The Literary Essay

1. The Literary Essay Pay Attention well . . . For this is the format you must follow for your Essay & your Exam . . .

2. Steps in the process

3. Five Paragraph Format • Introduction • Body Paragraph 1 • Body Paragraph 2 • Body Paragraph 3 • Conclusion

4. The Introductory Paragraph • Begin general, gradually becoming more specific. • Step 1:The General Statement • Step 2:The Narrowing Statement • Step 3: Introduction of your authors and text • Step 4: Introduce your three major arguments. • Step 5:Thesis Statement • NOTE: The Thesis Statement is the only Step which must be ONE sentence.

5. Even though it may feel like this You simply must get started . . .

6. The Thesis Statement • Your thesis statement must beargumentative – this means the argument is debatable. • It has an opinion and a topic. • It must beONE sentence only. • It becomes the focus for your entire essay – every other sentence in your essay seeks to prove this statement. • NOTE: You will be using the topics provided to develop your own thesis.

8. Body Paragraph – General Info • You must have a clear topic sentence at the beginning of each body paragraph. • The topic sentence is ONE sentence only. • All your points must be substantiated by a proof (in the form of a quotation). • You will always follow the point-proof-link/explanation (ppl) format, followed by the appropriate citation. • There will be three (3) quotations in each body paragraph to support your line of argument

9. Body Paragraph – Cont… • Point = the first way you are proving your argument. • Proof = appropriately formatted quotation • 4 lines or less of text = woven into the body of your work. • 5 lines or more of text = ‘dropped’ / offset from the body of your work by one tab or 0.5”. • Link = the analysis. • Summary / transition = guides the reader to your next line of argument.

10. Body Paragraph – Cont… • Your essay will contain three body paragraphs. • You will have one body paragraph for each line of argument outlined in your introduction. • Remember to tie everything you say back to the thesis you are trying to prove. • Your link/analysis should be at least two to three sentences long.

12. Concluding Paragraph • Re-state (in an original manner) your thesis statement • Summarize your main arguments. • Include reflective thought – leave your reader thinking. • Basically, wrap up your essay with eloquence. • DO NOT introduce any new ideas!

13. If you do not know what you are doing, ask for . . .

14. The Standard Rules • You must write in the present tense. • Never refer to yourself in the first person (“I”, “My opinion”, “Me”, etc.) • Do not use contractions (ie. use “cannot” vs. “can’t”) in your writing . . . Use contractions only in the original quotation. • Citation ex.: “Hi, buddy. What’s up?” (Rehm 25). • You must have a properly formatted works cited page – on a separate sheet.

15. The Standard Rules – Cont… • Give your essay an original title and number your pages. • Always indent new paragraphs. • Italicizeyour novel titles. • Double space your essay. • Use transitional wordsand sentences to connect your ideas and create strong, flowing unity of thought.

16. To Review • Your essay will have five paragraphs • Introduction • Body Paragraph 1 : 3 PPLs • Body Paragraph 2 : 3 PPLs • Body Paragraph 3 : 3 PLLs • Conclusion • This means you will have nine (9) quotes total.

17. Try to avoid this . . .

18. That’s all you need to know . . . to write a killer essay