In all papers after the first one, your paragraphs should always support the central idea. Your statement of the central idea is the thesis sentence for your paper and everything in the paper should relate back to it.
It is a general convention to use the present tense when writing about literature. Write all of these papers in present tense. "The author writes…," not "The author wrote…."
Paper 1—Write a paragraph of at least 100 words summarizing and giving the central idea of a short story. Give the paper a title that is not the title of the story you are writing about. Mention the title and author of the story you are writing about in the first sentence of your paragraph. Write 4-6 sentences summarizing the main events of the story and finish with a statement of the central idea.
Paper 2—Write an essay of at least 200 words including the first paragraph as in Paper 1 and another paragraph discussing the character development in a short story. Describe the character traits of the main character and tell whether the character is static or dynamic, explaining how or why a change does or does not take place.
Paper 3—Write an essay of at least 300 words including the first two paragraphs above and another paragraph discussing the conflict in a short story. Realize that most stories have more than one conflict, usually both internal and external conflicts. Discuss the main conflict, telling whether it is internal or external, and mention any other conflicts that seem to be present.
Paper 4—Write an essay of at least 400 words including the three paragraphs above and another paragraph discussing the point of view of a short story. Name the point of view and discuss how the point of view contributes to the story.
Paper 5—Write an essay of at least 500 words discussing all of the elements of the short story already discussed plus setting. You do not have to stay with the "one paragraph on each element" structure that we have used before, but you may if you prefer. Describe the setting for the story as specifically as it is given, and explain how that setting supports the story and leads to the central idea.
Paper 6—Write an essay of at least 600 words primarily discussing the use of language in a short story. Mention the other elements we have discussed, but you may or may not stay with the "one paragraph on each element" structure. Discuss as many of the language structures that we define in class that you can find in the short story you have chosen, but make sure to explain the importance of that element to the meaning of the short story. Don't just make this a list of metaphors or similes.
Paper 7—Write an essay of at least 700 words discussing all of the elements previously mentioned and the element of tone. Describing the tone often involves explaining how the different elements contribute to the tone of the story, so this makes a good paragraph for a conclusion. Make sure your conclusion relates back to the central idea.