literary essay

The Literary Essay is an insightful, critical interpretation of a literary work.

It is not a summary of plot, character or other elements of fiction in any given literary work.

…you provide your own formal interpretation and/or opinion of the topic

…you use the literary work to prove or substantiate your understanding of the topic

…try to prove the plot – we know how the series of events unfolded because we read the book

…need to prove that the characters, setting, or themes existed in the literary work

…provide an interpretation of the plot, setting, character, conflict, and themes as they relate to the topic you are discussing

…develop elements that will prove your argument

…allows you, the writer, to provide your own understanding of the literary work in a properly structured format.

In order to be complete, your essay must include the following :

…clearly introduces the topic, the literary work, and the author.

Example: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee presents prejudice and discrimination of black people.

The introduction allows you to give the reader the clear and specific direction of your essay.

…states the main purpose of the essay

…is often stated in the LAST sentence of your introduction

…answers the question: What will you prove/show through this essay about the literary work under discussion?

…is divided into paragraphs

…is composed of paragraphs which begin with a topic sentence that clearly introduces the topic in the paragraph and end with linking sentences that introduce the next paragraph

…serves to PROVE your thesis NOTE: In order to prove your thesis, you must develop and

expand on the topic using examples and citations (quotes) from the literary work to substantiate your statements

Once a quote is cited, you must provide an interpretation, not a summary, about how this quote is relevant to the development of the topic and thesis

…is where you develop your ideas about the topic DOES NOT USE FIRST PERSON …is where you provide your own ideas by answering the following questions:

1. What is the topic? How is the topic relevant? 2. How does the topic relate to the literary work?3. How does topic affect the development of the literary

work as a whole?

4. What is my understanding of the topic and the literary work?

5. How does the setting affect the development of the topic?

6. How do the characters assist in the development of the topic?

You DO NOT, however, write your essay in a “question & answer” format. It must flow like the literary work itself.

Use the questions only as a GUIDE. They will help you to interpret

instead of summarizing!

The first sentence of the conclusion is a restatement of your THESIS.

Do not introduce any new information in the conclusion.

Restate your most important points as a means of bringing your argument to a close.

The conclusion is your last chance to prove your opinion to the reader!

Introduction : Paragraph One1st sentence: General overview of the topic (hook statement)2nd & 3rd sentences: Introduction of the author and the literary work + thesisAdditional sentences: Description of the literary work as it pertains the topic. It’s where you introduce your argument and

main points.Final sentence: Restatement of the thesis in new

way or more elaborated upon to transition into body .

Paragraph 2 – Development of first argumentTopic Sentence: Introduces only the argument in this paragraph. Development consists of ideas which support the topic sentence and thesis Choose 2 – 4 quotes from the literary work which will

develop/support this topic and establish a connection to topic/thesis

A linking sentence will reinforce what was stated in this paragraph and connect it to the following argument.

Paragraph 3 – Development of second argument

Paragraph 4 – Development of third argument

Restates the thesis

Summarizes the main points of your argument from each paragraph

Makes final concluding point

HOW IT LOOKS

INTRODUCTION

BODY

CONCLUSION

ARGUMENT 1

ARGUMENT 2

ARGUMENT 3

Quotes of four lines or less can be included in the body of your essay using quotation marks

Example: “He stood there until nightfall, and I waited for him. When we went in the house I saw he had been crying; his face was dirty.” (Lee 63)

Author’s last name and page reference

For citations that are MORE than 4 lines long, centre and single space the quote as shown below:

For reasons unfathomable to the most experienced prophets in Maycomb County, autumn turned to winter that year. We had two weeks of the coldest weather since 1885 (Lee 63)

Indent 10 spaces

Alfredo, B. Critical Interpretations of To Kill A Mockingbird. New York: Routledge, 1999.

Lee, H. To Kill A Mockingbird. Philadelphia: Warner Books, 1960.

Use MLA format.

Include the literary work on the works cited page .

Use the correct title page format In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list

your name, your instructor's name, the course, and the date. Be sure to use double-spaced text.

Double space again and center the title. Don't underline your title or put it in quotation marks.

Double space between the title and the first line of the text.

Here is a sample first page of an essay in MLA style:

Ensure you have completed the following before you submit your essay for assessment to your teacher:

1. Double -spaced your essay2. Microsoft Times New Roman font size 12

3. MLA format throughout4. Labeled each page, including page 1, with page

number

5. Included a Works Cited page

6. Cited the literary work in the Works Cited page and referenced it properly throughout

7. Have an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion that are all connected to your thesis

8. Have not used the first person “I” perspective nor mentioned “you”

9. Clearly stated and specific thesis

9. Edited for spelling and language errors (be careful of “typos”)

10. Stapled the essay in the correct order11. Spelled the teacher’s name correctly12. Indented each new paragraph 13. Underlined all book titles throughout the

essay