Length : 500 words MLA FORMAT Texts : Atxaga, “The Rich Merchant's Servant” & Atxaga, “Dayoub, the Rich Merchant's Servant” For this assignment, you will be creating an argument* reflecting on your response to the Bernardo Atxaga stories . To create your argument, identify the main idea of your reflection . You will create a thesis statement that identifies your response and then use specific support from the text/s to make your case. My reflection : After reading Atxaga - "The Rich Merchant's Servant" and "Dayoub, the Rich Merchant's Servant." I noticed the stories have a similar beginning but the perspectives of the story telling are completely different with the same end goal or "ending". In Atxaga "The Rich Merchant's Servant" the story was told in a very descriptive which pulls readers in to want to keep reading. While with "Dayoub, the Rich Merchant's Servant" went into depth about the characters experiences and struggles in the life as a servant. The stories have a similar end goal with trying to communicate the main idea of the stories to the audience with completely different approaches. I think this is great because not everyone has the same learning/reading style but when there is a story like this one that can be told differently it helps get the point across. Both stories had lessons ad details that are important to the main idea. Ultimately, I do believe fate can be reversed or changed. Audience : Assume that your audience is a reader who is familiar with the text , but may need specific details and context clues to help understand your argument . Address this audience with an academic (rather than informal) voice. Thesis : Your thesis should posit a clear argument about your response to the given work . Keep in mind that your argument can be complex. Use of Evidence : This assignment relies heavily on evidence from the text/s . Make sure you clearly identify which text you are discussing. Make sure you identify the author too. When using evidence from the text , be careful to identify characters an d details . You will also need to consider in-text citations for quotes and for paraphrasing of specific details. You can cite either by incorporating the citation into your set up for the quote: In “The Rich Merchant's Servant,” Death says that he was “simply surprised.” Or you can use a parenthetical citation to clarify which story you are quoting: Death says that he was “simply surprised” (Atxaga, “The Rich Merchant's Servant”). If you have already made it clear in the paragraph which story you are using, you don’t need to keep citing. So if you start your paragraph by writing a sentence like the one that follows, you would not need to include that parenthetical citation too – you have already made it clear which story you are using : In “The Rich Merchant's Servant,” emphasizes the truth that death is indeed inevitable. Use at least one direct quote from the texts . Consider providing an explanation of your quote which relates that quote back to your main ideas. Use of MLA : Your assignment should be formatted using MLA style. Your writing should be formal and clear and your assignment should contain few errors. Because you are writing a response, you might use first person I pronouns, but you should likely avoid second person you. Use terminology carefully as well! Remember that the voice should be academic - choose more formal language, avoiding contractions and colloquialisms.