LITERARY ESSAY
TIPS + STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE
TIPS + STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE
- Revise your essay.
- Read the STATE IT, PROVE IT, EXPLAIN IT, and CONCLUDE IT sheet.
- Read the Practice Analytic Paragraph. Incorporate the structure into your own writing.
- Use the Literary Essay Organizer to re-structure your essay. Modification and adaptation of the patterns is acceptable.
- Use simple sentences for the majority of your writing. Use rhetorical sentence patterns strategically and creatively. DO NOT overdo it.
- Make sure to directly analyse quotes. AVOID SUMMARIZING. Explain HOW text PROVES the point being made in the topic sentence and the thesis statement. KEEP FOCUS.
- Always UNDERLINE (UND) or ITALICIZE (ITAL) stand-alone texts, such as: novels, plays, and films.
- Always put double-quotes (“xxx”) around non-stand alone texts such as: poems, songs, articles, short stories in collections/magazines.
- AVOID FIRST PERSON COMMENTARY (I/we/me).
- ALWAYS think back. Think: HOW DOES WHAT I’M WRITING PROVE MY THESIS? KEEP FOCUS.
- Read non-fiction writers in magazines and newspapers (or the online equivalents). Examine how they construct introductory paragraphs and concluding paragraphs. GET A FEEL for the styles. NOTE: these writers do not mimic the outlines supplied by professors or teacher, but when your writing gets stronger, you CAN modify and adapt to your hearts content.
- Never assume that the first, second, third, fourth, or ad infinitum drafts are PERFECT. They are not, but a fifth draft will be MORE perfect than a first draft.