Compare any poem we’ve read, or one of your own choosing (NOT song lyrics), with Wordsworth’s “Preface.”  and… Be sure to include the following information: Describe the main points in Wordsworth’s theory. Determine the relevance of Wordsworth’s theory to the poem you’ve selected or written. Support your position using direct references to the poem and “Preface.” Your essay must include: a clear thesis that states the relationship between the poem and Wordsworth’s theory at least 3 body paragraphs with… topic sentences and transition words/phrases that refer back to the thesis parenthetical citations a conclusion that restates the thesis a Works Cited page If you select a poem other than those from the class, include a copy of the complete poem. So the first sentence: “Compare any poem we’ve read, or one of your own choosing (NOT song lyrics), with Wordsworth’s “Preface.” tells me I’m basically writing the same sort of comparison/contrast essay I wrote for Aristotle using a poem and Wordsworth’s “Preface.” If I don’t like any of the poems presented in class, I can choose one I do like. I cannot choose to write about song lyrics as poetry. Bummer. My thesis statement will say that the poem either does or doesn’t follow Wordsworth’s theory (or maybe does in some ways and doesn’t in others) and how it does that. The instructions on what my essay should contain give me what I need to complete the essay: “Describe the main points in Wordsworth’s theory.” I understood all the key terms in Item 6 – “Preface” to Lyrical Ballads (especially the ones in Paragraph 5) and can compare them to the poem I select. “Determine the relevance of Wordsworth’s theory to the poem you’ve selected or written.” I’ll look at the language, subject matter, metaphor, abstractions, and meter for clues first. I could look up the poet’s bio to see if there’s any information about their own poetic theory (I’ll remember to include any books or sites I use in my Works Cited list). “Support your position using direct references to the poem and ‘Preface.’” I’ll check how to cite poetry  (Links to an external site.)  and lecture material  (Links to an external site.) . Other things to make sure I include are… “a clear thesis that states the relationship between the poem and Wordsworth’s theory” That will be an explanatory comparison/contrast thesis  (Links to an external site.) . A strong thesis is pretty much already an outline, so I can save some time by not having to do so much prewriting. I’m going to take the rest of the bullets as a chunk: “at least 3 body paragraphs with…” Counting the introduction and conclusion, this will be a 5-paragraph essay. I’ll use the order of reasons in my thesis to develop these. I might organize it by how closely the poem I choose matches Wordsworth from least alike to most, or similar first then different, but I’ll decide that in my revision process. “topic sentences and transition words/phrases that refer back to the thesis” The first sentence of each paragraph should contain key words from my thesis along with a word or phrase (transition) that tells the reader where they are in my argument (first, still, most importantly). It should also signal whether I’m comparing or contrasting. “parenthetical citations” These are in-text citations that send the reader directly to the phrases I’m quoting. Again, I’ll figure this out by looking at how to cite poetry  (Links to an external site.)  and lecture material  (Links to an external site.) . “a conclusion that restates the thesis” I can just write my thesis backward. “a Works Cited page” There’s plenty about that on the OWL  (Links to an external site.