EAC273: Children’s Literature
Major Paper
(Value: 25%)
You are to write a literary analysis of 1500 words (not more or less). Pay careful attention to the Submission Requirements. They are mandatory elements and you are expected to follow them.
Essay Topic
In a comparative study, examine how ONE theme in The Paper Bag Princess and Dreamers is developed using TWO illustrative elements (i.e., colour, shape, perspective, composition, layout, etc.).
You must provide images in your essay and cite your sources in MLA style in both the essay and a works cited section to receive a passing grade.
ESSAY NOTES
This question asks you to comparatively examine how illustrative elements (and not illustrations) in both picture books help impact your understanding of one theme.
You should:
- Identify one thematic concern.
Choose ONE umbrella theme to be examined in both books.
Do not use single terms like RESILIENCE, COURAGE, SELF-DISCOVERY, IDENTITY, INDEPENDENCE, SOCIAL EXPECTATIONS, etc., as these are topics, not themes. (These are what Chat GPT will generate.) Essays on these topics will not receive a passing grade. You must develop your topic into a theme.
HOW TO CHOOSE A THEME?
Keep in mind that the theme is the main idea of a book. It cannot be articulated in one word. So, avoid phrases such as “the theme of this book is gender or courage.” Gender and courage are topics, not themes.
To express the theme, one must use details from the narrative to explain what aspects of gender are (re)presented. It is these aspects that will form the basis of various themes.
For a quick review, consider the following topics of Hana’s Suitcase: war, murder and the Holocaust. To speak of these topics as themes, one must look at the narrative details of the biography and ask, “What about war, murder and the Holocaust?” By doing so, we can articulate the following themes: “The horrors of discriminatory and unjust war” and “The subtle psychological effects of war on children.”
- Once you have identified the theme, you must discuss it in relation to TWO illustrative elements (like colour, shape, lines) that enhance the understanding of your chosen theme. Make sure that similar illustrative elements are used in your analysis of both books. This will allow for a good, comparative study. DO NOT SIMPLY DISCUSS ILLUSTRATIONS IN GENERAL. You must explore illustrative elements.
- Provide images for every page you are discussing in your document.
- Do not include subheadings in your essay. This is what ChatGPT generates, and such essays will not be accepted. AI generated answers are similar and easy to spot. Students with similar answers will not do well.
- Do not discuss the theme and the illustrated elements separately. They must be discussed in relation to one another
General submission requirements
| Quotations and Sources | You must use direct primary quotes from the novels/stories to provide evidence for your paper. Essays that have no quotes from primary sources will not earn a passing grade.
No secondary sources are to be used in the paper. You may use only the module content and the assigned course texts in your essay. Cite all sources correctly, using MLA style: Although your picture books are unpaginated, you must provide the page number when referring to an image or quoting from a text. This can be done by counting the pages yourself. Use lower-case roman numerals (i, ii, iii) for any material that appears before the main text. For the main story itself, use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3). So, for example, if you cite a scene from The Paper Bag Princess where Elizabeth is shown wearing a paper bag for the first time, you would state (Munsch 6). Please note that in your Works Cited page, the entry for your picture books should highlight that the book has no pagination. MLA advises the following citation for books with no pagination: N. pag. Example:
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| MLA | All quoting and paraphrasing must be properly referenced using MLA in-text/parenthetical citations.
An accompanying MLA Works Cited page referencing the novels/stories must be included. If you are unfamiliar with MLA style for both referencing and constructing a Works Cited page, you need to look at The MLA Handbook (available in most libraries), or consult at least one of these online resources: Seneca Online Library http://library.senecacollege.ca/Research_Help/Citing_Sources/ Online Writing Lab, Purdue University http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/02/ Using a style other than MLA (e.g., APA) will result in severe penalties in terms of the grading. |
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| Format: | Word length: 1500 words (Do not write less or more).
Word processed, double spaced, and composed in proper sentences and paragraphs. |
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| Save | Save your work with your full name and title of the assignment:
Ex: Jane Willow Essay 2 |
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| Submit | Your file must be submitted by the specified due date(s) using the Digital Dropbox in Blackboard. For help using the
If you need to verify if your work has been submitted correctly, please call the help desk. |
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| Late Papers | You may submit your essays late as long as this is doen before the end of the course. HOWEVER, please note that there will be no personalized comments or remarks on the paper. Only a mark will appear at the end of the essay. You will also not be penalised. | |
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