ESSAY FORMAT NOTES:
HONORS
(A.K.A an exciting presentation)
HEADING FOR ALL ASSIGNMENTS (on left-hand side)
Your FULL name
Joe Blow
Teacher last name and block
Johnson—7
August 31, 2013
Date assignment is due
“The Cold Equations” essay
Title of assignment
TITLE
*Do NOT bold, italicize, put in quotes, or use larger or different font.
*Do be descriptive and precise.
(The Role of Imagery as Foreshadowing in Garcia Marquez’s A Chronicle of a Death Foretold)
*Center title
*Sometimes it is best to come up with the title after you’ve finished the essay
BASIC FORMAT (MLA) **see MLA PowerPoint on website for more information**
1. Do NOT put an extra space between paragraphs—that’s why you indent, after all.
2. The entire paper should be double-spaced.
3. Use a standard font like Times New Roman.
4. Use a 12 point font size.
5. Use one-inch margins all around.
THE BASIC STRUCTURE OF AN ESSAY
INTRODUCTION
1. Attention Grabber—get your audience’s attention with a quote (that has been properly introduced), a
question (that isn’t lame), something unusual, etc. Please avoid asking asinine rhetorical questions like
“Have you ever wondered….” Do NOT make broad generalizations like “Symbolism is a powerful tool used
in literature.” Do NOT offer life advice like “We must make connections with others or we will be
unhappy.” In other words, keep your audience in mind when writing. Assume that I am an intelligent and
mature reader who is familiar with the text.
2. Thesis/Position/ Assertion—your opinion on the subject (make sure it is unique and that it is not a commonly held
belief or fact). In general, it should be one sentence and should come near the end of your introductory
paragraph. Remember, without a carefully conceived thesis, an essay has no chance of success.
In her 1960 poem “The Ballad of Rudolph Reed,” Gwendolyn Brooks uses the conventional poetic form of
the ballad to treat the unconventional poetic subject of racial intolerance; the tension inherent in this
depiction mirrors the tension of race relations of the time, subtly reinforcing the theme that racial intolerance
is undesirable yet prevalent.
By the end of “Sonny’s Blues,” the narrator is liberated from his warped personality; he finally begins to
feel, which means he will be freed from his fear and sadness, allowing him to connect with others. This
liberation illustrates James Baldwin’s theme that one must experience all emotions to bond with others and
feel truly alive.
Tips for your thesis statement:
*be specific—what literary element(s) will you use to dissect the text’s meaning? It isn’t enough to say the author
uses “diction,” for example, as diction is merely word choice. Of course the author uses word choice—what KIND of
word choice is used and for what effect?
*address WHAT the author is doing, HOW the author does it (literary elements, stylistic devices), and WHY the
author does it (purpose, message, literary effect).
*keep the AUTHOR in charge. What choices does the author make? Why?
*once you have finished writing your essay, pull out all quotes, summaries and paraphrases from the text that
you’ve used to support your thesis. Make sure that ALL directly link to your thesis.
AUTHOR
AND TITLE
OF WORK
USES
LITERARY DEVICE—the
literary device or element
can be a character, an image,
a motif, or any other literary
quality within the work of
literature being studied.
In his novel The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
uses Daisy in order to articulate the illusory,
captivating quality of the American Dream.
IN ORDER TO EXPRESS THE IDEA THAT…
This section of the thesis statement ALWAYS deals with authorial
intent; it expresses an opinion as to why the author, playwright, etc.,
utilizes the literary element. In this case, the literary device (Daisy)
carries a thematic force, meaning that it is used by Fitzgerald to
underscore some of the most important thematic ideas in the novel.
Notice it doesn’t say “to illuminate the American Dream” because
this would be too vague!
ANOTHER THESIS EXAMPLE
Mishima (AUTHOR) uses Noboru Kuroda (CHOSEN ASPECT—CHARACTER), who desires the
return of the past in The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea (FULL TITLE OF NOVEL) to
protest the western pressure pushing Japan to modernize and change its values (AUTHOR’S
INTENTIONS/ANALYSIS).
3. Essay Map—what are you going to cover in this paper? Remember to SHOW, not TELL! Don’t
say, “In this essay, I’m going to . . .”
Okay…let’s look at some
introduction paragraphs!
