Critical Paper Tips- - Writing Tips
Introduction:
-Define the context and time period about which you are writing, and establish how literature
has presented this time period. Examine the central theme around which your paper will be developed
and introduce the characters and elements of the plot that he author uses to develop this thematic
focus.
-Begin with an attention-getting, but appropriate, opening. Here are a few possibilities:
-universal statement addressing America in the ‘20s or the American Dream
-a quotation by an authority about Fitzgerald
-facts/statistics about 1920s America or Fitzgerald’s writing
-Add exposition (relevant background info about novel, author, time period- Not a plot
summary!!)
-Build to your thesis. Your thesis does not have to be a single sentence, but it should be
streamlined. Do NOT include specific supporting details in your thesis.
Body Paragraphs: Remember, your argument is central!
-Construct topic sentences carefully. They must align with the capital letters and/or numbers
from your outline
-Remember the basics of expository structure: topic sentence, insightful analysis using
embedded textual and critical references, and a clincher which comments on the effect of this
aspect
-Do not SUMMARIZE the plot – and- do not mention how an event “captures the reader’s
attention,” or anything close to it!
- Do not use phrases such as “throughout the course of the novel…” Rather, reference the
action of the novel – Ex: (When Nick sees Gatsby, “clutching at some last hope, he recognizes
the tragedy that is Gatsby and that is his failed dream .” )
Conclusion
- Restate you thesis, but not verbatim. Say it in a new way that reflects your work in the body
paragraphs
-Evaluate the impact of the novel on the American literary canon. Consider its legacy.
-End with a thought-provoking clincher, and be sure your last sentence “shakes hands” with the
first in some way.
The Basic Structure of an Expository Analysis
Introduction
Universal/Broad Insight
Intro to author/work
Relevant Background
info/analysis
Thesis Statement
Development and expansion
of angle and details of the
thesis statement.
Body
The argument you are
making and the details your
are using to support that
argument.
Restatement and recapping
of your main sub-points
(about 1 sent for each
section of your outline)
Author’s larger purpose/main
idea(s)
Conclusion
A summative/cumulative
insight that links the novel
back to your original
universal opening.
Seymour Goodwriting
Mr. Manero, period 1
Proper
heading
and title
English 11, 6.0
19 February 2013
Universal,
but
relevant
intro. Sent.
Spheres of Existence in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter
It is the great paradox of Puritanism that while a group of people came to the new land to
be free from persecution, that same group often found themselves ostracizing their own, whose
religious practices and ways of life did not measure up to the Puritanical code. Indeed the sphere
of Puritan life was constructed of thick, impenetrable walls, and once out of that sphere, re-entry
may have been an impossibility. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1850 novel, The Scarlet Letter, it is
Intro to
author,
year, and
work
both Hester Prynne and Mistress Hibbins who, while not always of the same code of behavior,
are both ostracized from the sphere of Puritan life. Mistress Hibbins, an outcast religious heretic,
and Hester Prynne, a tainted sinner, each in her own way not only defies the strict codes of
Puritan life, but also has little desire to deign to regain entry into the Puritan sphere. In being
ostracized from the majority, however, Hester gains strength and perspective , despite the fact
that “wherever Hester stood, a small vacant area—a sort of magic circle—had formed itself
about her, into which … none ventured or felt disposed to intrude” (Hawthorne 280). For
Mistress Hibbins, though her faith and religious practices are viewed by the Puritans as being in
accordance with darkness and evil, it is the time she spends in the forest that perhaps brings her
closer to human truths than one would ever find in the Puritan sphere of existence. While on the
surface Hester and Mistress Hibbins seem very different, each is in essentially the same
position in life – both jettisoned from society and both privy to the truths of the human
condition often veiled in the darkness of Puritan life.
THESIS
STATEMENT
Thematic
insights,
character
insights,
etc. that
develop
background
overview of
the topic
and bring
me into
more
specific
focus.
English 11, Honors: Critical Paper Body Paragraph Basic Formula
1. Topic Sentence
2. Transition into First Example
3. First Supporting Detail blended with analysis
4. More Original Analysis and Use of Literary Criticism
5. Transition into second example
6. Second supporting detail blended with analysis
7. More analysis and Secondary Source Support
8. Clincher Sentence (puts a bow on the paragraph)
1.
In The Scarlet Letter, Dimmesdale’s inability to confess his sin causes him to deteriorate internally and
externally, reflective of the greater human truth that suppressed guilt leaves the heart and soul in a state of
vulnerability and decay. Dimmesdale is particularly susceptible to the vengeful nature of Roger Chillingworth,
2.
who prays upon this vulnerability . Specifically, as Chillingworth “groped along as stealthily…as a thief
3.
entering a chamber…to steal the very treasure which this man guards as the apple of his eye,” seeking in
Dimmesdale that which is most valuable to him, his malignant intentions prey upon the weakened heart of the
minister (118). Hawthorne develops Chillingworth as a dark and insidious figure to not only portray a face of
evil, but also to further define what guilt and hidden sin can do to the vulnerability of a human heart.
4.
Dimmesdale is representative of the fact that “in Hawthorne’s world, as in the world itself, the dark side of
individualism is often reveals itself as equally susceptible and fragile” (Thomas). Furthermore, Dimmesdale is
5.
not only vulnerable as a result of his guilt, but he also enters into great struggle with himself in a very
melancholic internal state. Approaching the scaffold in the darkness of the night, as Dimmesdale “had been
6.
driven hither by the impulse of that remorse which dogged him…just when the other impulse had hurried him to
the verge of disclosure,” his emotions battle within him and pull him away from public confession (134).
Dimmesdale’s suppressed guilt begins to control him and cowardice’s “tremulous grip” keeps him from
7.
following his conscience to a confession. Dimemsdale’s conscience speaks more loudly than his voice, and “it
is a conscience of not only a minister but a Puritan on a pedestal, incapable in the eyes of his congregation of
any wrong doing” (Sullivan). Had Dimmesdale been able to overcome the cowardice that defines him, he could
have released himself from the pang of guilt which ultimately weakens him toward a slow and agonizing death.
Hawthorne’s insight into the sanctity and vulnerability of the human heart revels that the powerful force of
8.
hidden guilt is more deadly than even public confession of sin.