Top 10 Errors of Writing about Literature

1. Top 10 Errors of Writing about Literature • What’s wrong here? Example: In the story “The Necklace,” Madame Loisel borrowed a necklace from her friend.

2. Looking at Paragraphing • What’s wrong here? Example: In the short story "A & P" by John Updike, the narrator Sammy sees three girls come into the grocery store where he works as a clerk. The girls are dressed in bikinis, which many of the shoppers notice. The girls wander around the store and eventually decide to buy some herring snacks. They come up to the cash register to pay, and the manager tells them that they need to dress more appropriately when they come in. Sammy takes the girls' side and quits.

3. Is This Paragraph Okay? Example: In the short story "A & P" by John Updike, the narrator Sammy gets into conflict with the manager of the grocery story, a conflict that pits Sammy against the traditional values of the society in which he is growing up. The conflict centers around three girls who come into the store in swimsuits. Essentially, the conservative manager objects to what he considers the girls' inappropriate behavior in coming into the store underdressed. In contrast, Sammy believes that the manager has treated the girls unjustly—and he quits to defend their honor. Sammy, however, at least partially realizes the consequences for his actions, i.e., that he realizes "how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter."

4. Using Quotes Is the use of this quote okay? Example: Madame Loisel continually overreaches for her materialistic fantasy. “Suddenly she discovered, in a black satin case, a superb diamond necklace…” (86).

5. How’s This Paragraph? • Example: The protagonist in the story is so in love with the wave that he ignores any of the impracticalities of having a love affair with her. He is so in love with her, he simply ignores the consequences and hides her away on the train. As a result of this head-over-heels affair, he is arrested and spends a year in jail, but it in no way deters him from returning to his beloved wave.

6. Using to Authors & Titles of Works • A) How do you give the author’s name on first reference? • B) What about the second and all other references? • C) How do you indicate a story title? • D) What about a book? A film? • E) Should you use the title of a story more than once in an essay?

7. In-text Citations Is this in-text citation okay? “She flung herself on her friend’s breast…” (86). How about this?“Fugu is a fish caught off the Pacific shores of Japan” (95) writes author Kazuo Ishiguro in opening his story “A Family Supper.And how about this last one? “She flung herself on her friend’s breast…” (86) but years later, this same friend “did not recognize her” (88).

8. More on in-text Citations Can you do this? “You didn’t notice it, did you?” (87). Or should it be done like this?“You didn’t notice it, did you” (87)?

9. Point of View If the pronouns are “I” or “We,” what point of view is it? There are several types, including If the narrator is one who doesn’t understand the implications of the narrative, what’s that called? If the narrator is one who who lies to himself or to the audience, what’s that called?

10. Point of View If the pronoun is “You,” what point of view is that called?

11. Point of View If the pronouns is “He,” “She,” or “They,” what is the point of view? There are three basic types: What is the narration called when the consciousness is largely limited to the protagonist? What is the narration called when the consciousness is unlimited and can enter anyone’s mind? What is the narration called when it’s a blend of the two, which might go slightly beyond the protagonist, but not into everyone’s minds?

12. What’s the Definition of Irony I know it when I see it!

13. Who’s That Strange Gal behind the Wall Paper Again? • What’s the literary term when you have a protagonist and there’s another character, such as the woman behind the wallpaper, who is a representation of the protagonist’s Id?

14. A denew-who? • What’s a denouement?

15. Is the 700 billion dollar bailout an elite motive? • What’s a leitmotif?

16. Three Types of Irony What is it called when the audience knows more than the character? What is it called when there’s an ironic plot reversal, as in when the very thing you’re trying to avoid happens anyway? What is it called when you see the author using wit, including puns, sarcasm, and expressions that say the opposite of what’s intended?

17. Who the Heck Are These Folks? What is the term for a main character? What about the one who opposes the main character?

18. That’s a Little Confusing… What’s wrong here? Example: In “Two Kinds,” the author tells us that “I failed her [my mother] so many times…” (217).

19. Why Isn’t It a Good Title? “An Analysis of ‘Two Kinds’”

20. Effective Introductions QQISA stands for what you do on a good date, doesn’t it?

21. Concluding Strategies In terms of that kiss, AHEQI stands for what shows up on the person’s neck when you pretend to be a vampire, isn’t it?

22. Body Paragraph Stuff What should drive a paragraph?What typically starts the topic sentence? What’s wrong with this thesis and topic sentence?Thesis: Jing Mei transforms from a rebel into a more complete person because in the long run she realizes that the life she is leading is too restrictive.Topic Sentence: Jing Mei begins her transformation from rebel into a whole person starting the process of her leading too restrictive an existence. What is a loose reading?What is a close reading? Why should you sum up the key words at the end of a long paragraph?

23. Mistakes in the Thesis &Topic Sentences Should you write a topic sentence like this? Example: “My relationship with my parents had become somewhat strained” (95). How about this?Example: How do the father and the son deal with one another in the story? And last of all, is it okay not to start with a topic sentence in a body paragraph?

24. Double Trouble Is this the right way to handle quotes within quotes? When her mother wants to force Jing-Mei to practice piano, the protagonist feels “my true self had finally emerged… “No! I won’t!” I screamed” (217).