Sample Assignment: Paper #3 – Comparison

For your final paper you will compare and contrast the coming-of-age of two different characters.  Choosing one text from the first half of the semester (Donald Duk, Eating Chinese Food Naked, or All I Asking for Is My Body) and one text from the second half of the semester (Comfort Woman or Mona in the Promised Land) develop an argument/thesis around the topic of coming-of-age.

Your paper should be 7-8 pages in length, which means you need to have text that extends to page 7 at least half-down the length of the page. Papers that end less than half-way on page 7 will be considered incomplete of the length requirement.

Guidelines for Writing Papers—Please make sure that your paper contains the following:

  1. A title—it doesn’t have to be witty but please think of something more descriptive than “Paper #3.”
  2. A coversheet with your name, the class name, date, instructor’s name, and title of your paper
  3. Page Numbers—please paginate!
  4. Works Cited—although you will use only one reference, it is always best to include a Works Cited page at the end of your paper.  Please go to the reserve room to see a sample research paper with proper works cited page.
  5. No spelling errors—PROOFREAD!
  6. Correct MLA formatting—this means that long quotations should be blocked properly, kept as double-spaced; again, for an example of proper MLA formatting, see the sample research paper on reserve.
  7. No more than 2 long block quotations.  Learn to paraphrase or shorten your block quotations—these should be used sparingly and not as filler for your papers.
  8. Stapled or firmly held together with a paper/binder clip. 
  9. 1 inch margins on all 4 sides with 12 point font used; do not resort to using very large 14 point font to fill your paper. 

Due Dates:

Introduction and Argument – Tuesday, April 30

Peer Editing Draft – Tuesday, May 7

Final Paper Due:  Wednesday, May 15

 [NOTE:  All papers and drafts are due by 11am, first thing in the morning.  Late papers will be graded accordingly.]

Please see me in office hours or by appointment to help you get started on your paper and to make sure that you have a workable thesis for this paper.  There will also be sample papers on reserve if you would like to see a model.  Good Luck!