THE LITERARY ESSAY

WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES:
Help Grade 10 English LL students
write a well-structured literary essay
Help students to also develop an
awareness and appreciation of the key
elements of a literary essay
Apply concepts learned to a given
literary question
NOT A STORY
BUILD AN ARGUMENT ABOUT
A TEXT BY ANALYSING IT
WHOLE ESSAY PRESENTS A SERIES
OF REASONS FOR YOUR ARGUMENT
WHAT’S IN IT?

• Planning

• Introduction

• Body (multiple paragraphs)

• Conclusion
 PLANNING
PLAN, PLAN and PLAN again.
Some techniques you can use:
- Mind Maps
- Skeleton Structure
Flow Diagrams
Experiment with your own techniques
until you find something that works for
you.
 PLANNING

Once you have a plan you can write an

introduction that leads nicely into your
first paragraph.
Alternatively, you can even write your
introduction last, once you know what you
essay includes.
 HOW SHOULD YOU WRITE
IT?
Simple present tense.
Explain your points clearly and fully.
Avoid dramatic or descriptive language.
Use examples from the text – events,
behaviours, etc. –as often as possible.
Use quotes to support your points, but keep
them short and integrate them into your
own sentences.
 HOW SHOULD YOU WRITE
IT?
Ideally, vary your sentence types and
lengths.
If in doubt, use short and concise
sentences than flowing, compound or
complex sentences filled with commas.
Shorter sentences will ensure your writing
makes sense.
 HOW SHOULD YOU WRITE
IT?
The argument must flow clearly from one
paragraph to the next.
Use ‘linking words’ at the start of each
paragraph, to indicate the relationship
between the paragraph and the one before it:
this shows/ therefore/ thus
however/ on the other hand
because/ therefore/ moreover
nevertheless
 HOW SHOULD YOU WRITE
IT?

Tone is important. Be calm but assertive.

An academic essay is always formal.
Avoid rhetorical questions.
Do not use ellipsis to be dramatic.
Get your facts right. This requires close
reading of the text.
WHAT’S IN IT?
• Introduction
Begin with a catchy opening statement
relevant to the main concept of your essay.
Give a brief summary of your text
State your argument, i.e. your position on
the topic. This is your thesis statement
Provide context or background information,
if necessary.
THE THESIS
• A thesis statement is a sentence that:

• expresses the writer’s position or

interpretation of a particular subject.
• makes a claim that others might dispute.
• is included in the opening paragraph.
• answers the question of the writing prompt.
• tells the reader what to expect from the paper.

The thesis needs to answer the question if

you have an essay topic.
THE THESIS
• In a literary essay, your evidence comes from the book.
Thus, your thesis must mention the book, the characters or
the author.
– In Flowers for Algernon, Keyes argues that mice will take
over the world.
– The theme of Mr. Chapman and the Roman Holiday is
“traveling is one of the best ways to satiate one’s soul.”
– In Spongebob Squarepants, Patrick is actually less of a
friend than someone who holds Spongebob back.
• Not:
– In the book, Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus,
Mark Bean argues that girls are better than boys.
– According to Charlie Gordon, friendship is the most
important thing in the world.
– Based on the book Bears Are Our Friends, it’s clear that
bears are one of earth’s most precious resources.
 THE THESIS
• Stay away from general theses that are really obvious or are, in a sense,
almost impossible to “prove”—at least in an 800-word essay:
– Humans are always going to change.
– There are good and bad parts to every person.
– Based on the novel, the reader can see that humans are evil.
– Based on the novel, Charlie is amazing.

• Don’t use the phrases like “I think” or “In my opinion” or words like
“possibly” or “might” in your thesis—they weaken it
– I think The message of Flowers for Algernon is that mice should rule the world.
– The message of Lord of the Flies might possibly be is that six-year-olds should
rule the world.
THE THESIS
Don’t say in this essay: “In
this essay I’m going to talk
about…”
–JUST TALK ABOUT IT!!
EXEMPLAR: INTRODUCTION
Write an introduction, with a clear thesis,
to the following prompt:

In what ways does Walt Disney explore

the power of friendship in The Lion
King?
 WHAT’S IN IT? PETER
Body: Points to support your argument
Each point is in a new paragraph.
Write your point in the first sentence of paragraph, the ‘topic
sentence’.
Give examples from the text to support your point. Include
short quotations.
Identify ONE or more literary techniques used in the
examples you have given
Then explain the effect of the technique, relating it to your
point; you need to do this in detail. Three to five sentences
are normal.
Think of how your point affects the reader i.e. you
POINT/TOPIC SENTENCE

 A topic sentence explains or introduces one of the major

points that support the writer’s thesis statement.
 Each body paragraph in an essay must contain a topic
sentence that connects all of the information and analysis
in that paragraph to one unified idea, and each topic
sentence must be related directly to the thesis statement.
 The main ideas expressed in each topic sentence
represent the major divisions of the essay.
 Writing those topic sentences before beginning to write
the essay will help developing writers organize their
essays and keep those essays focused on their thesis
statements.
 EXEMPLAR TOPIC SENTENCES FROM
“THE TELL-TALE HEART”
 THESIS: In
“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe, the
unnamed narrator is portrayed as an insane, cold-hearted
murderer through Poe’s use of figurative language, such as simile,
paradox, and personification.

