Students must complete and submit a literary analysis paper as their final project.

For the paper, students will imagine that the Literature Department at SNHU is creating a

journal of critical literary studies. The editors of the journal have issued a call for papers for a

special issue on contemporary and popular fiction. Specifically, the editors are looking for

critical essays that compare and contrast a theme that reflects trends in contemporary

literature and the connection to the commercial success of those works. Contributors are

encouraged to consider the question of why certain books become popular. Why do these

works resonate with so many people? Is the commercial success of these works connected to

concerns or issues in our everyday lives? Are their themes universal and/or complex? Or, do

they focus on themes or events of particular concern within our current society?

Students will prepare a 5–7 page submission to this journal. Their essay should provide a

literary analysis of two selected popular works of contemporary fiction, which they have read in

this course. They will select 1–2 literary devices (symbol, metaphor, imagery, etc.) to illustrate

that theme in both novels, with the goal of creating a thesis that makes a claim about their

chosen theme and literary device. To help students reach the course outcomes and goals of the

class, the final paper assignment is divided into two milestones submitted at various points

throughout the course. This is an opportunity to provide students with feedback on different

sections of their final paper.

A final project document is posted in the Assignment Guidelines and Rubrics topic in the Start

Here area of your course and is named Final Project Guidelines and Rubric. You must complete

the following steps to prepare students for this project and to best facilitate this activity:

1. Create an announcement that reviews the project and includes a link to the document.
2. Use the Final Project Rubric to grade this assignment.
3. Return graded assignments to students in a timely manner.