You have been asked to write a formal 5-8 page paper in which you analyze some aspect of a novel or novels of your choice from the approved list of essay topics.

Regardless of your topic, your analysis will essentially answer the question So What? that a reader might pose after finishing the novel or novels you have chosen to write about.

If you have chosen a topic that asks you to compare two or more elements of one novel or to compare aspects of two or more novels, please review The Literary Comparison for information on how to organize and write a literary comparison.

As you prepare to write your essay, keep the following points in mind:

• Your audience consists of your instructor and your fellow students. We have all read the material but perhaps not as carefully and thoughtfully as you have. However, we all know the plots of the novels you are discussing. Thus, though you will need to briefly summarize the plots of the novels you refer to and briefly identify the characters you discuss, you should not lapse into plot summary.
• Your readers do not have the works in questions in front of them.
• Your essay will follow all of the basic rules of expository prose; that is:
  • Your essay will have an introduction, body, and conclusion.
  • Your essay will contain a thesis statement that you develop and support with evidence from the text of the novel.
• Your essay will in some way illustrate and illuminate for your readers the theme of the novel(s) under discussion.

Remember that the theme of a work of literature is the comment that the author makes about his subject matter, a revelation about the behavior of human beings or the conduct of society, an insight into the human condition.

Remember that the theme characterizes the insight we gain from thinking about what we have read.

To determine the theme of a novel, first identify and be able to thoroughly describe the major elements of that novel:

• plot
• characterizations
• point of view
• setting
• patterns, symbols, any recurring images

Come to a conclusion about the significance of each of these elements of the novel. Be sure you understand why every element in the novel exists.

Formulate a possible theme for the work and determine how the plot, characters, setting, and images support that theme, that insight into human nature.

Determine how well or poorly the author presents his or her theme; essentially argue for or against the quality of the work itself.

The best kept secret about essays on literature is that they are argumentative: you argue for your interpretation of the work, using the text as evidence.

Your thesis statement will demonstrate your understanding of and commentary on the author's theme. Essentially you will be arguing that the author's working out of the theme--in the way that the author uses plot, characterization, point of view, setting, and patterns of images--does or does not warrant a high regard for this work.

Your thesis statement (which can be more than one sentence) will contain the following elements:

• The author and title of the work or works being discussed
• The grounds (elements of the work) you will cover in your discussion
• The point you will make about the author's purpose (i.e., the author's theme) in presenting these elements of the novel

Your readers have read the novel, but perhaps not recently. Your readers do not have the novel in front of them. They know what happened but not why or how. Your readers have not considered the novel's theme or its ultimate place in literature.

Thus you will need to briefly summarize the plot of the novel and remind readers of the details of the novel's elements and you will have to present and argue the validity of your perception of the novel's theme.

Use the following strategies:

• Let the structure of your argument take priority over the structure of the text. Organize your argument first, then arrange your notes and evidence (examples from the text) to support your argument.
• Use the language of the text as evidence
• Tie each piece of evidence into your discussion. Explain your choice of examples.

Follow the rules of rhetoric.

• One idea to a paragraph. Summarize that idea in the topic sentence of the paragraph.
• Relate each topic sentence to your thesis statement.
• Supply details from the novel to support your topic sentence. Interpret those details to show the reader how they support your topic sentence.
• Supply transitions between paragraphs.
• Be sure to write a concluding paragraph that provides closure for the reader by demonstrating that you have proven what you set out to prove in your thesis.

Punctuate titles properly; italicize titles of books; put titles of shorter works--short stories, articles, etc.--in quotation marks

Punctuate quotations properly. Use quotation marks only when you are directly quoting material from your source. Always use double quotation marks unless you are quoting a quotation within a quotation.

Use MLA Parenthetical References for citations within the text. Be sure to cite the sources for all of your references, not just your direct quotations.

Add a Works Cited page. Use MLA Style for Documentation.