English 1

Essay #1: Comparison/Contrast of the story and film version of “The Birds”

For your first essay, you will write an essay of at least 300 words comparing and contrasting Daphne duMaurier’s short story “The Birds” (published in 1952) and Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 film of the same name.

Your essay will include an introduction in which you mention the important information about both of the works (author, title, date), a brief statement about the story, and your thesis statement. Your thesis statement will be something like “Although duMaurier’s story and Hitchcock’s film portray the same major conflict and theme, the other major story elements are very different.

You will be expected to include a discussion of at least two similarities and two differences with support from the text/film for each. Following the comparison and contrast paragraphs, you will include a paragraph in which you evaluate which version you think is most effective and why. You may discuss why you think Hitchcock made so many changes to the original story. You will end the essay with a conclusion in which you summarize your points and restate your thesis.

You will need to write using well-structured sentences. Since this is a compare/contrast essay, you will need to use transitional words and phrases, such as “although,” “whereas,” and “however” to show the relationship between ideas.

The essay must be typed, using MLA format. You will receive a handout explaining how to set up a paper in MLA. Basically, you need one-inch margins, double-spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, a header with your last name and the page number, and a heading with your full name, my name, the class name, and the date.

We will do pre-writing activities in class, so you will need to pay close attention so that you will know what ideas to include in the essay. You should think in terms of plot, character, conflict, theme, setting, and use of foreshadowing.

DUE DATE: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27TH.

Compare and Contrast Essay: Short Story and Movie

I. IntroductionA. Begin with a “hook,” or attention getter. This may be a general statement about people’s fear of birds or

nature or about the disappointment a person may feel when he/she reads a story or book and then sees the movie version.

B. Connect your “hook” to what we read and saw in class. Identify both works (title, author/director, date); give brief, all inclusive background without the details.

C. Thesis statement – Make a statement that tells that the two works have both similarities and differences to let the reader know you will be discussing both (compare/contrast). Do not explain these similarities and differences in the introduction.

Body Organization: Point by Point

II. Similarities (May be 1 or 2 paragraphs)A. Topic sentenceB. Point of similarity

1. Supporting evidence from movie and book2. Transition to next point

C. Point of similarity1. Supporting evidence from movie and book2. Transition to next paragraph

III. Differences (May be 1 or 2 paragraphs)A. Topic sentenceB. Point of similarity

1. Supporting evidence from movie and book2. Transition to next point

C. Point of similarity1. Supporting evidence from movie and book2. Transition to next paragraph

IV. Evaluation

V. ConclusionA. Close your essayB. Restate your thesis (but use different words!)

TRANSITIONSTo Compare To Contrastalso althoughby comparison in contrastin addition to whereaslikewise on the other handsimilarly unlikejust as yet

howevernevertheless