explore (and you have free reign to develop any critical analysis
you like that is appropriate to the literary works; there are no
“right” or “wrong” interpretations in this course, only stronger
and more weakly developed ones), just be sure to connect your
main observations and ideas to each other and support them
with textual evidence. Move beyond summary and interpretation
and into analysis to critically examine your selected literary
texts.
Important Note: One of the pitfalls of the comparative analysis
is that students will sometimes write a paper in which the essay

2. simply compares “similar” and “dissimilar” aspects of a work.
An example of this might be a paper that compares and
contrasts “A Young Housewife” and “Marriage” as examples of
a feminine perspective of a relationship (pointing out how they
are similar, and how they are also different in certain ways), or
that describes all the ways in which mythological allusions are
"important" in both “Venus Transiens” and “Leda” in similar
and different ways. This is what we call a straight "compare and
contrast"-type essay, but it does not necessarily have anything
interesting to say beyond listing certain obvious features of
both works. The important thing to remember is to have a
debatable (and hopefully creative and interesting) point you
want to argue (and this requires judgment and analysis on your
part--you have to have some sort of critical edge in which you
are adopting a particular opinion that requires persuading your
reader to understand your point of view, even if they don't
ultimately agree with it). Your thesis should be a point you
want to make that could be contested; it should also pass the
"why does it matter?" test. In other words, what is ultimately
interesting about the point you want to make, and how does it
go beyond just a literal reading of the surface details of the
poetry itself?
Guidelines
Develop a comprehensive and detailed 5 to 10 typed (double-
spaced) comparative analysis of three or more works (see list
below) by different authors that interest you, and that you feel
would be interesting to a general audience. Because you will be
writing about multiple literary works, you will need to include a
Works Cited page (after your 5-10 page composition) to
complete your assignment. You should focus on how the literary
works employ your selected literary devices and the purpose of
each, carefully constructing both your thesis statement and
analytical comparison (so that your analysis should be very
clear and grounded in interesting textual evidence). No
additional outside sources are to be used for this paper, which

3. should solely represent your own analytical thinking. When in
doubt, contact me for further guidelines about your chosen
subject.
Other Considerations
· Select a minimum of three different works written by different
authors.
Consider the following questions when developing your
comparative analysis:
· Objectives: What key idea should the audience recognize is
present in the texts? Why is this key idea significant to the
general reader?
· Angle: How do the literary works develop the key idea, i.e.
what is your thesis statement? Is the thesis statement clearly
defined?
· Tone: What attitude about this key idea should be conveyed in
your writing? What words will you use to convey this
impression?
· Evidence: What evidence (concrete, reliable, credible) should
be provided to support the thesis statement? How will you
synthesize (connect) the literary works in order to support the
thesis?
· Contribution: How will the comparative analysis show why the
literary works are important to the writer and the reader(s)?
· Style: How clear is the language/style/expression?
· Conclusion: How does your comparative analysis explore
representative ideas from the literary works? How does it
develop characteristic perspectives or attitudes expressed in the
literary works? How do the literary works express individual or
communal values? How does your comparative analysis explore
aesthetic expression in multiple literary works?
Literary Text Options, select three works from different authors
for this essay (please locate these authors and these pieces in

4. your version of our textbook; your reading will include the
author biographies and the indicated works):
· Occom: “A Short Narrative of My Life”
· Franklin: “Remarks Concerning the Savages of North
America”
· Crèvecoeur: Letters from an American Farmer (Letter IX)
· Knight: The Private Journal
· Foster: The Coquette
· Stockton: poems
· Woolman: The Journal
· Tyler: The Contrast
· Winthrop: The Journal
· Rowlandson: A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration
· de la Cruz: poems
Organization
Arrange the parts of your comparative analysis in the order that
will prove most effective with the audience. Your essay should
be objective and analytical rather than inward and subjective.
Keep in mind that a good comparative literary analysis includes
a detailed discussion of literary works supported by good
reasons and evidence; so you must select your materials
carefully and include rich details. Make sure to give plenty of
specific examples from your literary texts to support your
analysis and argument.
When you write a comparative literary analysis, you look first
for significant similarities between your text. For example, two
characters may have similar motivation or similar goals or
flaws; two stories may have similar settings, two plays may
have similar plots; and two poems may have parallels in their
use of sound or imagery. Once you have identified the key
similarities, you can consider why these similarities are
important and what they reveal about the works.
While you do need to begin with significant similarities, once

5. you have established these you can explore contrasting points in
the poems. For example, two poems may both explore marriage
(significant similarity), but one might use imagery to convey a
tone of joy while another might use imagery to convey a tone of
dread. Build from a significant similarity before considering the
nuances and contrasts.
As you develop your comparative literary analysis, consider the
additional pieces of advice:
· Don’t feel you need to spend equal amounts of time on
comparing and contrasting. If your chosen works are more
similar than different, you naturally will spend more space on
comparison, and vice versa.
· Don’t devote the first half of your paper to one work and the
second half to the other. This simple structure may weaken your
essay if it leads you to keep the two works in total isolation
from one another. After all, the point is to see what can be
learned by comparison. The recommended strategy is to do a
point-by-point comparison of the two works all the way through
your paper.
· Emphasize the points that interest you the most. This strategy
will help keep you from following your outline in a plodding
fashion.
At a minimum, your analysis should include the following
elements:
· A creative title
· An introduction that identifies the literary works and authors
you’re discussing, a thesis statement that links the prompt to the
literary works, and an indication as to why your thesis is
important.
· A summary or description of the literary works that provides
the details necessary for a general audience member. This
section should not normally take up more than a paragraph of
the analysis.
· Specific points of evidence that support your thesis statement

