Essay

Length: 1,000 words

Due: Friday Feb 20, 2026

Assignment Description:

For this essay you will be limited to the following texts:

• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
• Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
• Dracula

Pick one of these texts and write a 1,000 word essay that connects to any of the following themes or concepts:

• Hybridity
• Colonialism / Imperialism
• Purity
• Xenophobia / communal identity
• Gender / Sex as they relate to power
• Corporeality ie. symbolism and metaphors relating to the body
• Legitimizing violence
• Monstrosity
• Folklore / superstition
• Topic of your choice. Ask me in advance.

Your goal should not be to write an essay that simply identifies or explains the theme in the text. Instead, use the theme as a starting point for a specific, debatable and nuanced argument about that text. There must be something meaningful something that changes how we understand the text to your argument. Do not use secondary sources for this paper.

How does Matt grade papers?

The most important element of your paper is your argument. Without an argument, youre not going to do well. But even having an argument isnt enough to get a high grade. Strong papers take an original and interesting position on the text. They require in-depth, persuasive analysis of textual evidence in order to be successful. A strong and original argument separates an average, and even slightly above average (B- or B), from a higher graded paper even though they technically follow all the same steps.

All that said, heres a more detailed list of what I look at as Im reading your paper:

Format: Did you format your paper according to MLA style?

Introduction: Does it successfully introduce the topic? Does it logically lead towards a thesis statement? Is that thesis statement at the end of the introduction?

Thesis: Does it make a debatable and thought-provoking claim that is specific and clear? Does it give a bit of a roadmap about how the paper will explain, prove, or validate the argument? Is it original and complex? Is it contained within a sentence or two at most?

Body paragraphs: Does it open with a topic sentence / claim that relates back to the thesis? Does it introduce evidence? Is the evidence a quotation (or quotations) from the text? Is there careful and deep analysis of the evidence? Does the analysis reveal a new perspective (something your peers would not have noticed)?

Conclusion: Does it reassert the argument? Is it logical that weve reached this conclusion?

Works Cited: Is there a works cited? Is it formatted correctly? Did they use MLA to cite throughout the text?

Overall: I will pay particular attention to quotation analysis and body paragraphs. Follow MLA style guidelines to format your paper. Remember to include a works cited page.