Essay Writing Formal Literary Essay

Relevancy Why do we have you write the formal literary essay? Why do you need to learn the skills required to write a formal literary essay?

Thesis Argument Controls the paper Destination Everything relates back to the thesis Explicit or implicit Placement – Beginning or end, sometimes even in the middle Rubric – Knowledge and Thinking

Audience Who will read your writing? What do they already know? What do they want to know?

Purpose Narration – tell a story Description – create a sensory picture Expository – inform or explain Argument/Persuasive - convince

Prewriting Choose a topic, then refine a thesis Brainstorm Free write on the thesis Mind map Dot jot of ideas What comes to mind? How easy will this thesis be to defend?

Outline Graphic organizer, loose-leaf page, word document– what works best for you? Thesis Dot jot points, proofs (quotations and page references), explanation Consider organization – strong point, weakest point, strongest point

Outline cont'd Include 3 topic sentences Each topic sentence must relate to thesis 3 quotations/topic sentence Context for each quotation

Outline Graphic organizer, loose-leaf page, word document– what works best for you? Thesis Dot jot points, proofs (quotations and page references), explanation Consider organization – strong point, weakest point, strongest point

First Draft Complete sentences Paragraph structure Topic and concluding sentences Link paragraphs with transition words or repetition of words

Editing and Revising Explore spell check suggestions. Make sure you have avoided “I think,” “You,” slang and any other informal language. Read aloud to catch awkward sentences, missing words, typos. Get a trustworthy editor – what parts are not fully explained? What questions does your editor have? Consider what should be changed. Maintain your own voice – your paper should sound like you.

Final Draft First page includes your name, course code (ENG 4U1), teacher’s name, date in the upper left hand corner of your page Pagination – put your last name followed by page number in upper right hand corner (use a header) Double space Follow MLA format for citations Works Cited page (not numbered)

Relevance – Transferable Skills Casual Debate – Leafs vs Habs Lawyer – Litigating Letter of Application/Reference