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Analyzing a work of literature

The Assignment

Write a three-to-five-page paper in which you attempt to answer a thought-provoking question about a
work of literature. Thought-provoking questions, such as the following, are often raised in class
discussions: What is the significance of blindness in Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex? In what ways does
James Joyce’s "The Dead" confront traditions of love and romance? How does street language function in
Gwendolyn Brooks’s "We Real Cool"? The goal of your paper will be to address such a question with a
meaningful interpretation of the literary work.

You will use at least one primary source—the work of literature—to write your paper. Check with your
instructor before using secondary sources such as the commentary of critics and scholars; if you use
such sources, document the paper using MLA style.

Tips on writing about literature

 Read and reread the work closely and carefully. As you read, interact with the work by posing
questions and looking for clues to possible answers.
 Annotate the work to focus your reading; take notes to try out ideas and develop your perspective.
 Write a thesis sentence that addresses the central question that you have asked about the work. Aim
for a strong, assertive summary of your interpretation.
 Support your interpretation with quotations and specific details from the work (and, if you’re using
secondary sources, from critical material).
 Avoid merely summarizing the plot; focus instead on your interpretation of the work, which may or
may not require discussion of the plot.
 Use the present tense to describe fictional events. Say Octavia demands blind obedience from James
. . . , not Octavia demanded blind obedience from James. . . .
 When introducing quotations from the work, do not confuse the work’s author with the narrator of a
story or the speaker of a poem.
 Use MLA style to cite and format passages quoted from the work. See pages 421-22 in Rules for
Writers.
 Avoid plagiarism when using secondary sources. If an interpretation was suggested to you by a
critic’s work, you must cite the source. In addition, if you use exact language from a secondary
source, you must enclose it in quotation marks and provide a citation.

Hacker, Diana. The Bedford Handbook, 7e. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2006. Content excerpted from
companion Web site.