In this task, you will write a critical essay on tolstoy’s the death of ivan ilyich (approximately 900 words). you may have previously drafted a similar, shorter essay in a lesson in this unit. if you have, expand on the shorter essay that you wrote for that lesson by adding critical research and widening its scope. if you did not write a shorter essay, you can start writing from scratch by following the steps included in this task. here are a few ideas for you to consider while writing your essay. you can pick any one of these or choose a topic of your own to build your essay. how does tolstoy employ his characters to draw out the difference between the artificial and authentic life? how does ivan ilyich perspective towards death change over the course of the novel? how does ivan’s suffering affect his attitude towards both life and death? make sure you consult at least one source from your school or local library and at least two credible internet sources, and incorporate the information that you gather into your paper. use information from respected journals or academic or government institutions when looking at online sources to ensure that you’re referring to credible sources. verify if the author that you are quoting is an expert on your chosen subject. ensure that the author has published many articles in reputed journals and other sources. also, ensure that the article you want to reference is well cited and has a bibliography at the end. for more advice, read about finding and evaluating credible resources and citations. also remember to include relevant information from the primary source—leo tolstoy’s the death of ivan ilyich—in your essay as well. you can access the novella by opening up any of the lessons about the the death of ivan ilyich. include at least one counterargument in your paper. a counterargument or counterclaim captures an idea that those with a differing viewpoint might raise against your claims in the essay. by anticipating such counterclaims and offering a rebuttal, you make your own argument stronger. read more about organizing your essay and including counterarguments. ensure that your arguments flow in logical, well-structured paragraphs that reference and directly address counterclaims. after you have finished your essay, create a works cited page that follows the modern language association (mla) style. you can use this resource guide to prepare your works cited page. follow the steps mentioned in the process section below as you work on your essay to see the steps you should follow. process follow the steps below to complete your essay, and use the resources provided to assist with your research and writing. when you have finished your essay, use the drop box to submit it to your teacher. gather sources. before creating your thesis, begin gathering additional sources to build your argument and support your thesis. for each source, consider the following questions: who authored the document? what is the purpose of the document? when was the document written? how will this document your argument? read and evaluate sources. next, examine each source and think about how you will use it to support a thesis. be an active researcher by asking the following questions about each source you reference: what is the credibility of the source? is there any noticeable bias? how does the argument differ from others you have read? what is the value of the source to the topic you are investigating? develop your thesis statement. now that you have analyzed sources to use as evidence, revisit the essay question. then, develop your thesis statement. if you need additional guidance, many writing resources are available to you create a strong thesis statement. form your argument. once you have a clear, strong thesis statement, develop your argument. make a particular effort to match the evidence in your sources to the points in your argument. write your essay. as you write your paper, use quotations from and summaries of your sources to support your argument. be careful to keep the following ideas in mind: to avoid plagiarism, make sure to cite your sources properly with in-text citations as well as a works cited page. when you finish, reread the essay to check for all of the points above, and then proofread it to be sure your work doesn’t contain errors in grammar or spelling. you can also refer to the following resources: understanding the research report beginning a research report constructing a thesis statement steps for writing a quality paper paste a draft of your essay in the space provided.