An English paper is as serious and rigorous a piece of
writing as in any other discipline.
Even if you think English is “fluffy,” English papers
aren’t!
What an English paper is NOT:
 A book report
 A summary
 A journal/impressionistic response (“I felt that...”, “the
story made me feel...”)
So, you have a paper due, and you have no idea what to
do
Rule #1
Choose a story (or two) that interests you. It’s very
difficult to write on one you don’t care for!
Once you’ve chosen the story, you need a TOPIC and a
THESIS
Rule #2
Pick a TOPIC
= the “what” of a paper. It should answer the question,
“what is your/my paper about”?
Exs
 Symbolism in The Death of Ivan Ilych
 Allusion in “Bartleby the Scrivener”
 Narration in “The Overcoat”
These are Topics
Next you need a...
THESIS, THESIS, THESIS
Rule #3
You paper NEEDS a thesis.
If you forget everything else, don’t forget this!
What is a thesis?
 Simply = your argument. It’s not the main idea, or
something vague like that.
 It should answer the “why did you write this?” or
“what do I hope to accomplish with it. “So what”?
 If you can’t answer this question simply, then you don’t
have a (good) thesis.
 Even if you choose one of the pre-approved topics, you
still need to come up with a thesis.
Some characteristics of a good thesis
 Simple and clear
 Interesting and not obvious
 Debatable; not statements of fact
(IOW, if no sane person will disagree, and you don’t have to
convince the reader you are right, it’s not debatable)
In English papers, theses often present an interpretation of
some kind or attempt to explain the significance of some
element of the work.
Examples of strong and weak theses
 There are many examples of blindness in Sophocles’s
Oedipus Rex
 Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener” brims with biblical
allusions
These are more like topics. They are uninteresting, and
are statements of fact. No one would argue about
these, and the reader will probably go “so? I knew
that”. Revised 
 In Oedipus Rex, blindness is symbolically and
paradoxically equated with sight and sight with
blindness.
 The biblical allusions in “Bartleby the Scrivener”
support the reading that Bartleby is meant to be viewed
as a Christ figure.
These are far more interesting. You can see how the
author would have to use textual evidence to back up
these claims.
 The thesis IS pretty much your opinion, but the trick is to
make it look objective
 Everything in the paper must relate back to the thesis. If
there is a paragraphs, etc, that isn’t somehow supporting
the thesis, get rid of it!
 Avoid evaluation in your papers, especially in the thesis. In
English we are not in the business of saying which works
are better than others. A very weak thesis would read
something like “Franz Kafka is a great writer,” or “Bartleby
is a great story”
As with any other thesis in any other paper, you need
evidence to back up your argument.
In (social) sciences, it comes from experiments and
studies.
In English, it comes from the texts themselves
 Can you do a comparison and contrast essay?
 Yes, but...
 You can’t simply compare two stories; you can compare and
contrast any two conceivable things (desks and chairs, cars
and sandwiches).
 You MUST have some sort of focus. For instance, if two
works are war narratives, or if both are love stories, or both
have ostensibly the same theme or moral.
 You still need a thesis, so an argument about how one
similarity or difference is significant.
Audience
Imagine I’m your reader (which I am).
 Therefore, don’t summarize (I’ve read the texts)
 Maintain a professional academic tone, but don’t try to
be too formal or dry.
Quick Notes on Format
 8.5 x 11 paper
 Times New Roman or Arial 12pt
 Most short stories have their titles in “ “ (“Bartleby the
Scrivener”), but longer ones that were published
separately are in italics or underlined (Metamorphosis)
 Don’t need a title page, but you do need a title 
 A good title is important as it reflects the thesis. I do




not want to see:
Essay #1
Essay for ENG 1120
The title should reflect your argument. So let’s say, for
instance, that your paper’s thesis is the one on
Oedipus. A possible title might be Paradoxical
Symbolism in Oedipus Rex...
For this reason, the title should probably be the last
thing you write.
Citing
As the text itself will constitute your evidence, you need
to quote from it. Since these are English papers, you
need to use MLA format, which is explained here:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
They also explain in-text citations; here’s the link:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02/
You also need a works cited page, even if you’ve only
cited one work:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/06/
 Last but definitely not least, PROOFREAD. The
difference between a B and an A paper.
 You would be surprised at what our eyes miss.
Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
 Ideally have someone else read it, but at the very least
read your paper OUT LOUD to yourself.
 90% of the mistakes and vagueness in student writing
would be eliminated if students read what they write.