Essay Guidelines

How to write a Literary Essay
Guidelines for 4th year students

PURPOSE?
What do we write a literary essay for?
The purpose of a literary analysis essay is
to carefully examine and sometimes
evaluate a work of literature or an aspect
of a work of literature.
What can we analyse?
POEMS
SHORT STORIES
PLAYS
NOVELS
OTHER ESSAYS
What is the AIM of an essay?
Your objective in writing a literary
analysis essay is to convince the person
reading your essay that you have
supported the idea you are developing.
This kind of writing demands tight
organization and control.
THESIS
Therefore, your essay must have a
central idea (thesis), it must have
several paragraphs that grow
systematically out of the central idea,
and everything in it must be directly
related to the central idea and must
contribute to the reader’s
understanding of that central idea.
3 PRINCIPLES YOU SHOULD
FOLLOW
1. Your essay must cover the topic you
are writing about.
2. Your essay must have a central idea
(stated in your thesis) that governs its
development.
3. Your essay must be organized so that
every part contributes something to the
reader’s understanding of the central
idea.
ELEMENTS OF A GOOD
ESSAY
The Thesis Statement
It is a restricted, precisely worded
declarative sentence that states the purpose
of your essay -- the point you are trying to
make.
Without a carefully conceived thesis, an
essay has no chance of success.
Examples:
The fate of the main characters in Macbeth
illustrates the danger of excessive ambition.
Beauty is presented as a force of evil in The
Picture of Dorian Gray.
Loneliness is explored at its highest depth
in Virginia Woolf´s To the Lighthouse.
A sharp criticism to traditional society is
implied in the voice of Elizabeth in Pride
and Prejudice.
IMPORTANT
THE BEST PLACE IN
WHICH TO INCLUDE
YOUR THESIS
STATEMENT IS AT THE
END OF YOUR
INTRODUCTORY
PARAGRAPH.
INTRODUCTION
The introduction to your literary
analysis essay should try to arouse
interest in your reader. To bring
immediate focus to your subject, you
may want to use a quotation, a
provocative question, a personal
anecdote, a startling statement, or a
combination of these.
Examples:
“Hard times” is set in 1840s’ England, period in which the
industrial Revolution was producing innumerable
alterations in almost every aspect of life. It narrates the
experiences of the two opposite social classes which
resulted from industrial growth: the top rich class and the
working class, the proletariat, the “Hands”. The purpose
of this paper is to demonstrate how the children in the
novel (Louisa and Thomas Gradgrind, Cecilia Jupe and
Bitzer) were emotionally damaged by the way they were
educated , without forgetting the shaping effect of the
context as well as of some other characters that influenced
or even determined their lives. (Emilio Rondán, 2011: 2)
Oscar Wilde subtitled “The Importance of
Being Earnest” as “A Trivial Comedy for
Serious People”. The aim of this essay is
to demonstrate that, despite the homorous
element, the play is not trivial but rather a
relevant commentary on Victorian era
values and principles which Wilde mocks
by using irony. (Mercedes Gilabert, 2011:
1)
The Body of the Essay and the
Importance of Topic Sentences
The term regularly used for the
development of the central idea of
a literary analysis essay is the
body. In this section you present
the paragraphs (at least 3
paragraphs for a 500-750 word
essay) that support your thesis
statement.
What to include in the body
Good literary analysis essays
contain an explanation of your
ideas and evidence from the text
(short story, poem, play) that
supports those ideas. Textual
evidence consists of summary,
paraphrase, specific details, and
direct quotations.
CONCLUSION
Your literary analysis essay should have a
concluding paragraph that gives your essay a
sense of completeness and lets your readers know
that they have come to the end of your paper.
Your concluding paragraph might restate the
thesis in different words, summarize the main
points you have made, or make a relevant
comment about the literary work you are
analyzing, but from a different perspective. Do
not introduce a new topic in your conclusion.
What about the Title?
It is essential that you give
your essay a title which is
descriptive of the approach
you are taking in your paper.
Just as you did in your
introductory paragraph, try to
get the reader's attention.
Homework
Schedule:
Friday, 30th September – Submission of
Introduction and a clear Thesis Statement.
Friday, 7th October – Submission of Advance 1 (it
should contain introduction + the whole body,
analysis of other writers on your topics, as a
framework for your development)
Friday, 14th October – Sumbmission of Advance II
and LAST(here you might attempt to finish the
whole text, or not, but it should show improvement
from Adv I)
Subtitles and parts of your Essay
A good way of organizing a Literary Paper in through
subtitles or sections. Here are some useful divisions
you might like to use for the development of your
essay:
Introduction
Review of Literature (an analysis and exploration on
what other writers have written on your topic)
Subtitle I (related to your topic)
Subtitle II
Subtitle III
Conclusion
About the type of text
A Literary Paper is a piece of Academic
writing which attempts to explore NOT
demonstrate a science. Remember we´re
dealing with Literature as a form of Art.
Your Language should be carefully
chosen and edited, varied and complex
sentence structures for the level of
Language required (equivalent to
Language III/IV)
Criteria for Assessment
What will be considered when assessing this
paper:
Curiosity
Dedication and Passionateness in the topic
selected.
Research relevance
Language Use and Accuracy
Academic Writing Techniques (quotes,
references and bibliography properly expressed)
About the Paper Format Presentation
Approximate Length: between 3 and 7
pages (without front Cover, References
and Bibliography)
Front Cover: Student´s Name
 teacher´s name
 Subject
 Title of your Essay
ALL VISUALLY CLEAR

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How to write a Literary Essay

Guidelines for 4th year students

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