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 Frankenstein, Mary Shelley presents a narrator who is obsessed with gaining knowledge and power. - The title of a story or poem is set off with quotation marks; the title of a play or novel is underlined or italicized:
- story: "The Dead"
- poem: "Fern Hill"
- play: The Importance of Being Earnest or The Importance of Being Earnest
- novel: Jane Eyre or Jane Eyre
- The first time you refer to an author, use his or her full name. Thereafter, use only his or her last name:
In Great Expectations, Charles Dickens paints a portrait of a boy who has to learn some hard lessons. In order to make these lessons clear, Dickens creates characters whose faults and attributes are caricaturized. - Note that a comma or period is placed inside the quotation marks; a semicolon or colon is placed after the quotation marks:
- In "The Horse Dealer's Daughter," Lawrence often leaves his characters' thoughts unspoken.
- Lawrence is addressing the inseparability of love and lust in "The Horse Dealer's Daughter."
- Lawrence has created an ambiguous ending for "The Horse Dealer's Daughter"; this leaves the interpretation of the story up to the reader.
- Not many events occur in "The Horse Dealer's Daughter": a breakfast, a conversation or two, an attempted suicide, and rescue are the extent of the plot.
- Avoid using wordy or grammatically incorrect opening lines:
In Charles Dickens's Great Expectations, 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 Great Expectations, Charles Dickens 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:
Pip, in Charles Dickens's Great Expectations, is a likable character, but he is not a hero. - 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 Jane Eyre is a feminist,
try
Jane Eyre is a feminist.
(Note that this makes you sound more authoritative, as well.)
And instead of saying
If you look closely at Jane Eyre, you will see that she is a feminist,
try
A close reading reveals that Jane Eyre is a feminist.
For information on using MLA format to cite and document correctly, see The Writing Tutorial Services at Indiana University, or The Purdue University Online Writing Lab.
Research
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 or story. If you chose to write on Heart of Darkness, for example, you wouldn't do research on the colonization of Africa by Europeans; instead, you'd do research on Heart of Darkness: look up scholarly articles about this novel in literature journals, books, etc. Look for information about consistent themes, use of symbols, imagery, etc.--anything that will help in your analysis of the novel--and use that to support your ideas in your paper.
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. There are a couple that will be especially useful to you: the Literature Resource Center and MagillOnLiterature Plus. 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
Please let me know if you have any questions or need help.
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 e-mail me at annw708@gmail.com.