The setting of John Updike’s story “A&P” is crucial to the reader’s understanding of Sammy’s decision
(full title and author)
to quit his job. Even though Sammy knows that his quitting will make life more difficult for him, he instinctively
insists upon rejecting what the A&P represents in the story. When he rings up a “NO Sale” and “saunter[s]” out
of the store (47), Sammy leaves behind not only a job but the rigid state of mind associated with the A&P.
Although Sammy is the central character in the story, Updike seems to invest as much effort in describing the
setting as he does Sammy. The title, after all, is not “Youthful Rebellion” or “Sammy Quits” but “A&P.” The
setting is the antagonist of the story and plays a role that is as important as Sammy’s in demonstrating why
(literary elements)
(opinion that is debatable)
people must sometimes rebel against social norms.
significance/author’s purpose
Let’s look at another one, shall we? (Yes, we shall.)
(attention grabber)
Life cannot exist without death. E. B. White's story "Once More to the Lake" is about a man who revisits a lake
from his childhood to discover that his life has lost placidity. The man remembers his childhood as he remembers the
lake: peaceful and still. Spending time at the lake as an adult has made the man realize that his life has become
unsettling and restless, like the tides of the ocean. Having brought his son to this place from his own past, the man
makes inevitable comparisons between his own son and his childhood self, and between himself as an adult and the
way he remembers his father from his childhood perspective. Through a changing setting, nostalgic mood, and
unexpected epiphany, White utilizes this story of a return visit to a childhood location to elucidate that at some point
humans must accept their own mortality.
What would one expect to be the personality of a man who has his wife sent away to a convent (or perhaps
has had her murdered) because she took too much pleasure in the sunset and in a compliment paid to her by another
man? It is just such a man—a Renaissance duke—who Robert Browning portrays in his poem “My Last Duchess.”
Browning’s characterization of the Duke through the Duke’s internal dialogue, his interpretation of earlier incidents,
and his actions, reveals the Duke’s true traits—arrogance, jealousy, and greediness, as well as Browning’s opinion of
such men.
BODY
1. Point (topic sentence)—usually the first sentence—which states one of the topics associated with your thesis, combined with
some assertion about how the topic will support the central idea.
2. Proof—evidence from the literature (or from other sources). This is what will convince your audience that your opinion is
correct. You will want to offer at least two pieces of evidence.
3. Pulling Together (analysis)—explains how and why the proof supports the point. With analysis, you tell your reader how you
want him or her to understand the quotation or summary you have provided as support. You can’t assume that your reader will
draw the same conclusions you have drawn from the evidence. Explain how you have come to your interpretation of the text—
what has the author done to lead you to this conclusion?
Though many readers may sympathize with the narrator because his brother is addicted to heroin, the narrator actually begins
as a hardened, unfeeling man. Two scenes show his lack of compassion. The narrator first shows how cruel and unfeeling he is when he
meets Sonny’s friend on the street. Adopting a sarcastic tone, the narrator questions the friend’s motives: “You come all the way down
here to just tell me about Sonny?” (49). It is evident in this tone that the narrator doubts that the friend truly cares for Sonny. The narrator
also swears at the friend, saying, “you’re pretty [goshdarn] smart, I bet,” and offers him no sympathy for his “sad story,” declaring that he
wishes the friend had a pistol so he could kill himself (49). These reactions to the friend show the narrator’s anger at the situation Sonny
is in, but they also convey a stark lack of compassion for those less fortunate than himself. In fact, the narrator’s anger seems to fuel his
lack of compassion. In the flashback scene, we find that the narrator has been angry with Sonny before, for when the narrator visits Sonny
in his Greenwich Village apartment, he tells Sonny that he “might just as well be dead as live the way he was living” (62). These scenes
depict the narrator’s warped personality; his anger and fear have made him cruel, almost sadistic, which prevents him from any real
connection to others.
**Transitions—well organized paragraphs use transitions between the topic sentence, support and analysis, which let the reader know where the argument
is going. Simple transitions such as “for example,” “however,” and “also” are useful to show relationships between ideas. More complex transitions can be
whole phrases or even sentences that show how you are moving from one idea to another. The underlined words above are examples of transitions.
Here is an example of a body paragraph….
