Short Guide to Writing about Literature, A
Description
A Short Guide to Writing about Literature
emphasises writing as a process and incorporates new critical approaches to writing about literature.
This edition continues to offer students sound advice on how to become critical thinkers and enrich their reading response through accessible, step-by-step instruction. This highly respected text is ideal as a supplement to any course where writing about literature or literary studies is emphasised.
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Content
PREFACE
LETTER TO STUDENTS
PART 1
Jumping In
2- THE WRITER AS READER: READING AND RESPONDING
Kate Chopin, "Ripe Figs"
The Act of Reading
Reading with a Pen in Hand
Recording Your First Responses
Audience and Purpose
A Writing Assignment on "Ripe Figs"
The Assignment
A Sample Essay: "Images of Ripening in Kate Chopin's 'Ripe Figs' "
The Student's Analysis Analyzed
Critical Thinking and the Study of Literature
3- THE READER AS WRITER: DRAFTING AND WRITING
Pre-writing: Getting Ideas
Annotating a Text
More about Getting Ideas: A Second Story by Kate Chopin, "The Story of an Hour"
Kate Chopin: "The Story of an Hour"
Brainstorming for Ideas for Writing
Focused Free Writing
Listing
Asking Questions
Keeping a Journal
Critical Thinking: Arguing with Yourself
Arriving at a Thesis and Arguing It
Writing a Draft
A Sample Draft: "Ironies in an Hour"
Revising a Draft
A Checklist for Revising for Clarity
Two Ways of Outlining a Draft
A Checklist for Reviewing a Revised Draft
Peer Review
The Final Version
Sample Essay: "Ironies of Life in Kate Chopin's 'The Story of an Hour' "
The Analysis Analyzed
Quick Review: From First Response to Final Version: Writing an Essay about a Literary Work
4- TWO FORMS OF CRITICISM: EXPLICATION AND ANALYSIS
Explication
A Sample Explication: Langston Hughes's "Harlem"
Working toward an Explication of "Harlem"
Some Journal Entries
The Final Draft: "Langston Hughes's 'Harlem' "
The Analysis Analyzed
A Checklist: Drafting an Explication
Analysis: The Judgment of Solomon
Thinking about Form
Thinking about Character
Thoughts about Other Possibilities
For Further reading and Analysis: The Parable of the Prodigal Son NEW
Comparison: An Analytic Tool
A Checklist: Revising a Comparison
For Further Reading and Comparison: Gwendolyn Brooks's "We Real Cool" NEW
Finding a Topic
Considering the Evidence
Organizing the Material
Communicating Judgments
Review: How to Write an Effective Essay
1. Pre-writing
2. Drafting
3. Revising
4. Editing
An Editing Checklist: Questions to Ask Yourself When Editing
For Further Reading, Explication, and Comparison: William Blake's "The Tyger" NEW
5- OTHER KINDS OF WRITING ABOUT LITERATURE
A Summary
A Paraphrase
A Review
A Review of a Dramatic Production
A Sample Review: "An Effective Macbeth"
PART 2
Standing Back: Thinking Critically about Literature