When writing about literature, you follow the same basic conventions required of any expository essay. That is, you
--state a thesis in your introduction
--develop that thesis by giving supporting reasons and evidence in the body of the essay
--conclude with a summary of your main points and a restatement of the thesis
--cite and document any quotes.
There are a few conventions in writing about literature of which you should be aware.
- In the introduction to your essay, mention the title of the work and the author's full name:
In "The Tell-tale Heart," Edgar Allan Poe presents a narrator who is rational but insane. - The title of a story or poem is set off with quotation marks; the title of a play is underlined or italicized:
story: "The Storm"
poem: "Ballad of Birmingham"
play: Proof or Proof
novel: Feast of Love or Feast of Love - The first time you refer to an author, use his or her full name. Thereafter, use only his or her last name:
In "The Yellow Wallpaper," Charlotte Perkins Gilman paints a portrait of a woman who is losing her mind. In order to make the narrator's disorientation more vivid, Gilman tells the story from the first person point of view. - Note that a comma or period is placed inside the quotation marks; a semicolon or colon is placed after the quotation marks:
In "The Storm," Calixta encounters a former lover.
Kate Chopin is making a controversial point in "The Storm."
Kate Chopin has created an ambiguous ending for "The Storm"; this leaves the interpretation of the story up to the reader.
Not many events occur in "The Storm": a thunderstorm, an affair, and a homecoming are the extent of the plot. - Avoid using wordy or grammatically incorrect opening lines:
In Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-tale Heart," he tells a fascinating story.
In this sentence, "he" doesn't refer to anyone; and if you use the author's name, you don't need "he," too. Try it this way:
In "The Tell-tale Heart," Edgar Allan Poe tells a fascinating story.
But there's still a problem: This opening sentence doesn't tell your reader what your essay is about. It's filler, without real content. Get to your point quickly and directly, perhaps like this:
Contrary to popular belief, the narrator in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-tale Heart" is not insane. He is evil. - Unless you have been asked to write a personal essay, avoid using the first person ("I") and the second person ("you") in your essays. Most college essays are supposed to preserve a formal tone, and using "I" and "you" gives the essay too casual a tone. Instead of saying,
I think Poe's narrator is evil, rather than insane, try Poe's narrator is evil, rather than insane. (Note that this makes you sound more authoritative, as well.) And instead of saying If you look closely at Poe's narrator, you will see that he is evil, rather than insane, try A close reading reveals that Poe's narrator is evil, rather than insane.
Your textbook, Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, has chapters containing detailed instructions on how to write about fiction, poetry, and drama. Each section includes examples of rough drafts, revisions, and completed papers. Each section also has a "workbook," in which a specific short story, poem, or play is analyzed by both student and professional writers; student essays and professional articles are included. I strongly recommend that you read these; they will give you a much clearer idea of what is expected of your papers.
For information on using MLA format to cite and document correctly, see Chapter 7 in your text, The Writing Tutorial Services at Indiana University, or The Purdue University Online Writing Lab.
The Research Paper
Your research paper should simply expand on the assigned topic by using researched material from outside sources. So your focus is still going to be analysis of the book, poem, play, or story. If you chose to write on A Streetcar Named Desire, for example, you wouldn't do research on the New Orleans or the origins of jazz; instead, you'd do research on Williams and the play: look up scholarly articles about his work and about this play in literature journals (you can find these in online databases, which you can access from the Harbor College library), books, etc. Look for information about consistent themes, use of symbols, imagery, etc.--anything that will help in your analysis of the play--and use that to support your ideas in your paper.
Topics: You may choose any one of the writing assignments, including Part 1 of the Final Exam, for this project. You may also suggest your own topic, if you find something that interests you (but get my approval on it before you write).
Sources: You must use information from a minimum of 5 outside sources (i.e., sources other than our textbook), and you must use that information to help support your ideas in the essay. Sources such as Wikipedia and SparkNotes are strongly discouraged, since they contain unreliable or elementary information. You can use books, periodicals, and Internet sources, and there are many critical and scholarly sources available to you as well, through various databases. Giving a definition of a single word from the dictionary does NOT count as use of an outside source; the information from outside sources must be used to support and explain your ideas in more detail. You may also use information from outside sources as a contrast to your own ideas, as long as that helps clarify your ideas. For example, you might say, "Lionel Trilling argues that Huck Finn and Jim have a homosexual relationship. (You would quote Trilling here) But the evidence shows that their relationship was more that of a father and son, and was not sexual." (Then go on to give examples and quotes showing that the relationship was parental, rather than sexual.)
As long as you're registered at LA Harbor College, you have access to a number of databases through the Harbor College library. Those databases have tons of articles on all subjects from many periodicals, including professional and scholarly journals. You can access the databases from the following link; from there, just follow the directions to log into the system:
www.lahc.edu/library/databases.html
Format: Use correct MLA format and citation techniques in your essay and your Works Cited list. For more information on how to do this, see your textbook: Chapter 7 gives clear, complete directions about how to document your sources and avoid plagiarism.
Required length: 4-6 pages (1000-1500 words).
NOTE: You don't need to write a separate research paper. Just choose ONE of the regular writing assignments and make it into a research paper. That paper will be graded on a 200 point scale, rather than a 100 point scale.
More detailed directions: Your textbook has several chapters that will help you with your papers.
- Chapter 5, "Writing Literary Arguments," gives you step by step directions about how to write the literary analysis essays we're doing in this class. I STRONGLY recommend that you read it.
- Chapter 6 shows you how to gather research and use it appropriately in your papers. I STRONGLY recommend that you read it.
- Chapter 7 shows you how to cite your sources correctly and how to format the Works Cited page according to MLA requirements. I STRONGLY recommend that you read it and refer to it as necessary when writing your papers.
Please let me know if you have any questions or need help. I'll be happy to read your rough drafts and let you know if you're on the right track.
About Wikipedia
Avoid citing Wikipedia in academic essays. Since it is not edited by reputable experts, it often has errors and isn't reliable. It's okay to use it as a starting point for your own research, but go on and find other sources to verify the information, and cite those in your essay.
And if you need help getting started or with a rough draft, please feel free to see me in my office (my office location and hours are posted on the Schedule) or e-mail me at annw708@earthlink.net.