• “How to Write a Good Essay”. This chapter explains how to write literary analysis essays on different topics: themes, characters, genres, language, symbolism, imagery, and historical context. It also discusses how to compare and contrast two texts. Finally, it explains how to get started with a thesis and outline, and it shows how to organize your paper with examples. This is from a book on Gabriel García Márquez, so many of the examples are drawn from works by García Márquez; however, the strategies and examples in it should be useful for writing about any author or fictional text.

    Analyze significant primary texts as forms of cultural and creative expression; to explain the ways in which texts reflect the culture and values of their time and place; to frame a comparative context to critically assess the ideas, forces, and values that shape texts; to develop an interpretation of a literary text, support the interpretation with textual evidence and a secondary source, and cite the source material; to use MLA documentation and formatting; to practice using scholarly sources of literary criticism; to practice the process of writing; to practice essay organization and editing skills.

    Assignment: Create a literary analysis essay built on close readings of 1-2 fictional texts. Consider the elements of fiction and vocabulary terms you have learned this semester, and then choose one specific aspect of the text(s) to analyze, such as plot, point-of-view, characterization, setting, style, theme, tone, symbolism, irony, or use of a specific figurative language device.

    After you have selected one aspect of the text(s), reread the text(s), looking for patterns. Think about how and why the author uses the elements of fiction to create meaning. Try to be specific. Something like “Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Lottery’ uses foreshadowing” is a fact, not a thesis. You will have to think about how and why she uses foreshadowing. Then you have an interpretation that will need proof, which is much better.

    If you select two fictional texts, you should choose ones that have a significant similarity in the element you wish to discuss. Then you can compare and contrast the texts to find patterns. You may wish to consider a topic that you have already thought about or something mentioned on the course Content.