Comparative essay ENC1102 writing assignment

- Compare between the two stories "The Finger" and "The Dead Men's Path", you have to follow the outline. (MLA STYLE)

- Five paragraph essay: (introduction, 3 body paragraph, and conclusion)

• Intro paragraph:
  
  
  
  • Your intro paragraph should have a summary of the main story you will be analyzing.
  
  
  • Your intro paragraph should end with your thesis.
  
  
  
  


• 3 Body Paragraphs: Each paragraph need to have 
  
  
  
  • Topic sentence: The topic sentence is the first sentence in your paragraph. It should connect back to your thesis. You can use the topic sentence you wrote for the paragraph in your essay outline.
  
  
  • Citations: Each of your body paragraphs should have at least two citations pulled from a primary text (the story we read in class) or a secondary text (the online articles you found for your annotated bib). The primary text and secondary text are sources. You need to have at least 2 sources for your paper, but you can use the sources as much or as little as you like.
  
  
  • Analysis: You should analyze each citation to explain how the citation supports the argument you are making.
  
  
  • Restate Topic Sentence: You should end each body paragraph by restating your topic sentence. This will remind the reader about the main idea of the paragraph.
  
  
  
  

-Conclusion 

-Works Cited Page (MLA STYLE)

*Here is the Outline* 

  The Consequences of Bad Decisions

Paragraph I: Intro Paragraph: Summary of Stories + Thesis.

Thesis: In both “Dead Men’s Path” and “The Finger”, the authors emphasize the consequences following the main character’s selfish decision regarding superficial desires.

Paragraph 2: In “Dead Men’s Path”, thanks to the ambitious of power that the headmaster develops in the village, his selfish decisions led him to a downfall in his career. 

· “This path was here before you were born and before your father was born. The whole village depends on it…” (Achabe 12).

· That day, the white Supervisor came to inspect the school and wrote a nasty report on the state of the premises but more seriously about the "tribal­ war sit­uation developing between the school and the village, arising in part from the misguided zeal of the new headmaster."  (Achabe 12).

Paragraph 3: In “The Finger”, the narcissistic actions that the main character made, led him to a brutal and terrible death.

· “Dread Lanfe angrily cut off the appendage with the knife that had already cut so many” (Victor 45).

· “He dropped the gun in an attempt to snatch the finger from his chest, he tried to shout dying without even realizing” (Victor 47). 

Paragraph 4: The main characters from “Dead Men’s Path” and “The Finger” share a similar ending: the boomerang effect, the terrible consequences of their selfish and ambitious actions lead them to a bad end because when you do something bad, anticipate the same answer like a boomerang.  

· “Obi woke up next morning among the ruins of his work. The beautiful hedges were torn up not just near the path but right round the school…” (Achabe 12).

·  “Studies about the boomerang effect allows us to understand the behavior of the societies” (Zanine).

· “Dread Lanfe tried to shout, he died without even realizing it” (Victor 48).

Paragraph 5: Conclusion. 

In the files, you are going to find the two stories, an example of a comparative essay and how it should look, and again the outline.