ENG 240: Introduction to Fiction Prairie State College Due Date: October 29, at 3 pm Up to 250 points Essay Exam

2: Thematic Compare/Contrast Analysis The purpose of this examination is to evaluate your ability to analyze texts, identify a theme, and use the theme to draw connections between works. You must choose two assigned readings from Module 4 and work with Baldwins Giovannis Room, and create one synthesized compare and contrast incorporating each text. Your exam should be four to five pages. What is a theme?: In literature, theme is defined as: a common thread or repeated idea that is incorporated throughout a literary work. It is a thought or idea the author presents to the reader that may be deep, difficult to understand, or even moralistic. Generally, a theme has to be extracted as the reader explores the passages of a work. The author utilizes the characters, plot, and other literary devices to assist the reader in this endeavor. Tasks: 1. During this planning/invention process, determine one theme that you found present in all three texts. 2. After determining your theme, conduct a compare/contract analysis of how the theme is developed and addressed in your two chosen texts and Giovannis Room. Exam Guidelines: For guidance on how to analyze theme in literature, review the useful suggestions provided at the following blog entry, titled How to Write an Analysis of Theme: http://www.teachingcollegeenglish.com/2007/08/10/how-to-write-an-analysis-of-theme/. For this assignment, I am only interested in your interpretations of and observations about the texts, so researched sources may not be used for this exam. Students who use outside sources, whether primary or secondary, will receive a failing grade on the exam. Although you are not allowed to use sources other than the assigned reading, you must use correctly-formatted parenthetical (in-text) citations in the body of your essay and create a correctly-formatted Works Cited page listing the assigned reading. The examination should be prepared in Word and formatted using MLA style [7th edition]. A significant number of points will be deducted from essays that do not display 7th edition MLA style correctly. This assignment must be submitted in the dropbox in Desire2Learn. Exams will not be accepted by email.

All essays, essay exams, and the final comprehensive exam in English 240 will be submitted to Turnitin. Turnitin is an online plagiarism detection service. In accordance with PSC standard for academic honesty, students who plagiarize on an assignment will receive a failing grade on that assignment. More than one instance of plagiarism will result in a failing grade for the course. If you are confused about this policy, ask your professors for help. In accordance with the late policy, you may submit this assignment up to one week late, but late submissions will be subject to an 11 percent grade deduction penalty.