English 123 – Rosichan
Tips for the Essays
1. Present your claim (thesis) at the end of your first paragraph. Focus your claim/thesis on one
clear, specific, unified idea/argument.
2. Do not list your reasons in your claim or intro.
3. Do introduce the topic, and narrow your focus, providing context as needed, and lead the
reader to your claim.
4. Do, of course, include the title and author of the work.
5. Support your claim with as many reasons (points) as you can reasonably support in the length
you have (at least 3, but the minimum isn’t the ideal and shouldn’t be the standard).
6. Don’t forget to connect back to your claim at the end of each paragraph, developing it as you
go.
7. In your conclusion return to and develop the claim fully/conclusively. Remember your
argument seeks to prove not only the claim but also its relevance/importance. Try to deepen and
wrap up your discussion by asking and answering one of the following questions or one of your
own:
What are the implications of this argument? What does it reveal about the society, or
audience, that it reflects as well as and especially about the current audience? Keep your
topic in mind as you answer these questions. At this stage, you might even discover an
alternative and possibly a better claim.
8. Keep your focus on analyzing the text. Make sure that opinions/interpretations are always
supported by giving specific examples from the text. Also, don’t leave examples quotations or
descriptions to speak for themselves. Point out their meaning.
9. Don’t talk about events outside the text. Your personal experiences do not belong in literary
analysis. Limit discussion of events, situations, etc., from the outside world to your conclusion
where it’s possible and even desirable to consider the larger relevance, implications, and
significance of the argument.
10. Fulfill the word requirement; 1,000 words is the mimimum. These should be your words.
11. Use quotations from the text as needed—and do use them, as specific support is vital for
proving a claim—but yours are the words that count.
12. Don’t turn to outside sources for help. Even using someone else’s ideas but putting them in
your words counts as plagiarism if not properly cited and documented. And the assignment calls
for your interpretation, so a paper fails on 2 counts: 1) plagiarism, 2) not following the
assignment.
13. Don't just drop quotations in. Introduce, integrate, and explain them.
14. Be sure to quote correctly following 2009 MLA formatting. This will vary based on genre:
prose, drama that includes poetry and prose, and drama that is written entirely in prose. See the
excerpt about quotations from the 2009 MLA Handbook on my website. Or go to the OWL
Purdue website and look up the proper formatting.
15. Cite all quotations correctly. If you are using the assigned textbooks, you just need to use
correct MLA parenthetical in-text citation (page number if you’re writing about just one text or
last name of the author of the play or story—not the textbook—and page number for multiple
texts). If you are using a different book (of course, the version or translation of the writing needs
to be the same), you will need to provide a 2009 MLA formatted Works Cited page as well as
photocopies of all the pages you used (both direct quotations and paraphrases) as well as the title
page, copyright page, and first and last pages.
16. Do not use “I” to qualify your arguments: “I think,” “I believe,” etc. These apologies weaken
your argument. But you may draw upon your own response if it helps you prove a point, if
you’re using your response as an example. For example, like many readers, I was horrified by
the ending of the story “The Lottery” not wanting to believe its vision of humanity. But always
build on your response to explain the meaning/purpose of the text, why it works the way it does,
why it depends upon horrifying the reader or audience.
17. Do not use “you” or address the reader in literary analysis. Stay objective; remember your
argument is about what the text is arguing.
18. Grammar, diction, and spelling count, so edit, spell check, and proofread every paper. Do not
use slang or text message language, spelling, or abbreviations.
19. Format your essay correctly following MLA style. See the handout with guidelines,
instructions, and a sample MLA-formatted essay.
20. More on Effective Claims
Example of claims that are too broad:
New Historicism when applied to Nadine Gordimer's story "Once Upon a Time" shows
that Gordimer was writing about the dangers of Apartheid.
OR
Nadine Gordimer is clearly writing about Apartheid and its psychological effects in her
story "Once Upon a Time."
Both of these might be a good start (first sentence) as they introduce a topic, but they aren't yet
identifying what Gordimer is saying about her topic, so they're not claims. A book (or much
much longer essay) would be required to develop either of these satisfactorily.
Example of a claim that's more suitable for a short essay:
In her story "Once Upon a Time," Nadine Gordimer argues that the true threat to white
society in Apartheid comes, not from the potential violence of blacks invading white
neighborhoods, but from the fears of the whites and their reactive measures to protect
themselves.
Your reasons (or points) then break down this claim into its various parts, aspects, effects,
implications, purposes, etc., and seek to develop it, to see why Gordimer is saying this.
So I'd have to prove the whites in the story feel invaded/threatened.
I'd have to prove the whites take reactive measures.
I'd have to prove these measures are themselves a threat.
I might look at how the blacks are portrayed, shown by Gordimer not to be a threat or
simply the lack of evidence of any threat.
I would be interested in working in discussion of the fairy tale context, how/why
Gordimer is using it (to talk about illusion/self-deception and to play up the horror).
I might even discuss the story within a story and its purpose in setting the reader up for
fear/paranoia & the accompanying misperception.
***I would discuss & develop the claim throughout pointing out what Gordimer is
saying about fear or really the "power" of fear, who has the power/fear, how they wield it,
why fear = power & is used as power in the story & also in Apartheid which she was
reflecting.***