Writing Literature
Papers I
Writing the Paper
ENG 142
Do Not Retell the Story!
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Retelling the story seems as if you are
trying to take up space.
The instructor has read the story and does
not need to be told what happens in it.
Use relevant parts of the story to support
your theme.
Organization
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Introduction (contains thesis statement)
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Thesis = Your stance in an argument.
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A Thesis Statement is not:
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Body
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Support
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Vague
An accepted fact
Ambivalent = Stating both sides of argument.
In the form of a question
A broad topic
Interpret, don't summarize the work of literature.
Avoid digressions and irrelevant references to personal experiences
or beliefs.
Avoid clichés and unsupportable generalizations.
Use quotations wisely to support your discussion.
Conclusion
Developing a Thesis
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What is the overall theme of the book/story?
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What other stories (in myth, literature, etc.) does this remind
you of?
What deeper meaning can you find in the piece?
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Avoid the cliché and obvious.
How can you see it differently from others?
What symbols do you see and how do they make their point?
Is there support in the text for your idea?
It’s not necessary to announce your thesis with such
expressions as "This paper will argue" or "In this paper I will
show that." Just state your argument.
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Sometimes it helps to say, “This paper will show….”, state your thesis,
then go back and eliminate the introductory phrase of “This paper will
show.”
Using Quotes
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Use quotations to support your argument.
Keep quotations short (try to avoid long,
block quotes).
Provide context for the quote. Having a
quote by itself with no explanation of why
it is there is pointless and will not be
counted as part of your paper.
Make sure the quote is relevant.
Cite quotes.
Using Theory
Do not say, Lawrence uses Psychoanalytic
Theory in “The Rocking Horse Winner” or
The story has feminist theory in it.
Say, When examined from a psychoanalytic
perspective..., or Campbell's theories
show that the story is about coming of
age.
Stick to only one theory per paper.
Documenting Sources in the MLA
Format for Literature Papers
English and other humanities (art, philosophy,
language) use the MLA format.
Refer to Keys for Writers, the MLA Handbook, online sources such
ashttp://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/74
7/01/ and the MLA Documentation Powerpoint.
The Conclusion
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The conclusion is more than restating the thesis.
The conclusion's primary function is to summarize
concisely a paper's major points,
And it should take the paper's main idea a step
further.
It should look beyond the paper's limitations and
extend its insights
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Don't use such phrases as "in conclusion" or "to sum up”
Don't try to be profound and claim too much.
Don't undermine your own argument by contradicting
yourself or pointing out that you could be wrong or that it’s
just your opinion. Save humility for other times in your
life.
Use Academic/Formal Tone
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Avoid second person and first person.
Do not use contractions.
Do not use slang, regional dialect, or swear words.
In writing about stories, present tense is used, as if the story is still
happening.
Use gender neutral pronouns and make sure the pronoun cases
match (pronoun/antecedent).
Use correct grammar and punctuation. Avoid exclamation points.
Refer to people by last names, not first. In fiction, there is more
flexibility to this as characters are often thought of by their first
names. When discussing people outside of the story, use last
names.
Don’t define terms using the dictionary—doing so seems as if you
are trying to take up space and are talking down to the reader.
Remember, the titles of stories, poems, songs, articles, and other
short pieces are in quotation marks. Put the titles of books,
magazines, movies, and other long pieces in italics.
Revise! Revise! Revise!
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One of the main problems people have with their
papers is that they don’t bother to proofread or
edit.
Revising can often raise the grade by one or two
full grades.
When revising, look for grammatical, spelling,
word choice, and punctuation mistakes.
Look for contradictions, digressions,
generalizations, irrelevant quotes, and
weaknesses in style and presentation.
A. Student
[Name]
6-27-10
[Date]
Introduction to Literature
Sample Paper
[Class]
A Closer Look at “Araby” [Title of paper, not merely the assignment]
James Joyce’s “Araby” uses romantic irony to show how a person’s romantic view of the
world can be shattered by reality. A teenage boy is in love with his friend’s sister. He watches
her from a distance and then one day finally talks to her and promises to bring her a gift from the
bazaar. Joyce uses symbolism and irony to show a strong relationship between religion and the
boy's psycho-sexual development. [Thesis statement is in first paragraph and states an opinion
you are going to support.]
First Joyce creates a guilt-filled atmosphere through the use of personification to bring the
street and other objects to life. He describes the “houses of the street, conscious of the decent
lives within them, gazed at one another with brown imperturbable faces” (Joyce 140).
[Quotations are in the MLA style. The quote is within quotation marks and punctuation comes
after the parentheses, which only contain the author’s last name and the page number of the
quotation.] By this he shows that the town is more alive than the people living in it, saying, “The
space of sky above us was the colour of ever-changing violet and towards it the lamps of the
street lifted their feeble lanterns” (140). [After the first use of the author’s last name, all that is
needed is the page number of the quotation, unless another author is used, then return to using
the last name and page number to avoid confusion.] This use of personification gives Joyce the
ability to animate the town without using the people
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Resources
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http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/618/
01/
 The Owl at Purdue has a few tips on how to
write a literature paper.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/
01/
http://www.easybib.com/