What does it mean to be an American? Our course has covered a wide variety of texts from a number of different periods of American Literature. Each author has articulated different and at times competing definitions of America and what it means to be an American. America is a very broad topic indeed, so you should approach the subject from whatever angle you wish. You may be more interested in studying a theme that does not have much to do with the topic of America at all. Whatever topic or theme you choose, be sure to make a conscious effort to connect your topic or theme to the more general question: What is America (or what is an American)? Choose two authors or texts from any part of our syllabus to compare and contrast, unless you want to write on longer works like Nature or The Scarlet Letter, in which case you may write on only one author or text if you wish. My advice: pick the one or two authors or texts that you are most interested in and feel that you can do the best job in commenting upon. Draft a list of themes or topics that the text or author raises, and then find some commonalities or contrasts between them. Remember: taking note of differences is as important as stressing similarities.