You will write a 4- to 5-page research paper (not 3 ½ pages) for which you will offer a rhetorical analysis of Jon Krakauers Into the Wild. Provide a well-organized and developed explanation of your claims and ideas. Your paper should have an introduction that orients your reader in regard to the book and your topic, a thesis that makes a specific claim you intend to prove and develop, topic sentences that articulate claims in the form of sub-points related to your overall thesis, evidence from the text (cited directly) to support each of your claims along with sufficient analysis, and a conclusion. You will need to cite passages from the text and your sources using correct MLA format to support your assertions. You must include a separate works cited page that includes an entry for the book and one entry for every outside source you use. Follow the exact paper formatting guidelines provided for you in the course syllabus and be certain to carefully review the Element
s of Effective Papers document, the MLA document, and the Paper Review Checklist posted to Blackboard. You must submit your paper to the Electronic Portfolio by no later than 5:59 a.m. on Saturday 5/21.
Further Directions: The main objective of your essay is to offer an analysis of how Jon Krakauer uses different techniques to tell the story of Christopher McCandless. That is, Krakauer makes conscious artistic choices that directly affect how he portrays McCandlesss life and death, and although you cannot make assumptions about reader reception or experience, you can argue about the choices Krakauer makes and their effects.
For this assignment, you must also link Krakauers techniques to an idea or theme. (Make this idea or theme a central part of your thesis statement.) For instance, lets say you write about how Krakauer depicts nature. Then you must examine how Krakauer presents different facets of it or concepts about it using one or more techniques or approaches.