Writing essays about literature : a brief guide for university and college students

Bibliographic Information

Writing essays about literature : a brief guide for university and college students

Katherine O. Acheson

Broadview Press, c2011

  • : pbk

Available at  / 2 libraries

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Note

Includes bibliographical references (p. 165-167) and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

This book gives students an answer to the question, "What does my professor want from this essay?" In lively, direct language, it explains the process of creating "a clearly-written argument, based on evidence, about the meaning, power, or structure of a literary work." Using a single poem by William Carlos Williams as the basis for the process of writing a paper about a piece of literature, it walks students through the processes of reading, brainstorming, researching secondary sources, gathering evidence, and composing and editing the paper. Writing Essays About Literature is designed to strengthen argumentation skills and deepen understanding of the relationships between the reader, the author, the text, and critical interpretations. Its lessons about clarity, precision, and the importance of providing evidence will have wide relevance for student writers.

Table of Contents

Section One: Introduction CHAPTER 1: THE PURPOSE OF AN ESSAY ABOUT LITERATURE Literature: Instruction, Delight, ImitationThe Literary Essay Evidence Communication Subjectivity How to Use This Book Review Questions Section Two: Research and Analysis CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH WITHIN THE TEXT Taking Notes About Literature Recording Your Responses to the Text Do I Like the Work? What Words Stand Out? What Feelings Does It Give Me? Do I Identify With Any of the People Represented? Is There Anything About How It's Written That Stands Out? What Is the Work About? Conclusion Review Questions CHAPTER 3: USING REFERENCE WORKS The Oxford English Dictionary Etymology Definitions Examples of Usage Scholarly Editions Encyclopedias Conclusion Review Questions CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH ABOUT SOCIAL AND HISTORICAL CONTEXTS Topics for Research: Social Phenomena and Literary Movements Useful Resources Using Your Findings Conclusion Review Questions CHAPTER 5: RESEARCH ABOUT THE CURRENT CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF LITERARY WORKS Finding Critical Works Assessing Publications Using Bibliographies Reading Critical Works Taking Notes From Critical Readings Conclusion Review Questions CHAPTER 6: INVENTING YOUR ARGUMENT Arranging Your Evidence Reviewing Your Labelled Evidence Categorizing Your Evidence Charting Your Evidence Conclusion Review Questions Section Three: Composition CHAPTER 7: COMPOSING YOUR ARGUMENT Inductive Reasoning Composing the Thesis Statement Writing the Subtopic Sentences Composing the Body of the Thesis Statement Concluding the Thesis Statement A Variation: An Essay Without Secondary Sources Conclusion Review Questions CHAPTER 8: WRITING THE BODY OF THE ESSAY The Body Paragraphs Features of Strong Paragraphs Writing the Conclusion and Revising the Introduction The Conclusion Revising the Introduction Conclusion Review Questions Section Four: Polish and Presentation CHAPTER NINE: EDITING AND PROOFREADING YOUR ESSAY Conventions of Essay-Writing Style Diction Vocabulary Connecting Words Common Grammatical Errors Apostrophes Demonstrative Pronouns Pronoun Agreement Verb Tense Common Errors in Punctuation and Sentence Structure Semicolons Comma Splices Sentence Fragments Subordinating Conjunctions Conjunctive Adverbs Conclusion Review Questions CHAPTER TEN: DOCUMENTING YOUR SOURCES AND PRESENTING YOUR WORK Reasons for Documenting Sources Documentation Practices Presenting Your Work Layout and Order Illustrations Multimedia and the Literary Essay Exemplary Illustrations Complementary Illustrations Supplementary Illustrations Last-Minute Checks Conclusion Review Questions Section Five: Conclusion and ReviewCollecting Evidence (Chapter 2, 3, 4, and 5) CHAPTER 11: THE PROCESS OF ESSAY WRITING-A SUMMARY Categorizing Evidence (Chapter 6) Writing Your Thesis Statement (Chapter 7) Troubleshooting the Thesis Statement (Chapter 7) Writing the Body Paragraphs (Chapter 8) Concluding Your Essay (Chapter 8) Proofreading (Chapter 9) Documentation and Presentation (Chapter 10) Conclusion Works Cited Subject Index

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