E11H: The Metamorphosis Essay Feedback 2016

The Prompt  Choose an implausible or strikingly unrealistic incident or character in a work of fiction or drama of recognized literary merit. Write an essay that explains how the incident or character is related to the more realistic or plausible elements in the rest of the work. Avoid plot summary.

Paraphrasing the Prompt  Choose one “implausible or strikingly unrealistic” event or character  Explain how the event or character is related to the more realistic elements within the work

Addressing the Prompt  It should have been obvious that Gregor and/or his transformation should have been the focus of your paper  You should then have explained the relationship between his character or transformation and the more plausible elements in the novella  A question worth answering was: “Why did Kafka include this implausible metamorphosis in his novella? What message was he trying to convey?”

Depth  Although commenting on Gregor’s role within his family and workplace made for a good start to your analysis, you should have strove for greater depth  Stronger essays commented on the author’s theme or purpose as they tied directly to the transformation

Common Errors  Poor Writing (issues with clarity and syntax; commentary sometimes failed to make sense)  Misinterpreting the Prompt (students failed to draw a logical and coherent connection between Gregor’s transformation and realistic elements in the novel)  Lack of Depth (many papers were stuck on analyzing only plot and character)

Sample Thesis  Although Gregor’s metamorphosis into a cockroach is surprisingly unrealisitic, Kafka connects it to Gregor’s attitude toward his work and home life in order to comment on society’s expectations of the working man.

Score Descriptors  9-8 (100-97%): Wow!  7-6 (92-87%): Nicely done! Exceeds expectations  5 (77%): Satisfactory, albeit superficial and likely predictable, response to the prompt  4 (70%): Almost! One major error makes the paper less than satisfactory  3 (65%): Multiple errors make the paper unsatisfactory  2 (60%): Off-topic or essentially off-topic (in other words, I can’t tell whether or not the student understood the prompt)

Scoring  Class Average (72%)  7: 2  6: 2  5: 4  4: 9  3: 4  2: 4