1. DO choose one main point that your essay will make (it becomes your thesis statement) and develop sentences that support this point (they become topic sentences for your body paragraphs). When I look at your essays, I first scan your introduction for your thesis and then the topic sentences that support it in the body paragraphs.

• TOPIC SENTENCES MUST HAVE A POINT OF VIEW;
• THEY MUST SUPPORT THE THESIS;
• THEY CANNOT BE FACTS ABOUT THE STORY.

2. DO write an introduction that names the author and literature and gets right to the point. For example, you might begin, "In Kate Chopin's "Story of An Hour," Louis Mallard gains her freedom for just one hour.... END THE INTRODUCTION WITH YOUR THESIS STATEMENT.

Here is an example written by my daughter, Joelle, that was awarded the undergraduate essay award at the University of Georgia. You can read the entire paper by clicking on the link at the top of this page.

Elizabeth's Bishop's "The Fish" disguises itself as a simple poem. Written entirely in free verse, the poem does not evoke established literary traditions in the way that a sonnet or ballad automatically would. The events described take place in a matter of minutes, perhaps even seconds. Yet with the seemingly mundane action of catching and releasing a fish, the poet constructs a complex query into the natures of knowledge and power. Bishop uses the speaker's encounter with the fish to examine the interplay of assumption and truth, to muse on the meaning of victory, and finally to question the methods by which one acquires wisdom. Although the fish provides the starting point for these reflections, ultimately the speaker must choose to delve a deeper truth alone.

3. DON'T write about yourself, people in general, or your Aunt Matilda. Talk about the literature you are analyzing.

4. DON'T write in first person, "I." You also don't need to refer to "the reader." Just write the analysis without talking about the process of reading or writing. Also, DON'T refer to our class or our assignments. Also, don't give your characters advice or compare them to your Aunt Matilda.

5. DO write in present tense. (You have to REALLY check your verbs.)

6. DON'T make a point without supporting it from the text. DO quote text, and DO comment on the quotes and integrate them into your writing. Use a parenthetical (author and page number) for quotes. (Literature cited from the Internet does NOT have page numbers. Name the author in the sentence and don't use a parenthetical.) Also, DON'T quote unimportant text that simply states facts of the story, like Jane is taken "into a room with a fire" (Brontë 35).

NO: Jane's time at Lowood changes her as she becomes more aware of her lack of freedom. "Another discovery dawned on me, namely, that in the interval I had undergone a transforming process" (Brontë 71, 72).
YES: At Lowood, Jane becomes more aware of her lack of freedom. As Jane struggles with Miss Temple's departure, Jane says, "Another discovery dawned on me, namely, that in the interval [between Miss Temple's wedding and the end of the day] I had undergone a transforming process" (Brontë 71). In fact, Jane has become "tired of the routine of eight years in one afternoon" and "for liberty I gasped; for liberty I uttered a prayer" (Brontë 72).

Note that I added information in square brackets (an interpolation) in order to clarify the meaning of the quote.

7. DON'T repeat your thesis in your conclusion. Make a final point that brings your essay to a satisfying end.

8 . DO Proof your essay from the top down, looking to see that you've stayed on topic in your paragraphs and that your essay has coherence.

9 . DO Proof your essay from bottom up, one line at a time, looking for errors.

10. DO interpret the literature as you like, but remember that you must provide TEXT SUPPORT! TEXT SUPPORT must include quotations from the story.

11. DO support your interpretation with specific examples from the text.

• Use page citations for quotations. When you quote, place the page number of that text in parentheses after its reference (known as a parenthetical).
• At the beginning of the story, Richards "hastened" (19) to bring his sad message; at the end, Richards tries to conceal Brently from Mrs. Mallard, but he is "too late" (21).
• If you introduce a quotation that is a complete sentence, capitalize the first letter of the quotation.
• Hemingway writes, "His desk was at the far end of the office," suggesting that the hotel-keeper is physically unavailable to the wife, despite his conviviality.
• If you work the quotation into a sentence, use a lowercase letter to begin the quotation.
• When Hemingway writes that "his desk is at the far end of the office," he shows that the hotel-keeper is physically unavailable to the wife, despite his conviviality.
• If you need to change capitalization in your quotation, use square brackets around text that you have changed (known as an interpolation).
• When Jane considers her feelings for Rochester, she calls herself a “[b]lind puppy” (141) that needs to realize its “own accursed senselessness” (141).
• When you quote poetry, use slashes to indicate line ends.
• Donne writes, "Batter my heart, three-personed God; for you / As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and sek to mend" (741).

12. DO NOT summarize the text. Analyze it.

13. DO provide a "so what" in your conclusion. What's your final point? Do NOT add a conclusion that summarizes your paper. Instead make a final point, reflect on your analysis, offer a rhetorical question, or finish with an ironic or humorous twist.

14. DO provide a title that conveys the point of your argument. Write your title after you finish your essay. Your title should say something specific and intriguing about your topic. You might "pull" a good phrase from your essay.

15. DO double-space and spell-check. Do NOT trust the grammar checker. Use Arial 14-point.

16. DO provide a WORKS CITED page on a separate page that references each of your texts. If you have more than one reference, put them in alphabetical order by the authors' last names.

Indent each line after the first line by one tab from the left. (Don't do Works Cited as a separate file; simply hit PAGE BREAK before typing it.)
 

Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." Rpt. in Sylvan Barnet
et al. An Introduction to Literature. 12th ed. New York:
Longman, 2001. 26-28.