1. The written assignment
Writing the Essay
The written assignment

2. The Title: You should give your essay an appropriate title
This should include:
the name of the work of literature
the author
the theme/character/technique/aspect of culture or context you are examining
The title should be written as a complete sentence
Capitalize the important words in the title (if not a question)
Examples:
How are individual freedoms impacted by the outside society in “A Doll’s House”?
The Relationship Between Love and Death in Suskind’s Perfume
Physical Symbols Used to Construct Identity in Woman at Point Zero

3. The Reflective Statement
Your reflective statement should appear on the first page of your essay
You should title it “Reflective Statement”
It should be on a separate page
It should include a word count at the bottom:
Word count: 400

4. The Thesis Statement:
Your thesis statement should be clear to your reader but also complex and specific enough to establish your argument in a sophisticated way
The thesis statement should be about one - three sentences in length.
Make reference to the author and the piece of literature in your thesis statement. Ex. In Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” or Perfume by Patrick Suskind establishes…
Names of works should be in italics - Woman At Point Zero (novel) or quotation marks “A Doll’s House” (play) in a typed essay

5. Outlining your body paragraphs:
Your introduction should also outline the three main points that you will be developing in your body paragraphs
This should be adjacent to your thesis statement
Each point should be about a sentence (or two) in length – a brief introduction, not a listing
Your introduction should be only one paragraph in length

6. The 3 Body Paragraphs Each of your body paragraphs should:
state the main idea of the paragraph
develop your argument
include quotations or references to the text – at least 4
link the main idea of the body paragraph with your thesis statement

7. Citations
The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation, but the page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of your sentence.
For example:
Suskind captures this theme with the dictum that Grenouille’s only impulse is “to think, to live, to smell only according to the innermost structures of its magic formula”(40). OR
We clearly see this theme as Grenouille’s only impulse is “to think, to live, to smell only according to the innermost structures of its magic formula”(Suskind 40).

8. Important things to remember when using quotations:
Quotes cannot entirely replace narrative in an essay.
Do not string quotes together. All quotes need to be buffered by original writing that introduces them and puts them into context.
When using quotations in an essay, you must integrate the quotation as smoothly as possible into your text.
You may provide introductory phrases that alert the reader to the quotation, without being too obvious or formulaic
(i.e. don’t use “in this quotation” or “this quote shows” or “this evidence proves”).
Quotations should include punctuation after the citation
Ex. “The catastrophe was not an earthquake, nor a forest fire” (Suskind 12).
- unless there is an exclamation mark or question mark that you need to include.

9. Citation Rules:
As a rule, the amount of space you use in providing a quotation should have an equal amount of space devoted to discussing or analyzing it
Quotations over 4 lines are not usually recommended in a standard ( word)essay
You may use “…” to omit parts of a quotation that you are not going to discuss or analyze.
Ex. “I will not be, however, if inside me, the crop does not keep sprouting…to reach the light” (El Saadawi 33).
You may need to add words or change a quotation in order for it to make sense in your essay. You can signal this with the aid of parenthesis
Ex. “(Grenouille) lay on the sofa in his purple salon” (Suskind 133).
A literary essay should focus only on the events in the novel, do not add information that is not represented in the novel or the play in your body paragraphs

10. The Conclusion Restate your thesis in new words
Clearly outline how you have proved your three points throughout the essay
Finish your argument with a final statement that concludes the argument
Your conclusion should be one paragraph in length

11. Additional Essay Tips:
Mark the beginning of a paragraph by indentation (one tab stop).
Choose a font that is easy to read. Your font size should be 12 and your writing in black.
Your final essay should be five paragraphs in length. The only exception would be an additional paragraph for a quotation over 4 lines in length.
Literary essays are written in the present tense - the events occurring in works of literature are always occurring - and always will be.
Put page numbers on your final copy.
Do not use slang or colloquial expressions - use formal literary language and terms.

12. Additional Essay Tips:
Do not use “I” in a literary essay. If you wish to insert personal response, use “the reader” (novel) or “the audience” (play) to suggest this.
Use the passive voice - literary responses are objective and impersonal.
Avoid contractions, such as “it’s”, “that’s”, “shouldn’t”, “don’t”, etc.
Refer to the author by their first and last name OR their last name only.
If the text is referred to, it is called a “novel” or “play” not a “book”.

13. Works Cited Page
Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. City of Publication, Publisher, Publication Date.
Example:
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll’s House. New York, Dover Publication, Inc
Suskind, Patrick. Perfume. New York, Vintage International
El Saadawi, Nawal. London, Zed books, 2015