Essay Issues

POV vs. Perspective Not the same thing. Perspective is how the narrator sees or perceives what is happening. POV is the type of narrator used to tell the story – first person (narrator is speaking – I) - second person = you undefined (What you all are using in your essays and should NOT be!) - third person = narrator is watching and reporting (sometimes inside someone’s thoughts too)

DO NOT assume that the author is the narrator. Narrator vs. Persona DO NOT assume that the author is the narrator. So do not write about how the author is telling anyone anything. Discuss the narrator instead.

Answer the prompt in the thesis statement! Intro/thesis Include which two-three poetic elements you will discuss. Don’t leave it out. It must be there and then tell what the author using these two-three does to the meaning of the poem. Answer the prompt in the thesis statement!

Tone Do not just say the author uses tone. What tone is used? Why? What impact does it have? And don’t just tell me what kind of tone is there, show me examples. Quote words or phrases that show that tone and then explain what impact that tone has on the poem.

Never: To begin with…, First off…, Secondly! NO YOU!!!!!! Never: To begin with…, First off…, Secondly! No colloquial summary: The author means congrats on your twenty-one and welcome to manhood.

Do not just list the literary or poetic elements you see. No laundry lists Do not just list the literary or poetic elements you see. Look for the patterns. Find them and explain their use.

Analyze, don’t summarize. Explication = explaining what a poem means. Analysis = explaining what the author uses to show the meaning, how it is used, and what effect it has on the poem or theme of the poem.

GET THE TITLES AND AUTHORS RIGHT Johnson, not Jackson and “When I Was One-and- Twenty”, not “I am Twenty-one” Indent paragraphs Use proper penmanship Use quotation marks properly (titles of poems, and around any works taken from text.) Don’t make quotes more than a phrase and only if you can’t paraphrase and get the same effect.

Do not summarize your essay and remake your points! Conclusion Do not summarize your essay and remake your points! Answer, “So What?” or appeal to the universal.

Good ones: In both the poems by Johnson and Housman, while talking about coming of age, the poets also talk of what should be done to effectively used the time that is presented. Youth is a golden opportunity that is squandered in youth and craved by the old.

Was that a wonderful and perfect conclusion? No. But it went a step beyond. It did not summarize the points made in the essay already.

Another good one: Both poems offer strong advice on turning twenty-one. “When I Was…” ruefully implores the reader to be cautious, while “To Sir John…” promotes a while and carefree lifestyle. It too however, contains a subtle warning: as an adult, one can “hang or drown,” bringing about their own ruin if he or she is not careful.

No Vague Stick to the text. Don’t start talking about life or your experience, or making vague generalizations. Analyze the text. Don’t pull one thing out and just talk about that one thing. Look for the patterns.