6. and demonstrate that the thesis is developed and supported by
the literary works. These should center around key ideas. Keep
in mind that this section is the core of your analysis, so you
need to make clear the supporting points you are exploring and
how each point/piece of evidence you have selected relate to
and support the thesis. Furthermore, this should all be tied
together with your analysis, synthesis of the literary works, and
commentary.
· Body paragraphs that contain a synthesized comparison of the
literary works, directly connecting and transitioning between
the literary works. Body paragraphs should contain evidence
from multiple literary works to support the development of the
analysis.
· A conclusion that provides a final impression of the literary
works you have selected and analyzed and explains why the
thesis and analysis you have developed is important.
· A logical progression of ideas, and evidence and examples to
support your ideas.
· A clear presentation and development of topics.
· Sentences that are complete and relatively error free.
Audience
Although this may be an unfamiliar exercise, it is not as
complex a task as writing an essay requiring a lot of library
research, but is much more similar to a review in The New York
Times which is written for the general reader. Your thematic
analysis is for a reader who is interested not just in the general
plot of the literary work being analyzed, but also in your critical
exploration of a thematic statement and your presentation of the
thesis and interpretation in your writing. Also, don’t assume
that just because your instructor and peers will read your es say

7. that they will automatically be interested in what you have to
say. Generate reader interest by making clear what is at stake in
your analysis and why it is important.
Style (using appropriate language)
Write in a style that demonstrates knowledge of your subject
and a clear and accurate expression of your ideas. Think
critically, understanding that the way you organize and express
your ideas can be as important as the ideas themselves. Be
credible, providing enough detail and evidence to show that
you’ve reflected deeply on the subject and that you can support
your claims. Be respectful, showing your readers that your ideas
are approachable and thoughtful, not arrogant or insensitive
(this may also mean that you consider alternate viewpoints and
treat opponents with respect so that you aren’t ignoring or
demeaning the opinions of others). And last but not least, be
careful, ensuring that your writing is clear and accurate (not
generalized, disorganized, or ignorant of writing conventions).
Formatting and Writing Conventions
Papers should be typed in a legible (ex: Arial, Times New
Roman), 12-point font and double spaced (with space between
paragraphs removed). All other formatting should adhere to
MLA standards (see resource sin D2L for MLA formatting
help). Additionally, you’ll want to make sure you proofread
your paper carefully to avoid errors in grammar, punctuation,
spelling, and mechanics.
Essay Checklist
With your essay in hand, go through the checklist below, noting
where you have met the assignment criteria (these are the areas
that I’ll be evaluating). If needed, re-read the guidelines for
clarification.
I have written a comparative literary analysis that is 5-10 pages
long (not including images and Works Cited), double-spaced,

8. and in MLA formatting.
I have written a well-developed analysis, and my specific thesis
and interpretation are supported by evidence.
I have written a title and introduction that engage my audience,
and they identify the titles and authors of the literary works as
well as the thesis statement and significance of my discussion.
I have included an objective summary or description of the
literary works so that my reader will better understand the
literary works.
I have selected appropriate analysis points to demonstrate the
development of my analysis and to support my thesis statement.
I have clearly stated them in topic sentences within my writing.
I have included textual evidence that helps create a critical and
detailed discussion of the literary works and I have added
commentary, analysis, and transitions that are specific to the
analysis point being explored.
I have effectively synthesized evidence from multiple literary
works to support my points of analysis, directly connecting the
textual evidence with transitions. I have avoided the pitfall of
separating the paragraphs by literary text.
I have integrated my textual evidence effectively, introducing
them and explaining their significance (and citing them when
appropriate).
I have written a conclusion that provides a sense of completion,
reflection, and/or summation, making a point that could not
have been made in the introduction, and reminding the reader
why it is important to critically consider the thematic statement
I have chosen.

