In this essay, you will be using close reading strategies focusing on literary qualities such as characterization, structure, plot, and figurative language to develop an argument. This argument should defend your particular interpretation of the story’s ultimate meanings, themes, importance, or representativeness of its literary setting (time and place).
Make sure your essay meets the following requirements.
MLA formatted literary analysis essay of between 750 and 1,000 words dealing with at least one the works of fiction from the first two modules (see template in Research Essay drop box for MLA page formatting).
A Works Cited page containing your primary sources (the texts you are interpreting).
In-text citation for quotation and paraphrasing.
A clear thesis statement that makes a claim about the work(s) being treated with enough detail to indicate the lines of discussion that will be developed in the body paragraphs.
Third-person point of view (he, she, it, they). Do NOT use first or second person (I, me, you).
In literary writing, the idea is to develop an interpretation and defend it with examples from the text. Each reader brings his or her own perceptions to the text, so don’t feel that there is a right or wrong argument. There are only well-reasoned arguments and not-so-well-reasoned arguments. This argument must be summarized in a clear and argumentative thesis statement at or near the end of the introductory paragraph. You do not have to include secondary source material for this essay, but you should include references from the text itself (primary source) to give support.
Do not use dictionaries, encyclopedias, or wikis. Also, do not use study aid sites such as CliffsNotes, ENotes, SparkNotes, etc. These sites can offer background, but they take away from the originality of your thinking and keep you from making important connections for yourself.
