Your
literary paper must be in acceptable essay form—carefully organized and fully
developed with specific examples.
Consider the following guidelines as you write your paper. Come see me or a Writing Center tutor in FL20
if you have any questions while you are writing.
1. Your
paper must have an introductory paragraph that includes a clear thesis
statement (usually toward the end of that paragraph).
2. Your body
paragraphs should support your thesis statement and must include specific
examples from the literature we have read.
Write the author and the page number(s) for each example in parentheses
following that example.
e.g.--In "The Dead Past" Potterley is
described as "a mild-mannered individual, . . . whose small, neatly
dressed figure seemed stamped 'milk-and-water' from thinning brown hair to the
neatly brushed shoes that completed a conservative middle-class costume"
(Smith 302).
3. Don't
rely on plot summary. Assume your
reader has read the work(s) you're writing about. Cite important examples, but
don't retell the story/poem.
4. You can
organize your support in various ways.
You can organize chronologically.
You can organize from the least striking examples to the most striking
ones. If you select a compare/contrast
topic, you can organize according to what you remember about
comparison/contrast from Comp. I or II (or ask me to refresh your memory).
5. Generally,
your body paragraphs should have transitions between them.
(e.g., "In addition . . .," "Another . . .," "However . .
.," etc.)
6. Your
paper should end with a concluding paragraph.
A typical conclusion restates your thesis (in different words from those
in your introduction), sums up your main points, and perhaps includes your
opinion or a broad observation. Look
back to your introduction for ideas.
Perhaps save a particularly effective quotation for your conclusion.
7. Your
paper should be free of grammatical and mechanical errors, including
misspellings.
8. Your
paper must have a title and must be typed, double spaced. At the upper, left-hand corner list your
name, my name, the title of this course, and the date (in this format: 7 April
2013).
9. I do not
want a title page. Just use MLA format
for the first page of a research paper.
10. Generally,
it's best to write in present tense.
(e.g., As Young Goodman Brown enters
the forest, he leaves behind his Faith.) Mainly, be consistent.
11. Avoid
generalities:
"In this interesting
story. . . ."
fascinating
wonderful
Instead, be specific:
"In this eerie
story. . . ."
troubling
complex
romantic
mystifying
Or use
no adjective at all; just be clear and direct:
"In this story. . .
."
12. Dictionary
definitions are usually rather dull and unhelpful. Don't rely on them. (An exception would be if you wish to define
an unusual word that is a significant part of your discussion. In such a case, underline or italicize the
word being defined and put the quoted dictionary definition in quotation
marks.)
13. Be sure to
include the author and the title of the work in your introduction. (Titles of poems, essays, and short stories
go in quotation marks; titles of novels and plays are underlined or italicized.)
14. Avoid
projecting a "personal essay" tone in your literary analysis
paper. Specifically, avoid writing
"I feel," "I believe," "I think," "In my
opinion," etc. Don't write "I
think Emily Grierson is insane."
Write, "Clearly, Emily
Grierson is insane." Then
support that claim with specific examples from the story.
15. The title
of your paper can not be the same as the title of the work you are
writing about. You can, however, work
that title into your title: The
Ever-Present Past in "A Rose for Emily."
16. If a
quotation is more than four lines long (or if you're quoting more than three
lines of poetry), indent the quotation two tabs from the left margin. Add a
period and then your parenthetical citation.
17. Use a font
size of 12. (Smaller than that, I
go blind; larger than that, I assume you ran out of worthwhile things to
say.) Use Times New Roman font style.
18. The first
time you refer to an author, use both the first and last name. After that, you can use just the last
name. Never refer to an author by
first name only in the text of a literary paper.
19. Generally
avoid "I" and "you"—but it's perfectly acceptable to use
what we call the "editorial we," as in, "We are nearly as surprised as Neddy when he discovers the rust on
the door handles."
20. Don’t
simply “drop” a quotation into your essay.
Use a lead-in or a frame of some kind:
Toward the
end of their discussion, Alexandra laments, “I think I would rather not have
lived to find out
what I have
today.”
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