1.topic: ugliness (possible ideas: varying cultural standards of beauty/ugliness; the relationship between ugliness/monstrosity and morality; the effect of beauty standards on gender roles)
2. use these these books: George MacDonald, The Princess and the Goblin, “Cinderella: Or the Glass Slipper” – Charles Perrault, “Beauty and the Beast” – Madame Leprince de Beaumont
(You may choose to focus your argument solely on a single tale (in one or more versions), or you may want to make an argument about the fairy-tale genre as a whole, in which case you would use multiple tales to prove your point. ie the tales are in the same book so u can use one or both to prove points)
3. Consider your topic in relation to the two books you have chosen and ask yourself: “So what?” The topics guide your attention to a concrete aspect of the story (an element of character, plot, or setting); it’s your job to analyze why that topic is meaningful. Often, answering the “So what?” question will mean linking the topic to a more abstract issue such as gender roles, social class, the nature of goodness and evil, the discovery of identity, child-adult relations, or some other issue that allows you to analyze the significance of the topic you have chosen. Do not attempt to cover ALL these ideas – find a specific issue that allows you to develop a strong, focused argument.
4.Develop a specific, controversial thesis comparing the two texts you have chosen. Your thesis may focus on a common idea shared by the two texts OR it may focus on a fundamental contrast of ideology. Develop supporting arguments that allow you to compare the two texts side by side in each part of the essay. Do not devote the first half of the essay to one text and the second half to the other – go back and forth between the two texts, comparing them directly. Remember that your purpose is not to demonstrate how similar/different the two texts are in terms of plot or setting; rather, it is to compare the underlying ideas within them, assessing whether they agree or disagree with one another in what they are saying about an issue.
5. Examine your texts carefully for details and quotations that you can use in your essay. People often underestimate how much textual evidence to include in an English essay; a strong essay will be one that pays close attention to apparently small details that readers familiar with the texts may not have noticed. Your quotations should not simply remind your reader of major plot elements, but should instead call your reader’s attention to the specifics of imagery and word choice. Be sure to introduce each quotation, briefly indicating its context, and comment on how it supports your thesis. You cannot do well on an English essay without including ample textual evidence, including direct quotations from the texts you’re analyzing.
you can go above or below that number by 10%. In this case, your essay should fall somewhere between 1800 and 2200 words.