Assignment Prompt: Your challenge is to write an essay that combines two related arguments: One: An interpretive argument about a point the novel Never Let Me Go seems to make about some narrower idea within one of the following larger themes: Knowledge, identity, being human, acceptance, reform, memory, coping, caring, loss, or education. The job in this part is to connect the “surfaces” you see in the novel to a “depth” that involves a narrower idea within one of the themes in that list of categories. You can use themes that seem to fit in more than one category if they’re related and help you follow your idea, but you should have one primary theme to follow. For example, if you were to choose “being human” (which is a massive galaxy of stuff!), you might ask within that what the novel might be saying about “dealing with social conflict,” which is a much smaller part of being human. By itself that’s fine, but it’s also fine if along the way you want to touch on something that seems closer to identity, education, or another, to help out a supporting point or two.

Two: Your own opinion regarding the same theme, idea, or message your analytical interpretation explores. You are not required to agree or disagree with the novel’s argument, but you should seek to express your own ideas about the same idea, theme, or message. Because of the “complexity” criteria for literary analytical claims that we’ve already encountered, it may be more complicated than simply agreeing or disagreeing. Note on Organization: The two related arguments above do not necessarily need to be contained in separate sections, but their existence does need to be clear and obvious. The most successful essays will find a way to combine these two arguments in a way that transitions clearly between them and puts ideas and evidence in dialogue with each other. That means essays can be organized in whatever way you think will most clearly and logically support your ideas and help your readers easily follow your train of thought.

You will need to provide summary and examples from the story and key scenes to elaborate and develop your exploration, but you should NOT over-summarize the novel’s plot. This means you have to find a balance between the details you provide to ensure that summary does not interfere with your analysis (which is one of the skills that goes along with effective source use). Readers are more interested in your ideas than in reading a summary of the novel, so to err on the side of caution, give us just enough of the novel to help us understand your points. Essay Requirements: What do I need to do to make my essay successful?

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