(topic sentence indicates significance)
Sammy’s descriptions of the A&P present a setting that is ugly, monotonous, and rigidly regulated. The
chain store is a common fixture in modern society, so the reader can identify with the uniformity Sammy describes.
The fluorescent light is as blandly cool as the “checkerboard green-and-cream rubber tile floor” (486). The “usual
traffic in the store” moves in one direction (except for the swim suited girls, who move against it), and everything is
neatly organized and categorized in tidy aisles (484-486). The dehumanizing routine of this environment is
suggested by Sammy’s offhand references to the typical shoppers as “sheep,” “house slaves,” and “pigs” (486),
which are clearly all sentient beings who, nonetheless, only follow and do as they are told. These regular
customers seem to walk through the store in a stupor; as Sammy indicates, not even dynamite could move them
out of their routine (485). This description of uniformity is clearly negative, leading the reader to sympathize with
Sammy’s decision to reject that life.
(tied to thesis)
CONCLUSION
1. Restate your thesis in different words.
2. Recap of main points developed in paper. Do NOT merely summarize and do NOT introduce a new topic in your
conclusion.
3. Comment—what is the significance of this information? How could it be applied to other things? What is the
significance of the subject? How does your interpretation of the literature reveal something unique or insightful? What is
the effect of the author’s choices/craft? What is the relevance to the reader’s life? In other words, answer the “SO
WHAT” question.
If the Duke has any redeeming qualities, they fail to appear in the poem. Browning’s emphasis on the Duke’s traits of
arrogance, jealousy, and materialism make it apparent that anyone who might have known the Duke personally would have based his
opinion of him on these three personality “flaws.” Ultimately, the reader’s opinion of the Duke is not a favorable one, and it is clear that
Browning intended that the reader feel this way.
The culmination of Stephen Dedalus’ linguistic and artistic development in James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young
Man is indicated at the end of the novel when his story is no longer dependent on a narrator, but is told by Stephen himself through his
journal. The journal entries are projected forth in the unfiltered language of the artist. He completes his linguistic journey, coming full
circle from a child who merely perceives others’ language to the artist, who creates his own. The language implicit in Stephen’s journal
represents the realization of his identity; his language displays the confidence and independence of one who is autonomous. At the end
of the novel, Stephen’s physical, intellectual, and emotional transformations have been chronicled through the intricacies of language.
ANALYZING LITERATURE/FILM
*A literary analysis attempts to explain WHY or HOW things happen in a literary piece. Responding critically to the text calls
for “analyzing the parts, interpreting their meanings, seeing how the parts relate, and evaluating significance or quality”
(Fowler and Aaron 787).
*It gets to the bottom of the ACTION and CHARACTERS, and offers, in the form of SPECIFIC EVIDENCE TAKEN FROM THE
TEXT, explanations of THEME or CHARACTER or PLOT, and oftentimes all three (or a combination of these and other literary
elements). According to Fowler and Aaron, some questions you may ask might be include the following:
*What do the characters’ actions, words, and thoughts reveal about their personalities and the personalities of
others?
*Do the characters stay the same, or do they change? Why?
*What tone do you hear? If there is a change, how do you account for it?
*How does the symbolism relate to the other elements of the work, such as character or theme? (792-793)
*In writing about literature, “we can offer only our interpretation of meaning rather than the meaning…there are limits to
interpretation: it must be supported by evidence that a reasonable reader finds at least plausible if not totally convincing”
(Fowler and Aaron 794). Yet interpretation is NOT enough. A literary analysis demands that you explain what it is the
author has done to lead you to your interpretation and that you explain the effect of the author’s choices/style/etc.
*The writer’s role in a literary analysis is to EXPLAIN, CLARIFY, DEFINE, SHOW, and PROVE.
*A literary analysis is always supported with SOUND REASONING and an IN-DEPTH exploration of the literary elements in
the piece of literature.
*Always use the present TENSE to describe both the action in a literary work or film and the writing or directing of
literature and film.
VERB TENSE
1. When you talk about the ideas in an article or the events in a story, use PRESENT tense:
The action in the first Superman comic is very dramatic.
Superman comes to earth from his home planet, Krypton.
2. When you talk about what an author says or what effect the author has, use the PRESENT tense:
In Superman comics, the writers often dwell on moral dilemmas.
