Twain and Sapolsky

prompts to write an essay. Both Twain and Sapolsky compare human behavior to that of other animals in various situations in order to puncture some illusions the human species has about itself. Twain intends to “provide an ironic commentary on the interpretation of Darwin’s thesis that places humans at the apex of all other species” (345). Sapolsky’s intent is to demonstrate that humans still do not know much about how even the smallest “bug” can control behavior. Compare Twain’s experiments in “The Lowest Animal” to Sapolsky’s discoveries in “Bugs in the Brain” in order to determine which one makes the stronger case for the premise that humans are neither the most evolved nor the cleverest species. Remember the structure for essays in this class. Begin with an intro paragraph that is a summary of the two essays, and the last sentence of that paragraph is your thesis statement. There are no citations or analysis in the intro, just a summary of the important details in the essay. A thesis is an arguable premise, so there is no right answer, only what you can prove. This is a comparison/contrast essay, so a possible thesis might state that Twain makes the stronger case because he————-while Sapolsky instead ————–.  You fill in the blanks. Your comparison/contrast reasons must be directly stated in your thesis.  Please do not write there are some similarities and differences in the two essays because that is NOT a thesis   Both Twain and Sapolsky exhibit a mocking tone in discussing human illusions about the superiority of our species. Explain how the tone in each essay supports the particular view point of each author. The fact that Twain is a novelist and satirist while Sapolsky is a scientist and professor probably inform each author’s perspective. For example, a possible thesis might state that Twain’s experiments are informed by———-while Sapolsky’s discoveries stem from ———–.  You fill in the blanks   Please observe MLA standard essay format: Papers must be typed and double-spaced. Use one-inch margins, and no larger than a 12 font. Use black ink and Arial or Times New Roman.   Requirements for a passing grade include: You need 6 or more paragraphs in this essay, an into, a conclusion and 4 or more body paragraphs            You need two or more direct quotes in each body paragraph You need eight or more sentences in each body paragraph You need three or more complete pages of text You need MLA in-text citations You need one Works Cited page containing five or more entries.  You need attention to correct grammar and sentence structure