The Literary Essay

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• The Literary Essay is an insightful, critical
  interpretation of a literary work.
• It is not a summary of plot, character or other
  elements of fiction in any given literary work.

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• you provide your own formal interpretation
  and/or opinion of the topic
• you use the literary work to prove or
  substantiate your understanding of the topic

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• try to prove the plot we know how the series
  of events unfolded because we read the book
• need to prove that the characters, setting, or
  themes existed in the literary work

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• provide an interpretation of the plot, setting,
  character, conflict, and themes as they relate to
  the topic you are discussing
• develop elements that will prove your argument

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• allows you, the writer, to provide your own
  understanding of the literary work in a properly
  structured format.

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In order to be complete, your essay must include
the following
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• clearly introduces the topic, the literary
• work, and the author.
• Example
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  presents
• prejudice and discrimination of black
  people.
• The introduction allows you to give the reader
  the clear and specific direction of your essay.

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• states the main purpose of the essay
• is often stated in the LAST sentence of
• your introduction
• answers the question
• What will you prove/show through this
• essay about the literary work under
• discussion?

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• is divided into paragraphs
• is composed of paragraphs which
• begin with a topic sentence that
• clearly introduces the topic in the
• paragraph and end with linking
• sentences that introduce the next
• paragraph

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• serves to PROVE your thesis
• NOTE
• In order to prove your thesis, you must develop
  and expand on the topic using examples and
  citations (quotes) from the literary work to
  substantiate your statements
• Once a quote is cited, you must provide an
  interpretation, not a summary, about how this
  quote is relevant to the development of the topic
  and thesis

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• is where you develop your ideas about the topic
• is where you provide your own ideas by
• answering the following questions
• 1. What is the topic? How is the topic relevant?
• 2. How does the topic relate to the literary
  work?
• 3. How does topic affect the development of the
  literary work as a whole?

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• What is my understanding of the topic and the
  literary work?
• How does the setting affect the development of
  the topic?
• How do the characters assist in the development
  of the topic?
• You DO NOT, however, write your essay in
• a question answer format. It must flow
  
• like the literary work itself.

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• Use the questions only as a GUIDE.
• They will help you to interpret
• instead of summarizing!

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• The first sentence of the conclusion is a
  restatement of your THESIS.
• Do not introduce any new information in the
  conclusion.
• Restate your most important points as a means of
  bringing your argument to a close.
• The conclusion is your last chance to prove your
  opinion to the reader!

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• Introduction Paragraph One
• 1st sentence General overview of
  the
• topic
• 2nd 3rd sentences Introduction of the
  author
• and the
  literary work
• Additional sentences Description and/or
• 
  development of the
• literary
  work as it pertains
• the topic.
  Its where you
• introduce
  your argument.
• Final sentence Restatement of the
  thesis .

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• Paragraph 2 Development of first argument
• Topic Sentence Introduces only the argument
• in this paragraph.
  
• Development
  consists of
• ideas which
  support the topic
• sentence and
  thesis
• Choose 1 2 quotes from the literary work which
  will develop/support this topic and establish a
  connection to topic/thesis
• A linking sentence will reinforce what was stated
  in this paragraph and connect it to the following
  argument.

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• Paragraph 3 Development of second argument
• Paragraph 4 Development of third argument

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• Restates the thesis
• Summarizes the main points of your argument from
  each paragraph
• Makes final concluding point

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• HOW IT LOOKS

INTRODUCTION
BODY
ARGUMENT 1 ARGUMENT 2 ARGUMENT 3
CONCLUSION
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• Quotes of four lines or less can be included in
  the body of your essay using quotation marks
• Example
• He stood there until nightfall, and I
• waited for him. When we went in the
• house I saw he had been crying his
• face was dirty. (Lee 63)

Authors last name and page reference
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• For citations that are MORE than 4 lines
  long, centre and single space the quote as shown
  below
• For reasons
  unfathomable
• to the most
  experienced
• prophets in
  Maycomb County,
• autumn turned to
  winter that year.
• We had two weeks
  of the coldest
• weather since
  1885 (Lee 63)

Indent 10 spaces
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• Alfredo, B. Critical Interpretations of To Kill
  A Mockingbird. New York Routledge, 1999.
• Lee, H. To Kill A Mockingbird. Philadelphia
  Warner Books, 1960.
• Use MLA format.

Include the literary work in the works consulted
list .
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• Do not make a title page for your paper unless
  specifically requested.
• In the upper left-hand corner of the first page,
  list your name, your instructor's name, the
  course, and the date. Be sure to use
  double-spaced text.
• Double space again and center the title. Don't
  underline your title or put it in quotation
  marks.
• Double space between the title and the first line
  of the text.

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Here is a sample first page of an essay in MLA
style
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• Ensure you have completed the following
  before you submit your essay for assessment to
  your teacher
• Double spaced your essay
• Microsoft Sans Serif , Verdana or Calibri, font
  size 12
• MLA format throughout
• Labeled each page, including page 1, with your
  last name and page number

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• Included a Works Consulted page
• Cited the literary work in the works cited page
  and referenced it properly throughout
• Have introduction, body paragraphs, and
  conclusion
• Clearly stated thesis

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• Edited for spelling and language errors (be
  careful of typos)
• Stapled the essay in the correct order
• Spelled the teachers name correctly
• Indented each new paragraph 5 spaces to show its
  beginning
• Underlined all book titles throughout the essay