Basic Rules of Writing a Literature Essay

From: Peck, J. (1995). How to Study a Novel. 2nd Ed. Macmillan, London.

1. Answer the question asked by the professor.

  • For an in-class essay or exam, try to have some idea of the sort of question that will be asked about your work of literature.
  • Most common essay questions are:
  1. A question about character. Discuss the main character, or how two characters compare and contrast, or how the author revealed one character to us.
  2. A question about the society of the novel. Discuss the author’s strength in presenting a convincing sense of what society was like at that time and place. Or how the author compares and contrasts two societies. Or how the society affects the characters in the novel.
  3. A question about the author’s attitudes/values/morality/view of life/point of view
  4. A question about style or method. Explain why the author chooses to write in the way he does, ie. Flashbacks or stream of consciousness. Or discuss the imagery of the novel.
  5. An evaluative question. The professor gives you a quote by a literary critic or someone famous that says something negative about the author or this work. You need to defend the author by giving proof from the literature.

2. How to answer these questions?

  • Have a strong, clear argument (this is your thesis statement)
  • Sum up in a few words the main answer to the question
  • What is the central issue you want to argue?
  • Your argument is argued and then proven in each body paragraph of the essay
  • Proof comes from an analysis of relevant parts of the novel
  • Find a number of places in the novel that show what you want to prove

3. Format of a short literature essay for in-class writing or exams

  • 8 paragraphs
  1. Introductory paragraph—introduce the problem, give a rough outline
  2. 6 body paragraphs
  3. Work from the evidence of the text
  4. Analyze it to make your point
  5. Conclusion – briefly state how your evidence proved the thesis statement from the introduction

4. Writing body paragraphs:

  • Use Point /Quote /Comment format
  • Or use: Text /Analysis /Conclusion format
  1. Begin body paragraphs by immediately turning to the text:
  2. Something of the author’s attitude can be seen in the passage where….
  3. The social environment of the novel can be seen when …
  4. The author’s distinctive style is revealed in chapter five when ….
  5. The theme of racism is depicted in the scene where ….
  6. A good essay works from the evidence of the text
  7. You paraphrase as scene in the text. You do not quote it word for word. Just paraphrase a scene, tell what chapter it is in
  8. Then, you go through this scene and show how it proves your argument.
  9. End your paragraph with several concluding statements that tie your paragraph to the thesis statement in the introduction
  • What about using a quotation instead of just summarizing a scene briefly?
  • IF YOU QUOTE: Analyze what you quote.

Text / Analysis / Conclusion:

First you refer to a section of text, then discuss it (See handout on analyzing literature), then conclude the paragraph with a sentence or two to link this paragraph with your overall argument

5. Why six body paragraphs?

  • Evidence from one scene in the book is not enough to prove your point. It is not enough to answer the question.
  • Each paragraph brings in proof from another scene in the novel.

For example, your concluding sentence of the first paragraph might end by saying:

It seems then that the author is hostile to the main character.

The next paragraph begins:

There is, however, more to the novel than this. We see in chapter seven that the author reveals … when …..

6. Main problems in literature essays:

  • Irrelevance -- The student does not answer the question given as a topic
  • Make sure your introduction gives a clear and concise answer to the question
  • If you have no question, then make sure your thesis statement has an argumentative edge
  • Story telling -- Some students spend the whole essay retelling the story, thinking that that is proof for their answer.
  • Key -- you must make the links for the reader.
  • You must say what the examples mean.
  • This means that…. / This is shown clearly when …..