This is a Critical Analysis Essay of Jeff Fords “Blood Drive” (attached)
Must be run through turnitin.com
When writing critical analysis of a work of art (in this case, Jeff Ford’s short story), be sure to do the following:
1. Be clear about your thesis/focus. By the end of your essay, your reader should be able to state, without much confusion, the main thing you’re trying to say about the character from Jeff Ford’s short story
2. Whenever you quote a passage from the work, analyze it with your own commentary. In particular, be clear about the relevance of the passage to the argument you’re making about the work
3. Be clear about your audience. In this case, assume your readers are familiar with the short story at hand, and write your draft with that assumption in mind
4. Each time you make an assertion about the significance or importance of something about your chosen character from the story, provide support by including specific evidence (a direct quotation) from the work itself
5. Give your essay an original title – and there’s no need to underline or put direct quotation marks around it
6. Include the author’s name and the work’s title early – most often in the introduction — of your analysis
7. Use quotation marks to indicate the title of a short story, poem or song, and underline or italicize the title of a book or movie
8. Add a lead-in to any directly quoted material to avoid the dreaded “exorcist” or “dropped bomb” quotation
9. Use direct quotation marks to indicate any borrowed language
10. Avoid direct quotations of long passages (or full stanzas); instead, provide analysis of shorter segments – words and lines…or use an ellipsis to indicate any omitted original text from the beginning, middle or end of your direct quotation. Use a blocked quotation technique for any directly quoted material that is longer than three lines
11. Provide follow-up analysis after, as well as before, any directly quoted material
12. Use present verb tense
13. Correct your mechanics! Proofread for sentence, punctuation, spelling, homonym, and capitalization correctness
14. Your final essay should be at 3-4, 12-point font pages in length
Does the essay have a thesis about the chosen character and what is the thesis?
Is the thesis supported by specific evidence from the text/story? What are the best specific parts?
Does the paper include analysis of each bit of evidence? What are the best parts of analysis?
Are there lead-ins for all direct quotations?
Is the essay well organized, both within and between paragraphs?
Is the title a reader-grabber?
Does the introduction capture your interest/make you want to read the essay?
Is the conclusion proportional to the rest of the essay?
Does the conclusion summarize your peer’s analysis of the character?
Does the conclusion provide a new twist/leave you thinking?