9. I have created a Works Cited page.
I have written sentences that are complete, clear, and relatively
error free.
I have proof-read my essay, and it is coherent and well-
organized.
Submission of Final Draft
Upload your assignment to the appropriate dropbox in D2L
before the assignment deadline. This essay is due on Sunday,
June 27, 2021, 11:59 pm, CST.
Need MLA, Literary analysis, and Academic Writing help?
Resources can be found on D2L in the “Resources and Tips”
module.
*Note: Additional Resources may be posted in the D2L module.
Suggested Writing Process
Step 1: Make a Choice. Your first task is to consider a possible
prompt and the literary works that you can choose for this
assignment. It is important that you choose texts that are
significant to you. This will make your task of writing Essay 2
much more engaging. If you care about the texts, that will show
in your writing. Ask yourself the following questions: Which
works appealed to me? Which did I enjoy reading? Which texts
do I feel I understand? Which texts do I have something to say
about?
Step 2: Read, Read, Read. Get to know the literary texts you
have chosen to analyze.
· Look at the titles for the texts. What do the titles suggest?
Who are the authors for the texts? When were the texts first
published/produced? Do the texts belong to a specific genre(s)

10. or literary movement?
· Complete an initial reading of the literary texts, annotating
any parts that “jump out” at you. Think about the themes,
imagery, and other poetic devices.
· Consider also the prompt as you consider aspects of the texts.
How do these texts exemplify those characteristics that are
important to the prompt you have selected?
Step 3: Choose a Focus. Simply ticking off every similarity,
poetic device or interesting point in the texts would make for a
slack and rambling essay. More compelling writing would result
from better focused topics. You can ensure that you do this by
carefully constructing your thesis statement. Create a focused
and argumentative thesis that responds to the prompt of your
choice.
· What significant ideas and key similarities between the texts
can you identify?
· What literary techniques are used in the texts and how do
these develop (or not) key ideas from the prompt you have
chosen?
· What specific thesis statement will show how the literary work
develops the theme you have chosen, linking the significant
literary techniques to the thematic statement?
Step 4: Refine and Outline. Now, on the basis of your overall
knowledge of the literary texts and your decision about which
literary points you will discuss, read in closer detail the
sections which are relevant to these points. Make notes of the
evidence and key literary devices. This is the perfect stage to
create a rough outline of the main points and evidence you
intend to incorporate in your writing.
Step 5: Write your Rough Draft. After completing the initial
activities (#1-4), begin organizing and drafting your
comparative analysis. Consider the following advice:

11. · Review your argument.
· Get your thoughts down.
· Write the part you feel most comfortable with first.
· Leave yourself plenty of space.
· Focus on the argument.
· Does your thesis hold up?
· Be open to new ideas.
Step 6: Revise and Edit. Leave time to revise and reflect upon
your work as “a writer rarely – if ever – achieves perfection on
the first try” (Kennedy and Gioia 1098). Consider the following
advice:
· Be sure your thesis is clear, decisive, and thought-provoking.
· Ascertain whether the evidence you have provided supports
your theory.
· Check whether your argument is logical.
· Supply transitional words and phrases.
· Make sure each paragraph contains a topic sentence.
· Make a good first impression with your introduction.
· Remember that last impressions count too (conclusion).
· Give your paper a compelling title.
Step 7: Be Credible. Make sure you come across to readers as a
person of good sense, good character, and good will. In order to
accomplish this:
· Know what you’re talking about. Provide enough details and
evidence to show that you’re reflected deeply on the argument,
and provide evidence to support your claims.
· Show respect for your readers and come across as
approachable and thoughtful, not arrogant or insensitive.
· Consider alternate viewpoints and treat opponents with
respect—don’t ignore or demean the opinions of others.
· Be careful and meticulous in your writing, not sloppy and
disorganized.

12. Introduction
(1 Paragraph)
Titles and Authors
Summary or Description
(1 Paragraph)
Thesis Statement
Directional Statement (optional)
Significance
Summary or Description of each of the texts included in the
analysis.
Analysis Point 1
(1-3 paragraphs)
Analysis Point 2
(1-3 Paragraphs)
Textual evidence with citations

13. Analysis of textual evidence
Conluding sentence(s) linking point to thesis
Topic sentence identifying key idea and significant comparison
Analysis Point X
Repeat above pattern until analysis is complete
Conclusion
Significance of analysis
Summaries should demonstrate the following qualities: brevity,
completeness, and objectivity.
Topic sentence identifying key idea and significant comparison
Transitions between literary works
Textual evidence with citations
Analysis of textual evidence

14. Transitions between literary works
Conluding sentence(s) linking point to thesis
Davenport University
Finance 610: MD&A Assignment
Assignment Description
Much discussion is spent on which is the most financial
statement. All of them certainly have merit and value. The
interdepency between them all is where the value of the analysis
is often found. One often overlooked portion of the required
filings for public company is the Management Discussion and
Analysis (MD&A). This is found in the annual report. The
MD&A includes invaluable insight the prior year’s
performance. It also includes the strategic direction, potential
environmental or operational issues, and other future goals.
This is often where the “story” found within the numbers is
told. This section is an invaluable resource for competitive
analysis, job interviews, and investment analysis
Assignment Detail
· Select a publicly traded company you are interested.
· Read and analyze the Management Discussion and Analysis
included the last 10K or 10Q filing. answer the following:
· what new information did you learn about the company?
· What risks were identified in the report? Was any mitigation
for the risk discussed?
· What are the top strategic priorities? Was the return or
financial expectations of these priorities discussed?
· Were any financing decisions discussed? Discussion on debt,
equity, dividends etc.

15. Assignment length: 1000 words
APA Format
Submit to the assignment link.