AP Literature
Grissom
Evaluative Essay
(You’re finally ready to place judgment ☺)
For your independent reading book, choose a book that is NOT what the critics would consider great literature OR a book that some
would consider merely more of the formula fiction that fills the
libraries of the literary inferior while others would place it in the
upper echelon of fiction, even labeling it serious literature. I think
it’s probably safe to say that whatever novel you chose won't hold par with Faulkner or Shakespeare, but “literary greatness” is a sort of continuum. Your assignment is to place your novel on that continuum and argue your case for that placement.
Your argument: Your “questionable” book’s literary merit--Great or not? How great or crappy?
Your challenge: You must establish your own credibility. Why should anyone care
whether you think this novel is great or not? What standards do you use?
What experience do you have that would make anyone take your opinion of
this book seriously?
Your support: Nabokov’s standards of great writers
Calvino’s characteristics of classic literature
Comparison of this novel to clearly established “greats”
Textual evidence from the novel
Other decisions: Will you use compare/contrast? Definition? Research?
How will you provide evidence for every part of your argument?
How will you create style and voice in this essay?
It HAS to be fun to read! Your audience is regular people who are wanting to read serious literature and want to know whether your book is worth their time. Make sure they actually want to read your argument--by the way, it IS an argument. Also, make sure I want to read it. I'm pretty jaded and tired of papers right now...so make it fun for me too.
KEEP
IN MIND THAT THE DECISIONS YOU MAKE SHOULD ALL BE MADE TO STRENGTHEN
YOUR ARGUMENT, TO APPEAL TO YOUR AUDIENCE, TO COMMUNICATE YOUR THESIS
MOST EFFECTIVELY. THEREFORE, CHOOSE WISELY!
Be
specific, be concise, and use everything we’ve discussed this year
about good writing, good analysis, good reading, and good literature.
Your length: Long enough. Long enough to effectively establish your credibility and argue your
thesis. Long enough to persuade me that you know something about all of this
literature and greatness. =) AND short enough that your audience will read it.
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