Literary Analysis: Writing Reminders Ms. Tufano: English II

Integrating Quotes Why integrate quotes on your essay? To prove that your ideas are correct To illustrate your point of view To demonstrate how you arrived at an original idea of your own

Integrating Quotes More on integrating quotes... Quotations can never stand alone. They must be introduced and explained. Integrating quotes provides context for the quote.

Integrating Quotes When to USE and NOT USE quotes in your essay: Do NOT use quotes: In your introduction In your paragraph’s topic sentence In your paragraph’s concluding sentence In your conclusion USE quotes: To support your topic sentence To support your thesis statement To illustrate a particular idea

How to Make it Flow Topic Sentence → O’Brien’s character in his novel, The Things They Carried, is able to sort through his emotions by writing about what he experienced in Vietnam. Quotation → The method of story-telling is effective for him, because “by telling stories, you objectify your own experience. You separate it from yourself. You pin down certain truths” (158). Relevance → His stories thus become a type of therapy for him where O’Brien can discover the lessons he learned

Using Signal Phrases 1. Writing a complete sentence followed by a colon and then the quote Example: Demeter is not actively responsible for the plants’ growth, but passively so: “When Demeter felt especially fine, tiny shoots of barley or oats would spring up in the footprints She left” (110).

Using Signal Phrases 2. Writing an incomplete sentence, followed by a comma and then the quote Example: The author shows that Demeter is seen as passively responsible for the plants’ growth, saying, “When Demeter felt especially fine, tiny shoots of barley or oats would spring up in the footprints She left” (110).

Using Signal Phrases 3. Writing a statement that ends in that or a signal phrase and then the quote Example: Demeter’s passive responsibility in the plants’ growth is clear when the author states that “When Demeter felt especially fine, tiny shoots of barley or oats would spring up in the footprints she left” (110).

Signal Phrases adds admits agrees argues asserts points out observes believes illustrates implies insists notes reasons says suggests thinks writes claims comments compares demonstrates denies emphasizes states

Tips for Writing Formally Point of View Never use 1st or 2nd person p.o.v. in a formal essay. Verb Tense Maintain a consistent verb tense throughout an essay—don’t switch from present to past When we write about literature, we write in the present tense Contractions and Poor Word Choices Do not use contractions in formal writing. Why? Contractions detract from a formal voice, and they denote lazy writing. Some words are just not ok: “thing,” “stuff,” “a lot,” and ANY form of slang/colloquialism. Some words are unnecessary: “very.”

Tips for Writing Formally Titles The title of a novel goes in italics, as in Till We Have Faces or Like Water for Chocolate. Genre A novel is a novel, not a story: In Esquivel’s novel, Like Water for Chocolate... Words I DON’T want to see in your writing: Thing Stuff A lot Very Definitely ANY contraction whatsoever, like don’t, can’t, isn’t, it’s, shouldn’t, etc.

Writing an Introduction “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” Provides your reader with an initial impression of your argument, your writing style, and the overall quality of your work “Your introduction is an important road map for the rest of your paper.” You can let your reader know what your topic is, why it is important, and how you plan to proceed with your discussion.

Writing an Introduction “Ideally, your introduction will make your readers want to read your paper.” Opening with a compelling story, a fascinating quotation, an interesting question, or a stirring example can get your readers to see why this topic matters. “Try writing your introduction last.” Sometimes it’s easiest to just write up all of your evidence first and then write the introduction last—that way you can be sure that the introduction will match the body of the paper.

Writing an Introduction “Open with an attention grabber.” 1. an intriguing example 2. a provocative quotation 3. a puzzling scenario 4. a vivid and perhaps unexpected anecdote 5. a thought-provoking question

Writing a Conclusion A conclusion should: Stress the importance of the thesis statement Give the essay a sense of completeness Leave a final impression on the reader

Writing a Conclusion Make it stronger: “Synthesize. Don’t summarize.” Show how all your points fit together. “So what?” Why is what you wrote meaningful? “Create Meaning.” Give the reader something to think about.

When writing your Conclusion... Writing a Conclusion When writing your Conclusion... Do NOT: Restate your thesis Bring up NEW ideas DO: Provide deeper understanding of the text Make your reader feel like you know what you’re talking about