Tips and strategies for success
 Try to read the poems 2 times EACH
 1 for an understanding of each poem individually
 2 with an intention to find evidence to support points of
comparison
 3 if you have time- to hear the sounds in your head
After reading, you should organize your thoughts in
advance- prior to starting to write
-You can do this on a chart or make an outline
-Don’t take too much time, but it is worth up to 10
minutes of preparation to help write your essays quicker
 Your introductory paragraph only really needs 1
essential element- the thesis. This should directly
respond to the prompt, mimicking the wording
 The rest of the intro should NAME the poems and
AUTHORS (if you know)
 Then provide any summary of meaning or a list of
SPECIFIC techniques that you will be discussing
 DO NOT COMMENT ON “the reader” or “enjoying
the poem”- avoid “really”, “very”, “interesting”
 Should be AS SPECIFIC as possible.
 Avoid vague terms like “a lot” or “many”
 Literary techniques needs specified adjectives or
descriptors
 i.e. Dickinson and Frost, in their respective poems,
both consider the idea of the darkness as a symbolic
representation of the unknown, and provide an
exploration through their varied structures, dark
imagery, and specific points of view.
 Organize by technique- mention in topic sentence
 Include BOTH poems in each body paragraph to
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assure a balance
Include DIRECT TEXTUAL SUPPORT, not just
summary or paraphrase
Include AMPLE explanation- explicitly connecting
technique to meaning
Concluding sentence should tie back into the overall
meaning
DO NOT transition at the end of a paragraph
 Restate the thesis/ main idea but do not repeat
 Make a universalized theme statement
 i.e. Dickinson and Frost prove that exploring darkness is
a trait common to all, however some will approach
darkness with curiosity and determination, where others
will succumb to the darkness and internalize it. There
varied points of view help to include all audiences in the
journey, providing insight from those who have both
overcome and succumb.
 Categorize your essay for a bonus- use a technique
from each of the following “categories”
 Structure (line, stanza, couplets, form)
 Sound (rhyme/ rhyme scheme, alliteration, assonance or
consonance, rhythm, meter)
 Figurative language (metaphor, symbolism,
personification, simile, imagery)