This assignment focuses on your ability to: learn how to interpret the literary device of
setting and how it affects all of the elements of the story.
The purpose of completing this assignment is: as a student, in your career, and
individual lives, you will often need to look beyond the plot and summary of what you are
reading, and put a different spin on it. An example of this might be interpreting data and the
varying components of how that data was created, as well as what to do with the data as you
move forward.

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Prompt (What are you writing about?):
How does Setting affect/contribute to the plot of your chosen story?
Note: Remember that Setting is not only the place in which a story occurs. It is also mood,
weather, time, and atmosphere. These things drive other parts of the story.
Instructions (how to get it done):
 Read through all of the instructions of this assignment.
 Read all of the unit resources.
 Select one of the short stories to write about.
 Your audience for this essay is people who have read the stories.
 Decide in what three ways the setting contributes to the plot of your chosen story.
 Formulate a thesis about setting and these three areas.
 Your essay prompt is: How does Setting affect/contribute to the plot of your chosen story?
 Your essay will have the following components:
o A title page
o An Introduction
o A thesis at the end of the introduction that clearly states how setting affects the story
o Supporting sections that defend your thesis/focus of the essay
o Text support with properly cited in-text citations
o A concluding paragraph
o A reference page

Requirements:
 Length and format: 2-3 pages.
 The title page and reference page are also required, but they should not be factored into the
2-3 page length of the essay.

 It should also be double spaced, written in Times New Roman, in 12 point font and with 1 inch
margins. Essay should conform to APA formatting and citation style.
 Use the third-person, objective voice, avoiding personal pronouns such as “I,” “you,” “we,” etc.

 Please use the short story sources and any outside sources you need to create a properly-
formatted APA reference page.

 Use APA format for in-text citations and references when using outside sources and textual
evidence.
 Skills to be assessed with this assignment: creating effective thesis statements, incorporating
text, responding to literature.
 Please be cautious about plagiarism. Make sure to use in-text citations for direct quotes,
paraphrases, and new information.
Sources: Choose one of the stories that you read in Unit 2/Setting Unit
 “To Build a Fire” by Jack London
 “The Storm” by Kate Chopin
 “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe