1. Tips for the Historical Context

2. What to write about?
Important political events (laws going into effect, wars, etc.—but only if they seem to have impacted your work of literature)
Important social events (trends, fashions, attitudes toward race, women, and/or religion—but again, only if the impact on your literary work is clear)
Important economic events (events like The Great Depression and other events that may have caused an increase or decrease in spending—only if the impact on the literary work is clear)

3. What ELSE to write about?
Literary movement—what was the literary movement that was predominant when your author wrote his or her work? What are the characteristics of that movement? How are those characteristics apparent in the work you are writing about?
Other prominent authors and literary works of the time and their connection to your author (Do not list every author of the period. Briefly discuss only those that seem to have influenced your author, and make that influence clear.)

4. Parenthetically cite all information!
In parenthesis at the end of EACH SENTENCE that contains information from a source (author and page number)

5. Shaeffer format? Not exactly, but the concept is the same
Alternate between facts from your secondary sources about the time period and your own commentary about how these events impacted your work.

6. How many paragraphs?? You decide!
Shift paragraphs when you shift to a different subject or different time
(for instance, you might have a paragraph about the literary movement, paragraph about important political events, paragraph about important social events, etc.)

7. Include a works cited page.
Include copies of sources if you would like for me to double check your citations.