TS 1: The narrator’s use of a simile to compare the old man’s eye

to that of a vulture first hints at his murderous intention
TS 2: Poe’s use of pronouns without antecedents reflects the
instability of the narrator’s mental state.
TS 3: The reader begins to question the narrator’s sanity when he
paradoxically explains calmly that he loved the old man yet plotted
carefully to kill him.
TS 4: As the narrator personifies death, he implies that he is a
murderer.
 EVIDENCE
Your goal is to convince
the jury, to prove each
one of your paragraphs.
EVIDENCE
Ladies and
gentleman of
the jury…
EVIDENCE
Today I’m going to show This is your
you that the message of thesis.
The Hunger Games is that
liberty is more important
than life.
EVIDENCE What am I
One way Collins shows trying to prove
this message is by
stressing how miserable here?
life is for the people of
District 12.
3 strong examples
later…
EVIDENCE So what? How does that
show the message that
One way Collins shows liberty’s more important
NowisI’ve
this proven that
by stressing how than life?
the peoplelife
miserable of District 12
is for the
are miserable.
people of District 12.
EVIDENCE Connecting
One way Collins
Because Collinsshows
paints back to thesis.
this is by
such stressing
a clear picturehow
of
miserable life is painful
their hopeless, for the
people
lives… of District 12.
 Connecting
EVIDENCE back to thesis.
…the reader can see that
sacrificing their liberty to The
Capital in exchange for peace
wasn’t worth it for District 12
—it only made things worse.
 Connecting
EVIDENCE back to thesis.
One way words,
In other Collinswithout
shows
this is by stressing
freedom, how
the citizens
miserable lifethat
suffer a fate is for the
is even
people
worse of District
than death.12.
SUMMARY OF EVIDENCE
Evidence: (remember to use quotation
marks ‘__________’ )
The evidence that shows this is...
The quote that supports my point is...
The word/s that show this is…
This is revealed when [character] says,
‘_____’
TECHNIQUE
 The text uses the______ to emphasise…
 The word “_______” is an example of …
 The author has used a _______ to
demonstrate that…
EXPLANATION
 The author creates a sense of…
 The result of the language used by the author
is…
 The use of the word/s ________
shows/produces…
 This creates the impression that…
 This quote shows…
 The effect upon the reader is…
 This shows/implies/reveals etc...
REFLECT
 The author’s overall message is that…
 This leaves the reader with the overall
impression that…
 This links to…
 As a result of this, readers are left with the
opinion that…
 The author’s intention is…
NOW IT’S YOUR TURN…
Write ONE body paragraph in response
to the thesis statement you wrote earlier
as part of your introduction to The Lion
King essay prompt.
WHAT’S IN IT?

• Conclusion
Reinforce argument: summarise the points you
have made.
Restate your argument.
End with a catchy but relevant closing statement
NEVER introduce new ideas or examples.
Leave the reader very clear on what your
argument has been.
FOR YOUR OWN
REFERENCE…

Referencing and
Bibliography
 REFERENCING

 Quoting is a fundamental part of the essay.

 Do not quote huge chunks of text. Only write down
what is relevant to the point you’re making.
 You can use an ellipsis (…) to show where you have
left out some words from the original text.
 Try to integrate the quotes into your own sentences, so
that he writing flows smoothly.
 REFERENCING

 If written at home: reference properly , with page

numbers. Include a bibliography.
 If written under test conditions: no need to reference,
but try to memorise a few quotes that are likely to be
useful in any essay.
 If you are allowed to bring in your planning: include
some quotes with page numbers.
 REFERENCING

 There are two ways to reference: footnotes and

in-text referencing (MLA).
 Each academic institution will have its own
style guide, and you must use the referencing
method preferred by your institution.
 IN-TEXT REFERENCING

 Immediately after the quote, include the following

information in brackets:
(Author’s s surname page number).
 For example, if you are quoting from The Great Gatsby:
Daisy is described as having an “absurd, charming little
laugh” (Fitzgerald 8).
Notice that the full stop only comes after the referencing.
Notice also that the year is the year of the edition your
are quoting from, not the original year of publication.
 IN-TEXT REFERENCING
 If you are quoting from a website state the name of the
website in brackets, along with the date of publication,
if you can find it.
 If you can’t find it, include the date on which you
accessed the site after its name:
(Sparknotes, 2015)
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
 You always need a bibliography, regardless of which type of referencing you
choose.
 Start your bibliography on a new page and give it the heading Bibliography.
 Each book, article and website you referred to in your essay must be listed in
the bibliography, including the following information:
author(s)
Title
publisher and place of publication
date of publication
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
• There are a few different ways to write your
bibliography.
• Try this order:
Surname, Initial., Title, City of publication:
Publisher, Year publication.
• For example:
Fitzgerald, F.S., The Great Gatsby. New York:
Scribner, 2004
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
• To reference a website:
 PLAGIARISM
 Plagiarism is the unauthorized use or close
imitation of the language and thoughts of another
writer and the representation of them as one's
own original work.
 Plagiarism is wrong; it is an act of theft and
deceit.
 Plagiarism includes copying from your peers,
books you have read, television shows and films
you have seen and websites you have visited.
 PLAGIARISM
 There is nothing wrong with occasionally using
other people’s ideas. There are two problems:
1. When you fail to acknowledge that the idea, or
words are not yours. Avoid this by referencing.
You must reference both when you quote directly
and when you paraphrase (change someone else's
words into your own). You do this in the same way
as referencing verbatim, but there is no need for
quotation marks, e.g. (Jenkins 1981: 38)
 PLAGIARISM
2. When most of your essay is made up of other
people’s ideas.

This is a problem even if you have been honest

about it and referenced. This is because the whole
point of the exercise is to get you thinking for
yourself about what you are reading. Doing
research is helpful, but your essay needs to be
your own ideas.