The author of Mr. Natural comics implies that life is meaningless.
3. But when you talk about the actual writing of the material, use the PAST tense:
Gary Trudeau wrote the first Doonesbury at Yale.
Shakespeare didn’t use a typewriter, did he?
USING “I” IN YOUR PAPER
1. It is often unnecessary and redundant. An essay is YOUR OPINION, after all.
2. “I” can take away from the real subject you want to focus on: I think big, baggy pants look stupid. The most important
parts of a sentence are the SUBJECT and the VERB. Here, then, the focus is on the “I think,” on the writer’s thoughts—not
on the pants. Just say, “Big, baggy pants look stupid.” The reader will know this is your opinion, with or without “I think.”
3. Don’t use I think or I suppose as a way of pausing while you think of something to say or of avoiding responsibility.
These words can sound like you’re saying, “It’s only my opinion, so don’t bother . . .”
4. DO use “I” when you want your OPINION to stand out in contrast to other’s opinions:
Many people consider undergarments hanging out of their clothing to be attractive. However, I think it looks lame.
5. DO use “I” when you are relating personal experience as an example to support some general statement you have
made:
People are showing renewed interest in eighties clothing. Last week while walking down Fifth Avenue, I was
amazed at the variety: I saw neon colors, large earrings and vintage tee shirts.
6. You can use “I” in an essay if you don’t use it thoughtlessly. To say, “I think burning witches is wrong” makes YOU the
most important thing in the sentence. To say, “Burning witches is wrong” doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a fact, but
this is certainly a stronger statement.
USING “YOU” IN YOUR PAPER
1. Only use it when you are DIRECTLY addressing your reader. Always consider your audience and your purpose when
writing.
2. DO NOT use “you” when you mean “PEOPLE IN GENERAL,” as in “you can get a good education at a junior college.”
This would be fine if you were directly addressing an audience made up of prospective students, but if you are writing
a teacher, the teacher may think you are suggesting that she go to college. It also makes you sound like you’re selling
something.
USING “ONE” IN YOUR PAPER
1. “One” is a very GENERAL pronoun.
2. It has a fairly FORMAL air, and therefore may not fit in an essay.
3. The greatest problem with this pronoun is that you have to stick with it. You CANNOT say, “One can wear whatever
shoes are good for him. We shouldn’t compromise,” but instead, must say, “One can wear whatever shoes are good
for oneself. One shouldn’t compromise.”
QUOTATIONS
**see MLA PowerPoint on website for more information**
1. DO NOT PLOP DOWN A QUOTATION WITHOUT INTRODUCING IT! The most common way to do this is by
using the name of the person you are quoting, as in the following:
President Stallone said, “Ask not what Rambo can do for you.”
2. Incorporating quotes:
-Poetry and Drama: Feiran’s poem “I am Super Neat” describes “I am cool, you are not. / You are a fool full of snot” (5-6).
Set off quotations of more than three lines of poetry or drama from your text. Use double spacing and a one inch or ten
space indentation and do not add quotation marks.
-Long quotes: If a quotation is ________ or more typed lines, do not add quotation marks. Set off with a ten
space indentation and double space.
3. A colon indicates that you are going to explain or define what you just said: The critics blasted Mary Poppins: “A silly movie.”
4. Vary the place a quotation fits into your sentence:
“The movie Rambo,” claims one critic, “is attractive but dangerous.”
One critic claims that Rambo is “attractive but dangerous.”
“The movie Rambo is attractive,” claims one critic, “but dangerous.”
5. Think through your signal phrases.
*Use interesting verbs to note how the author feels: comments, describes, writes, notes, concludes, reveals,
claims, holds, maintains, agrees, complains, condemns, warns, etc.
Joe Blow _________ “The Grateful Dead is a worthless band” (897).
*Inform reader why you are using a source—name the author or the title or the credentials, depending on the
situation.
6. When altering a quotation, use [brackets] to show that these are your changes. You may need to do this to add
information, change a verb form, change capitalization or to supply a noun for a pronoun.
7. MLA in-text citations should include enough information for the reader to locate the source in your evidence and to
locate the place in the source where the borrowed material appears. Make it clear exactly where your borrowing begins and
ends!
