COMPARISON CONTRAST ESSAY GUIDELINES

(10 percent of grade)

Resource list due  ____________ (Typed, hard copy in class)

Rough draft due ____________ (Submit to TurnItIn.com)

Final draft due ____________ (Paper copy in class)

The Assignment

Pick two items of visual media you would like to compare/contrast.  These could be items, such as sculpture, paintings, ads, or architecture.  In your compare/contrast essay, explore what the images or structures convey, in terms of meaning, values, and ideas.  You may evaluate the strengths and/or weaknesses of the two items.  Research the items you have chosen.  Write an essay comparing and/or contrasting these two items, detail for detail.  Utilize either the point-by-point or subject-by-subject, or a combination of both forms of comparison/contrast for your paper.

· The essay should be 500-800 words.

· Write in full sentences.

· Put a Works Cited page at the end of your essay as a separate but numbered page.  Use MLA format for the page and citations listed (example Works Cited are in your MPY handbook).  Be sure to alphabetize citations. Use only three internet resources and no encyclopedias.

Format Guidelines

· Essays will be typed, and in 12-point Times New Roman or Courier font.

· The left margin should be 1 ½ inches.  All other borders/margins should be 1 inch.

· Double space the essay.  (Don’t worry about how many pages your essay becomes.)

· Headers should appear as those shown for the MLA example paper that begins on page in your MPY handbook.    It is okay to single space name, instructor, etc.,…

· Be sure to include your surname in the pagination header.  Pagination header should be ½ inch from the top of paper and 1 inch from the right edge (flush with the right margin).

· Give your essay a meaningful title. Center the title above each essay and

Put It In Title Case

The Resource List

The Resource List is simply a list of the places you looked for information on your topic. Type the list. Format it as if it were the Works Cited page of your paper. It will become the Works Cited page for the final draft of your paper and you will add or subtract citations, depending on what you finally decide to cite in your essay.

Grades

Essays will be graded for coherence, grammar, punctuation, spelling, MLA formatting, and overall writing quality.  Addressing the reader as “you,” using contractions outside of citations/quotes, and/or using conjunctions to begin sentences will earn an “F” for the essay.  Failure to use MLA formatting and include a Works Cited page will result in a "0." Rewrites of “F” papers will only be able to achieve a final grade of “C” for the essay.  See the rubric for guidance and to keep in mind other errors to avoid.