Overview: The first writing exercise gave you practice with narrative analysis, the process by which we determine what a story means by examining its essential elements: characters, plot, themes, etc. For the first essay, you’ll do the same thing, but in much greater detail.

Assignment: The subject of this essay is George Saunders’ short story Pastoralia. After reading it at least twice, you’ll produce an interpretation of about 1200 words. Your job is to explain the story’s message—that is, what it teaches us about life, people, society, or anything else. To do that persuasively, you’ll need to support your claims with well-chosen details and quotations from the story itself, and you’ll need to present all of that information with clarity and precision.

The goal is to produce a coherent essay that can be understood even by someone who hasn’t read the story.

Be sure to follow the writing process, formulating a specific thesis statement and outlining your argument before moving on to drafting, revising, and editing.

Criteria: Your essay should—

• Establish a clear, thoughtful thesis statement about the story’s message
• Support all claims with relevant textual details (i.e., quotations and paraphrases)
• Integrate quotations and paraphrases smoothly and comprehensibly
• Include both in-text citations and a Works Cited page
• Consist of well-structured paragraphs, each with a clear central idea
• Include an effective introduction, conclusion, and title
• Be largely free of major grammatical and usage errors

 Value: 100 points

• Content (70 points)
• Usage (30 points)

Format: 12 pt. font, double-spaced, standard margins