*author not named in your text: One professor agrees, “blaaa blah” (Smith 57).
*author named in your text: Smith agrees, “blaa blah” (57).
*two or more authors: Blow and Smith find that “blah-de de blaaa yip” (876).
*a work with numbered paragraphs or screens instead of pages: give the paragraph or screen number(s) and
distinguish them from page numbers. After author’s name, put a comma, a space, and “par.” or “pars.”;
“screen,” or “screens.”
*a work with no page or other reference numbers: just use the author’s name, or if there isn’t one, use the title of
the work: The Online School for Jerkfaces website states that “Feiran is way cooler than Chuck Norris and,
frankly, everyone else in the world” (“Why We Love to Hate Feiran”).
*plays (3.4.147)
*poems (lines 9-10); thereafter (6-12).
QUOTATION MARKS
1. DO NOT use quotation marks around commonly accepted phrases: Punk and country are very different kinds of music.
2. If you put someone else’s ideas in your own words, do NOT use quotation marks. Quotation marks will merely mislead
the reader into thinking that those are the exact words.
My father thinks that Mohawk haircuts look silly. vs. My father says, “Those Mohawks make kids look like idiots.”
3. Use quotation marks when you refer to a word as a word:
“Punk” is an unattractive word.
vs.
There are a couple of unattractive punks standing on the corner.
4. Occasionally you may use quotation marks around a word that you don’t want the reader to think is a word or thought
that you agree with: Punk rockers, these “misfits” are actually just like you and me.
5. Single quotation marks are ONLY for a quote within a quote—not for quoting a single word. Example:
Last night my mother asked me, “What does ‘that’s sketch’ mean?”
6. Commas and periods always go inside quotes:
"A good Mohawk look attractive,” says my mom, “but it must be hard to sleep on.”
7. Colons and semicolons always go outside the quotes:
My mom said, “I like Flogging Molly”: of course, I was shocked.
8. Question marks and exclamation marks go inside if they are part of the quotation and outside if they are a part of your
sentence :“Do you really think purple hair looks nice?” asked my father.
Did your mother really say, “I like Flogging Molly”?
Summary
If a key event or series of events in the literary work support a point you are trying to make, you may want to include a brief
summary, making sure that you show the relevance of the event or events by explicitly connecting your summary to your
point.
(relevance to point)
(summary)
The boys find the grinding ball, but later attempt to bury it (57-59). Burying it is their futile
attempt to make time stand still and to preserve perfection.
Avoid summarizing the plot (i.e., retelling the story literally). Instead, analyze (form a thesis about and explain) the story in
literary terms.
Plot Summary: In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart,” the made narrator explains in detail how he
kills the old man, who screams as he dies. After being alerted by a neighbor, the police arrive, and the
madman gives them a tour through the house, finally halting in the old man’s bedroom, where he has
buried the man beneath the floor planks under the bed. As he is talking, the narrator hears what he
thinks is the old man’s heart beating loudly, and he is driven to confess the murder.
Analysis: Though the narrator claims he is not mad, the reader realizes that the narrator in “The Tell-
Tale Heart” is unreliable and lies about his sanity. For example, the mad narrator says he can hear “all
things in the heaven and in the earth.” Sane people cannot. He also lies to the police when he tells
them that the shriek they hear occurs in his dream. Though sane people do lie, most do not meticulously
plan murders, lie to the police, and then confess without prompting. Finally, the madman is so plagued
with guilt that he hears his own conscience in the form of the old man’s heart beating loudly. Dead
hearts do not beat, nor do sane people confuse their consciences with the sounds of external objects.
Paraphrase
You can make use of paraphrase when you need the details of the original, but not necessarily the words of the
original.
Original (page 4) : “I was twelve and in junior high school and something happened that we didn’t have
a name for, but it was nonetheless like a lion, and roaring, roaring that way the biggest things do.”
Paraphrase: Early in the story, the narrator tells us that when he turned twelve and started junior high
school, life changed in a significant way that he and his friends could not quite name or identify (4).
Titles
QUOTES
ITALICS (UNDERLINED IF
HANDWRITTEN)
Article title
Song title
Short story title
Poem title
Chapter title
Newspaper title
Album title
Play title
Epic poem title
Novel title