Sofia Petrovna

 Instructions: Papers should be “idea-driven,” not just a summary of the plot. You’re making your own argument about the material/subject at hand. First paragraph should state clearly the question or problem your essay explores, and should at least hint at the conclusion you reach. A crisp thesis statement is desirable. Good introductions may also employ a zinger quote, a provocative observation, a series of rhetorical questions, or a shocking statistic. Explain and analyze. There is room for opinion and speculation in your paper, but do not confuse it with evidence or argument. Stay focused. Don’t meander into some historical or theoretical backwater irrelevant to your argument. Topic: Explore the social psychology of Stalin’s purges as seen in Sofia Petrovna. What prompts denunciations? How would the state identify conspiracies? Would it have been possible to murder millions of people without mass participation, the uses of snitches, personal vendettas, etc.? Work closely with the text. Or: Write about the emergence of Sofia Petrovna’s political consciousness.